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Building Code Reference

Got a CEC 110.26 correction?

Electrical panel clearance

For builders in California, Greater Seattle, the Las Vegas area, the Denver area and Kansas City · CrossBeam Permits

What this code requires, how to fix it, and how cities and counties review it

What this code requires

CEC 110.26 is the California Electrical Code section that requires a minimum 36-inch clear working space in front of any electrical panel, switchboard, or control equipment. The working space must be at least 30 inches wide (or the width of the equipment, if wider), at least 6½ feet high, and must let the panel door open at least 90 degrees. No shelving, storage, water heater, or furnace can encroach into that clearance zone. Most residential plan-check corrections citing 110.26 happen when a panel is shown in a closet, bathroom, or tight mechanical room where the full 36 inches cannot be maintained.

How to fix it

  1. Confirm the panel is not in a prohibited location

    CEC 240.24(D) and (E) ban overcurrent devices, and so breaker panels, inside clothes closets and dwelling bathrooms — full stop. If your current plan shows the panel in either location, you need to relocate it before addressing clearance dimensions. A hall, garage, utility room, or exterior-facing wall are all common compliant locations. Fix the location first; measuring clearance in a prohibited room is wasted effort.

  2. Measure and document the 36-inch working clearance

    From the front of the panel enclosure, measure 36 inches clear to the nearest obstruction: a wall, countertop, appliance, or built-in. The 36-inch zone must be completely clear of shelving, ductwork, piping, and stored items. Mark this dimension on the floor plan with a note reading "36 IN MIN CLR per CEC 110.26". A dashed clearance-zone box on the plan makes it obvious to the reviewer at a glance and removes any ambiguity about whether the dimension was calculated or guessed.

  3. Confirm the 30-inch minimum width

    The working space must be at least 30 inches wide, or the width of the equipment if that is wider. It does not have to be centered on the panel. This matters in narrow hallways and mechanical rooms where the panel may technically have 36 inches of depth but only 24 inches of side-to-side room. Show both dimensions on the plan: depth (36 in min) and width (30 in min). If the hallway is close to 30 inches, verify there are no door swings, steps, or protrusions narrowing it further at any point along the 36-inch depth.

  4. Check height clearance and panel door swing

    The working space must extend the full height of the panel or at least 6.5 feet above the floor, whichever is greater. More practically: the panel door must swing open 90 degrees without hitting anything. If the panel is adjacent to a wall corner or in a cramped mechanical room, hold a tape at 90 degrees from the hinge side to confirm clearance. Note the door-swing radius on the plan if the reviewer flagged it previously. Inspectors measure door swing on-site, so what’s on the plan needs to match reality.

  5. Remove or relocate conflicting equipment from the clearance zone

    Water heaters, furnaces, washing machines, and HVAC equipment are common clearance killers when they share a utility room with the panel. If existing equipment encroaches, the plan must show revised placement with dimensions proving the 36-inch zone remains clear. Even if the equipment isn’t moving in this permit scope, the plan must depict the as-built condition including all equipment in the room. Write a note on the sheet: "NO STORAGE OR EQUIPMENT WITHIN PANEL CLEARANCE ZONE per CEC 110.26".

  6. Add the clearance note and zone box to your floor plan

    On the electrical plan or floor plan (whichever your jurisdiction uses for panel location), add: a label identifying the panel, a dashed rectangle showing the 36 in x 30 in minimum clearance zone, and a note citing CEC 110.26. Some plan-checkers also want to see the panel schedule referenced on the same sheet. If your electrical plan is separate from the architectural floor plan, show the clearance zone on both. Reviewers reading quickly may only flip to one sheet, so redundancy pays off here.

  7. Write a correction-response note on your resubmittal cover

    If this is a resubmittal, your cover letter should cite the specific sheet and detail number where the 110.26 clearance is now shown. Example: "CEC 110.26 — See E1.0, Detail 3: 36 IN MIN CLR zone shown with dashed boundary. Panel relocated from clothes closet to garage north wall." Plan-checkers scanning a resubmission read the response letter first. Make it straightforward for them to find the fix without hunting through the plan set.

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Why you got flagged

Plan-checkers flag CEC 110.26 most often when a panel is placed inside a clothes closet or storage room. CEC 240.24(D) prohibits overcurrent devices, and so breaker panels, in clothes closets, and a general storage room triggers the same flag because reviewers know shelving or boxes will eventually eat into the required 36-inch zone. Even if the closet is empty on the day of submittal, the plan-checker assumes the worst — and they’re right to.

The second common scenario is bathroom and laundry room placement. CEC 240.24(E) bans overcurrent devices, and so breaker panels, in dwelling bathrooms outright. Laundry rooms get flagged when dimensions are tight — a washer and dryer pushed against one wall can reduce the clear depth to 24 or 30 inches, which is short of the 36-inch minimum. If the panel is on the same wall as the equipment hookups, a reviewer will calculate whether the two can coexist before stamping approval.

A third trigger is the panel shown in a remodel where a new wall or built-in is added nearby. An ADU conversion that turns a garage into living space might relocate drywall or add a kitchenette island within 36 inches of an existing panel. The correction letter then cites 110.26 even though the panel itself didn’t move — the work around it created the violation.

Finally, some submittals show the correct panel location but fail to dimension the clearance at all. Plan-checkers won’t assume compliance when the sheet doesn’t prove it. Missing a note like "36 IN CLR (min) per CEC 110.26" on the floor plan almost guarantees a correction, even when the space technically qualifies.

The official code

California Building Standards Code, Title 24, Part 3 — California Electrical Code

Read the source →

Common questions

Can an electrical panel go in a bedroom closet?
No. CEC 240.24(D) prohibits overcurrent devices, and so breaker panels, inside clothes closets. A bedroom closet counts as a clothes closet regardless of what’s stored there on the day of inspection. The prohibition is based on room type, not contents. If your plan shows a panel in a bedroom closet, it needs to be relocated to a compliant location before plan check will pass. Common alternatives include the garage, a dedicated electrical room, a hallway niche, or an exterior rated enclosure.
Does the 36-inch clearance include the panel door when it opens?
Yes. The 36 inches is measured from the front of the panel enclosure to the nearest obstacle. The door must be able to swing fully open — 90 degrees or more — within that clearance zone. If a wall, step, or corner limits the door to less than 90 degrees, you have a clearance problem that will get caught on inspection even if the plan dimensions look right on paper. When in doubt, sketch the door-swing arc on the plan and verify nothing falls inside the arc.
What if my laundry room is only 32 inches deep between the panel and the washer?
That fails the 36-inch minimum. You have three options: move the panel to the opposite wall or to a room outside the laundry; relocate the washer connection to a wall that doesn’t face the panel; or increase the room’s clear depth if you’re doing structural work anyway. A 32-inch depth is a real physical constraint — you cannot note it as compliant and expect it to pass. Inspectors measure on-site. If the tape hits 32 inches, the job fails.
Does CEC 110.26 apply to subpanels, not just the main panel?
Yes. CEC 110.26 applies to all electrical panels, switchboards, panelboards, and distribution equipment, including subpanels. A subpanel in a garage, ADU, or detached structure needs the same 36-inch working clearance as a main service panel. Subpanels in tight mechanical rooms are a common miss in ADU conversions, where a small subpanel is added to serve the new unit but the mechanical room wasn’t sized with that panel in mind. Check the subpanel location on every ADU or accessory structure permit.
My panel has been there for years. Why am I getting flagged now?
Any permit that touches the electrical system or adds space near the panel gives the plan-checker grounds to review the panel location for current code compliance. The argument that it was already there doesn’t hold once you pull a permit. Service upgrades, panel replacements, ADU conversions, and kitchen remodels that add appliances near the panel all trigger a 110.26 review. Think of it this way: the permit reopens the compliance book on anything the scope of work touches or affects.
How do I show 110.26 compliance when there is no separate electrical plan?
Show it on the floor plan. Add a dashed rectangle at the panel location sized 30 inches wide by 36 inches deep, label it "PANEL CLEARANCE ZONE per CEC 110.26", and annotate both dimensions. If there is an electrical single-line diagram on the same sheet or a separate sheet, add a cross-reference note pointing back to the floor plan detail. The goal is to make it findable in under 30 seconds — plan-checkers are reviewing hundreds of sheets per day and won’t go hunting for something that should be called out clearly.

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