North American NEMA – USA, Canada, Mexico

The USA plug was originally standardised by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and specifications are found in ANSI NEMA WD-6 (ANSI is the American National Standards Institute).

The Canadian standard is CSA C22 No 42, and the standard for Mexico is NMX-J-163-ANCE. Morvan Trading’s North American power cords are approved for use in the USA by Underwriters Laboratories or UL.

They are also covered by UL for Canada, which may be marked UL(C) or c UL us. In addition, our mains leads are further approved by the Canadian Standards Association or CSA.

Whilst Mexican approval by NOM-ANCE (Norma Oficial Mexicana – Asociación de Normalización y Certificación A.C.) is possible, we currently only stock UL-approved plugs, cables and sockets for products sold to Mexico. We can also offer ETL (Edison Testing Laboratory) approval for the North American market.

UL labels

Our moulded North American powercords include UL labels for greater traceability. If these are needed, please let us know, and order in multiples of box quantity, so that we can ensure the UL holographic labels are included on the outer packaging.

For the 5-15P we use the Longwell LP-31 on larger cables, and LP-31M on smaller ones. On the 1-15P, it can be the LP-11 and LP-13, or the polaised LP-13W. The moulded 6-15P uses the LP-35.

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North American type A and type B plugs are used in North America: USA (including US Virgin Islands and American Samoa), Canada and Mexico.

They are also used in Central America and the Caribbean including Bermuda and the Bahamas, some South American countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela) and some Pacific islands.
See our plugfinder for full list.

Contact our friendly technical team for more information call us on 01264 353489 or click here to contact us

North America uses NEMA standard plugs, which include a spectrum of different plug types with a current ratings from 15 to 60 Amps and 125 to 600 Volts, straight blade and locking, and 2- 3- and 4-pole types.

However, normal domestic and office uses are 125V 15A plugs and sockets; these cover the majority of the continent.

The standard 5-15P plug is also called the Edison plug or Hubbell plug, after the manufacturers, or the UL plug, after the approvals body.

Cable for North America is measured in American Wire Gauge (AWG), and core colours may be black-white-green or harmonised brown-blue-green/yellow – see the bulk cable page for more information.

Neutral connections may be marked W or white, and 3 phase live X, Y, Z instead of L1, L2, L3.

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125V plugs and sockets

The NEMA 1-15P (P for plug) is an unearthed 2 pin plug with flat parallel pins ¼ inch wide and ½ inch apart.  Live and neutral pins each have a hole, which matches a corresponding bump on the sockets internal contact to make accidental removal more difficult.  Where polarisation is required, one pin will be wider than the other; all sockets have a larger aperture for neutral so the polarised plug only fits one way round (unpolarised plugs will fit either way).   The plug is rated up to 15 Amps at 125 Volts.

The socket is NEMA 1-15R (R for receptacle), but these are now rare as building regulations require a grounded connection.

The NEMA 5-15P is identical to the 1-15P with the addition of a round or U-shaped earth pin, which is 1/8 inch longer than live and neutral to make first contact with the socket outlet.  The earth pin also makes the plug polarised.  It is also rated 15A 125V; the mating receptacle is NEMA 5-15R type B socket, which is by far the most common socket in North America, as it accepts both 3 pin 5-15P and 2 pin 1-15P plugs.

The twist-lock reference is NEMA L5-15P and L5-15R (L for locking) which has the same current and voltage ratings, but is not compatible.  These are used to prevent accidental disconnection of the mains, as the plug has to be twisted to remove it from the receptacle.
The NEMA 5-20P plug is up-rated to 20A, and has its neutral pin rotated by 90 degrees.  The 5-20R receptacle has a T-shaped aperture, to accept the 5-20P along with the 15A 5-15P and 1-15P plugs.  The locking versions are NEMA L5-20P and L5-20R respectively.

250V plugs and sockets

The NEMA 6-15P plug is rated up to 250V 15A, and is used on 208V and 240V circuits.  The live and neutral pins are in line, rather than parallel; the socket is NEMA 6-15R.  The NEMA 6-20P and 6-20R are up-rated to 20A with a rotated pin, and the receptacle may have a corresponding T-shaped aperture to accept 20A and 15A plugs.  These may be wired for split-phase live-live-ground (2x 125V) rather than live-neutral-ground (1x 250V).  The locking plugs have the same ‘L’ prefix.

Contact our friendly technical team for more information call us on 01264 353489 or click here to contact us