Concerns Regarding NFPA Link Terms and Conditions for Educational Use
Dear NFPA Team,
As an active participant in the NEC development process, serving on Code-Making Panels 5 and 17, and as an individual who personally pays for access to NFPA Link, I feel compelled to express my serious concerns regarding the terms and conditions presented upon activation of Link or even the “free” online access version.
As a well-known electrical educator and advocate for code literacy, my organization frequently utilizes NFPA Link in commentary and instructional videos to educate students, apprentices, journeyman and master electricians, and engineers on how to properly understand, interpret, and apply NFPA 70. These efforts directly support the broader mission of electrical safety and public understanding of the Code.
It is troubling that NFPA—an organization that does not author the NEC language but instead compiles and publishes the work developed through the public consensus process and the volunteer efforts of committee members like myself—would restrict the educational use of Link or direct NEC text. This position not only conflicts with the spirit of collaboration upon which the NEC is built but also risks hindering legitimate educational outreach that promotes compliance, understanding, and the purchase of official NFPA materials.
Furthermore, I encourage your legal team to revisit the principles of Fair Use and Transformational Content as they apply to instructional and commentary materials. Educators referencing NEC language for teaching and discussion purposes are not reproducing NFPA content for commercial resale but are instead fostering proper comprehension of the very safety standards NFPA seeks to promote.
Regarding paraphrasing, it is often necessary to use exact NEC language in instruction to ensure that students and professionals become familiar with the precise terminology and context of the Code. Requiring educators to paraphrase inherently risks misinterpretation and dilutes the clarity and consistency essential to maintaining safety standards.
In closing, I am deeply disappointed by NFPA’s stance on this issue. It is educators—those of us who teach, promote, and encourage compliance—who drive the ongoing interest and sales of NFPA Link and printed NEC materials. I sincerely hope NFPA will reconsider its approach and align its policies with the shared mission of promoting education and safety rather than creating unnecessary barriers to learning.
Best Regards,
Paul Abernathy, CMECP® | CEO & President
Electrical Code Academy, Inc. | www.FastTraxSystem.com
395 Mica Road, Mineral, VA 23117
Office : 540-607-0116
Thank you for addressing this concern. I have always wondered why these code bodies can limit the use of information produced by volunteers. IES does the same thing.
Byers Wolf It sure seems like every public institution in America uses published textbooks, copyright material, for education and Transformational learning. However, until this is challenged it will be a bully tactic by associations like NFPA.
Well said Paul, for things like that is that a lot of electrician and others professionals believe the NEC is all about money and no the safety and education of people in the trade, with this decision they just make it more difficult for those that put the time and effort to help us understand better the NEC
HOPE THEY LISTEN TO YOU but more educators need to speak up and publicly rejected
Franklin De los santos Sadly I am more than likely the ONLY one with kahunas to speak out.
I agree with you, wholeheartedly, Paul. And I appreciate you speaking on the subject! I have learned an immense amount from your program and your classes. It has inspired me to seek out further education and your use of link on the show was the catalyst for me purchasing a subscription myself. I thoroughly enjoy it. On the job I hear apprentices and journeyman speak very specifically using language from the written code when disseminating information. I like how you reference what you say, I also hear that in the field. It has inspired me to create an audio document, verbatim from the NEC 2023, for me to listen to and verbally repeat. I’m finding it’s helping me get that specific language to properly speak about the code.
Samantha Lewis Thank you for sharing Samantha. Sadly, the approach that NFPA is taking it will squueze alot of us educators out of providing content. If we can't use the NEC then we really can't teach Code. But folks like me will always PUSH the envelope and risk lawsuits to keep educating.