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3 WHITE PAPER – VeriSafe
™
– Update to the NFPA 70E Standard
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Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2015 Edition, NFPA 70E, 2014.
Updated Method of Checking for
Absence of Voltage
Prior to NFPA 70E 2018, the process electrical workers would use to verify the absence of voltage in
a panel or other electrical equipment required the use of an “…adequately rated test instrument…”
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which was typically interpreted as a hand-held voltage tester.
NFPA 70E, Article 120.5, Process for Establishing and Verifying an Electrically Safe Work Condition,
has always contained a step to verify the absence of voltage.
The 2018 edition includes an exception, also known as an approved alternative, to using a hand-
held test instrument. The new exception describes an absence of voltage tester (AVT).
The new language in NFPA 70E-2018, Article 120.5 (7) states:
Exception No. 1: An adequately rated permanently mounted test device shall be permitted to
be used to verify the absence of voltage of the conductors or circuit parts at the work location,
provided it meets all the following requirements:
A. It is permanently mounted and installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and
tests the conductors and circuit parts at the point of work
B. It is listed and labeled for the purpose of verifying absence of voltage
C. It tests each phase conductor or circuit part both phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground
D. The test device is verified as operating satisfactorily on any known voltage source before and
after verifying the absence of voltage
For the remainder of this paper, NFPA 70E-2018, Article 120.5 (7), Exception 1 will be referred to as
Exception 1.