Mike Holt code update support (review 7)

What Mike Holt does for code updates

Mike Holt has been the gold standard for NEC training since the 80s. When a new code cycle drops, his team puts out updated textbooks, video courses, and changes-to-the-NEC seminars. The 2023 update package covered every revised article with side-by-side old vs new language, plus commentary on why the change happened.

The format is heavy. Print books, DVD bundles, online video libraries, and live seminars. You buy the update product, you sit down, you study. It is built for continuing education hours and license renewal, not for looking something up at 2pm on a roof.

For an apprentice or a guy prepping for the journeyman exam, that depth is gold. For a working electrician already in the field, it is a different tool for a different job.

How fast the update lands

The NEC publishes on a three year cycle. 2020, 2023, 2026. Mike Holt typically has his updated changes product out within a few months of the new code release, often before most states have actually adopted it. That is impressive turnaround for printed material.

The catch is jurisdictional. Your AHJ might still be on 2020 while your neighbor county is on 2023. Mike Holt sells the product per cycle, so if you bought the 2020 changes book and your area just adopted 2023, you are buying again.

• 2020 NEC changes package: separate purchase
• 2023 NEC changes package: separate purchase
• 2026 NEC changes package: separate purchase when released
• Code-wide textbook revisions: separate purchase per cycle

What it costs to stay current

A full Mike Holt code update bundle, books plus video plus the changes-to-the-NEC product, runs anywhere from 200 to 600 dollars per cycle depending on what you grab. Add the Understanding the NEC volumes if you want the full library, and you are looking at four figures over a few cycles.

That is not a knock. The content justifies the price for someone studying for a master license or running a training program. But if all you need is to know whether NEC 210.8(F) still requires GFCI on outdoor outlets when you are standing in front of a panel, the bundle is overkill.

Tip from the truck: buy the changes product the year your AHJ adopts the new code, not the year it publishes. You will save money and your reference will match what the inspector is actually enforcing.

Where Ask BONBON fits differently

Ask BONBON is not trying to replace Mike Holt for code education. It is a field reference. You ask a question in plain language, you get the article citation and the answer. When a new code cycle gets adopted in your area, the reference updates without you buying a new edition.

The use case split is pretty clean. If you are sitting at the kitchen table studying for an exam, Mike Holt is still the move. If you are in a crawl space trying to remember whether NEC 334.15(B) lets you run NM-B through a stud bay a certain way, you want something on your phone that answers in ten seconds.

1. Mike Holt: structured learning, exam prep, CE hours, deep code theory
2. Ask BONBON: quick lookup in the field, plain language answers, citation included
3. The actual NEC code book: the source of truth, but slow to navigate

The update gap nobody talks about

Even with Mike Holt's fast turnaround, there is a window between when the new NEC publishes and when the changes product ships. During that gap, you are reading the raw code book or waiting. For a guy bidding work under the new code, that gap matters.

There is also the in-between revisions problem. NFPA issues TIAs (Tentative Interim Amendments) and errata between cycles. NEC 110.3 references on listed equipment, for example, can shift based on UL standard updates that happen mid-cycle. Print products do not catch those. A live reference can.

None of this makes Mike Holt wrong. It makes him a different tool. The training is the training. The field is the field.

Real talk: I keep my Mike Holt 2023 changes book in the truck for slow days and exam prep. I keep Ask BONBON on my phone for the other 95 percent of the time when somebody is asking me a question and the meter is running.

Bottom line for working electricians

Mike Holt's code update support is excellent for what it is built for. Structured study, exam preparation, continuing education, deep understanding of why a code change happened. If you are pursuing a master license or teaching apprentices, you should own his stuff.

For everyday field work, the equation changes. You need fast answers tied to current code, not a 400 page workbook. The two tools coexist fine. One trains you. The other backs you up when the inspector shows up and asks why you ran that EGC the way you did under NEC 250.122.

Pick the right tool for the right moment. Study with Holt. Work with what fits in your pocket.