National Electrical Code (NEC) Section 410.10(D) prohibits pendants, chandeliers, track lighting, and ceiling fans with light kits within a restricted zone measuring 3 feet horizontally and 8 feet vertically from a bathtub rim or shower stall threshold.

The 3-Foot and 8-Foot Rule

• Horizontal limit: Measure 3 feet outward from the top of the bathtub rim or the shower stall threshold.
• Vertical limit: Measure 8 feet upward from the top of the tub rim or shower threshold.
• All-encompassing space: This invisible box covers the entire volume directly above and immediately surrounding the water fixture.

Prohibited Equipment

You cannot install the following items inside this defined zone:

• Pendant lights and chandeliers
• Chain-, cable-, or cord-suspended luminaires
• Lighting track systems
• Cord-connected lights
• Ceiling-suspended paddle fans equipped with a light kit

This prohibition is absolute. A damp or wet rating does not make a pendant acceptable inside the zone — the fitting type itself is excluded.

Fittings that may be installed, and what they must be marked

Fixed luminaires — recessed or surface-mounted — may be installed, subject to marking:

• Within the actual outside dimensions of the tub or shower, up to 8 feet above the rim or threshold, a luminaire must be marked “Suitable for Damp Locations”.
• Where the luminaire is subject to shower spray, it must be marked “Suitable for Wet Locations”.
• Elsewhere in the bathroom, away from the zone and from moisture, a standard dry-location fitting is generally acceptable.

A fitting marked for wet locations may also be used in damp and dry locations. One marked for damp locations may be used in damp and dry, but not wet. Only specific, securely mounted fixtures are permitted.

What this means for our fittings

Our fittings are hand-built in Melbourne using UL-listed sockets and wiring components. The complete fitting is not UL listed as an assembly, and carries no “Suitable for Damp Locations” or “Suitable for Wet Locations” marking.

So:

• Install our fittings in dry locations only, outside the zone described above.
• Never install our pendants, chain- or cord-suspended fittings within 3 feet horizontally or 8 feet vertically of a bathtub rim or shower threshold.
• Because our fittings are not listed as complete assemblies, NEC 410.6 applies and your electrician should confirm acceptance with the local AHJ before installation. Some jurisdictions accept fittings assembled from listed components; others require a field evaluation.
• Every product’s installation sheet states its own rating. Where a sheet says “Indoor use only — not rated for damp or wet locations”, that fitting must not go in a bathroom wet area, a shower, or outdoors.

If you need a listed damp or wet rated fitting

Tell us what you are trying to do and we will say honestly whether we can supply something suitable, or whether you need a listed fitting from another source.

NEC 410.6 requires luminaires to be listed. Non-listed and custom fittings are not automatically prohibited — the AHJ can approve them, sometimes after a field evaluation — but that is a case-by-case decision made by the local inspector.

Last reviewed: August 2026. General guidance only, not electrical advice. The National Electrical Code is adopted state by state and often amended locally — your Authority. Having Jurisdiction has the final say. Always use a licensed electrician.