Glossary
NF C 15-100: the French electrical installation standard
What is NF C 15-100?
NF C 15-100 is the French standard for how the electrical installation in a home must be designed and built. It's published by AFNOR, the French standards body, and it's the benchmark every electrician in France works to. When CONSUEL checks new wiring, or a diagnostician inspects a house before a sale, this is the standard they measure it against. The UK equivalent is BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations.
What does the French wiring standard cover in a house?
You don't need to know the detail. The electrician does. What helps is knowing roughly what the standard looks at, so you understand what a quote or a diagnostic report is talking about:
- Enough circuits: each room needs a minimum number of sockets and circuits. Big appliances such as the oven, hob and washing machine each get their own circuit.
- Protection at the fuse board: the consumer unit (tableau électrique) must have the safety switches that cut the power if current leaks to earth. A modern board has several, each covering a group of circuits.
- Earthing (mise à la terre): every circuit must be earthed. Old sockets with no earth pin don't comply.
- Cables sized for the load: each circuit's cable must be thick enough for what it powers, so it can't overheat.
- Water and outdoors: bathrooms, gardens and pool areas have strict rules on what can go where. Anything electrical near water has to be rated for it.
Why do so many older Riviera houses fall short of the wiring standard?
The standard has been revised several times over the decades. A villa or apartment wired in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s, and not rewired since, usually falls short of today's version. That's common in the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var. The usual gaps are these:
- Sockets with no earth
- One safety switch protecting the whole house
- A kitchen running every appliance off one or two circuits
- Bathroom wiring and fittings too close to the bath or shower
- A full or dated fuse board with no room for new circuits
If you live in the house yourself, an older installation isn't illegal in itself. You don't have to bring it up to the current standard just because it has been revised. The pressure comes from the situations below.
When does NF C 15-100 compliance actually matter?
- New wiring and full rewires: a new home, or a full rewire where the supply is cut, must comply. CONSUEL checks it before issuing its attestation, and Enedis won't switch the power on without one. Solar panels connected to the grid need one too.
- Smaller electrical work: new or altered circuits must comply, even when the rest of the house doesn't. A CONSUEL check isn't compulsory for this, but you can ask for one.
- Selling: if the installation is over 15 years old, you must provide an electrical diagnostic (diagnostic électricité). It lists what falls short of the standard. It doesn't block the sale or force you to do repairs, but the buyer will use it to negotiate. A recent CONSUEL attestation can replace it. It's valid for 3 years.
- Letting: the same diagnostic applies, valid for 6 years. A landlord must also provide a home with no electrical safety hazard. Missing earthing or missing safety switches are the faults that cause trouble.
- Insurance: after an electrical fire, an insurer can question a claim on a visibly unsafe installation. Keep any attestation or diagnostic with your house papers.
What NF C 15-100 means for a heat pump, EV charger or solar quote
Energy work adds heavy loads to the installation, so it's where an old installation usually gets found out.
- Heat pump: it needs its own circuit and protection at the fuse board. Ask the installer to confirm the quote includes them. If the board is full or old, ask whether it needs replacing and what that adds.
- EV charger: it also needs its own circuit and protection, fitted by an IRVE-qualified installer for anything over 3.7 kW. Ask the installer to confirm the quote includes the circuit, and ask whether your electricity subscription needs raising.
- Solar panels: the connection at the fuse board must comply, and CONSUEL checks the whole solar installation before it's connected.
An electrician who finds faults in the existing wiring during a site visit may recommend fixing them before, or alongside, the main job. That's usually fair: plugging a heavy new load into unsafe wiring adds to the risk. Ask for the remedial work as a separate line on the devis, so you can see what it costs and compare it with another quote.
More on French electrical work and inspections
Sources
Official sources for NF C 15-100, CONSUEL and the electrical diagnostic
- Service-Public.fr: the electrical diagnostic (F18692) A seller or landlord must provide it when the installation is over 15 years old; it stays valid 3 years for a sale and 6 for a letting, and it does not oblige you to carry out repairs.
- Légifrance: Code de l'énergie, article D342-19 When a CONSUEL attestation is compulsory: a new installation, a full rewire with the supply cut, or a solar system.
- Légifrance: Code de l'énergie, article D353-2 A home EV charger over 3.7 kW must be fitted by a qualified installer.
Rules checked against these sources in September 2026.