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REVISION SYMBOLS IDENTIFYING CHANGES FROM THE PREVIOUS EDITION
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IMPORTANT NOTICES AND DISCLAIMERS CONCERNING NFPA STANDARDS
ADDITIONAL NOTICES AND DISCLAIMERS
Updating of NFPA Standards
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NFPA 70E®
Standard for
®
Electrical Safety in the Workplace
2018 Edition
This edition of NFPA 70E®, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace®, was prepared by the
Technical Committee on Electrical Safety in the Workplace and released by the Correlating
Committee on National Electrical Code®. It was issued by the Standards Council on August 1, 2017,
with an effective date of August 21, 2017, and supersedes all previous editions.
This document has been amended by one or more Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) and/or
Errata. See "Codes & Standards" at www.nfpa.org for more information.
This edition of NFPA 70E was approved as an American National Standard on August 21, 2017.
Foreword to NFPA 70E
The Standards Council of the National Fire Protection Association announced the formal
appointment of a new electrical standards development committee on January 7, 1976. The
Committee on Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces reported to the Association
through the Technical Correlating Committee on National Electrical Code® (NEC®). The committee
was formed to assist OSHA in preparing an electrical safety standard that would serve OSHA’s needs
and that could be expeditiously promulgated through the provisions of Section 6(b) of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA found that in attempting to utilize the latest edition of
the NEC, it was confronted with the following problems:
(1) OSHA could only adopt or modify a standard through procedures that provide for public
notice, opportunity for public comment, and public hearings. The adoption of a new NEC edition by
these procedures would require extensive effort and application of resources by OSHA and others.
Going through the procedures might result in requirements substantially different from those of the
NEC, thereby creating a conflict between the two standards.
(2) The NEC is intended for use primarily by those who design, install, and inspect electrical
installations. Most of the NEC requirements are not electrical safety–related work practices, electrical
system maintenance, or directly related to employee safety. However, OSHA electrical regulations,
which address employers and employees in their workplaces, needed to consider and develop these
safety areas.
It became apparent that a need existed for a new standard tailored to fulfill OSHA’s
responsibilities that would still be fully consistent with the NEC. This led to the concept of a new
document that would extract suitable portions from the NEC and from other documents applicable
to electrical safety. This concept and an offer of assistance was submitted in May 1975 to the Assistant
Secretary of Labor for OSHA, who responded as follows: "The concept, procedures, and scope of the
effort discussed with my staff for preparing the subject standard appear to have great merit, and an
apparent need exists for this proposed consensus document which OSHA could consider for
promulgation under the provisions of Section 6(b) of the Act. OSHA does have an interest in this
effort and believes the proposed standard would serve a useful purpose." With this positive
encouragement from OSHA, the NFPA Electrical Section unanimously supported a
recommendation that the NEC Correlating Committee examine the feasibility of developing a
document for evaluating electrical safety in the workplace. With recommendations from the
Electrical Section and Correlating Committee, the Standards Council authorized the establishment
of a committee to carry out this examination.
The committee would develop a standard for electrical installations that would be compatible
with the OSHA requirements for employee safety in locations covered by the NEC. The standard was
visualized as consisting of four major parts: Part I, Installation Safety Requirements; Part II, Safety-
Related Work Practices; Part III, Safety-Related Maintenance Requirements; and Part IV, Safety
NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, NFPA, and National Fire Protection Association are registered trademarks of the National Fire
Protection Association, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169.
