Inspection Frequency · NFPA 70B (2026)
How Often Should Electrical Equipment Be Inspected Under NFPA 70B?
- NFPA 70B inspection frequency
- Infrared inspection interval
- Condition assessment
There is no single correct answer, and any source that gives you one number is guessing.
Under NFPA 70B (2026), the interval comes from the equipment — its condition, criticality, type and operating environment — not from the calendar.
The order of precedence is worth knowing. Manufacturer instructions come first. Where they are not provided, the standard's interval table applies. Condition is assessed against defined criteria and takes the worst applicable category: a single criterion is enough to drop equipment a tier, and equipment in the lowest condition category is inspected roughly twice as often as equipment in the best.
Two points catch people out.
First, an active or unaddressed notification from a continuous monitoring system is on its own enough to place equipment in the lowest condition category.
Second, you cannot lengthen an interval on instinct. The standard expects the initial frequency to be held for at least two maintenance intervals, and extension beyond the table only becomes available after more than two completed intervals with no problems detected — with the justification documented.
Insurer engineering standards can sit on top of this on specific scopes. FM Global Data Sheet 5-20, as one example, directs annual infrared surveys of electrical equipment.
All of which puts the weight on condition history.
An interval you cannot produce the condition record for is an interval you cannot defend.
FacilityOps AI produces that record — the same fields, the same way, on every round.
Reviewing your intervals this year? Book a 15-minute call and we will walk your schedule against the evidence behind it.
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This article describes NFPA 70B (2026) in paraphrase and does not reproduce the standard's text, tables or threshold values. Consult the published text via NFPA and confirm the edition adopted in your jurisdiction. FM Global DS 5-20 cited as an example of an insurer engineering standard; expectations vary by carrier and policy. Nothing here is legal advice.