Code Change Summary: The GFCI protection rules for feeders have changed.

For many code cycles, NEC^® 215.9 allowed a GFCI protected feeder serving 15- and 20-ampere “receptacle branch circuits” to satisfy the GFCI requirements for a receptacle specified in 210.8 and 590.6(A). In the 2020 NEC^®, a proposal was accepted to delete the words “supplying 15- and 20-ampere receptacle branch circuits” from the 2017 NEC^® code language below which limits this allowance to only 15- and 20-ampere receptacle branch circuits.

Over the years, GFCI protection in Section 210.8 has been expanded to include more than just certain receptacles and now includes “outlets” for specific appliances. An “Outlet”, according to the NEC^® Article 100 definition, is a point on the wiring system at which current is taken to supply utilization equipment.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that only receptacles can be “outlets”. A receptacle is one kind of outlet, but so is a hard-wired connection to a junction box.

Now, if a feeder has GFCI protection (see image), any circuits supplied from the feeder are also considered to have GFCI protection instead of requiring additional GFCI protection for the branch circuit, receptacle or outlet in 210.8 and 590.6(A).

Below is a preview of the NEC^®. See the actual NEC^® text at NFPA.ORG for the complete code section. Once there, click on their link to free access to the 2020 NEC^® edition of NFPA 70.