GFCI receptacle
An outlet with built-in protection against electric shock. It is the outlet symbol with the letters GFCI beside it.
This explains what a symbol represents on a drawing. Conventions vary between firms and standards, and a drawing's own legend takes precedence.
How to read it
GFCI stands for ground fault circuit interrupter. NECA 100 lists GFCI among the notations added to a receptacle symbol, for ground-fault protection of people. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission describes GFCIs as devices built into receptacles and circuit breakers to protect people from severe electrical shocks, and names places where electrical equipment is near water as the areas they are especially used for.
Also searched as: GFI outlet, ground fault outlet.
Look-alikes
NECA 100 also has GFPE, ground-fault protection of equipment, which protects equipment rather than people. Without either marking, the symbol is a plain duplex receptacle.
More blueprint symbols
Sources
- Symbols for Electrical Construction Drawings, NECA 100-2013 (ANSI), National Electrical Contractors Association, sec. 3.0, typical outlet notations
- GFCIs Fact Sheet, CPSC Document #99, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, p. 1
Last reviewed September 24, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research