What is the difference between FLA and FLC for a motor?
FLC is full-load current from the NEC tables in Article 430, and it sizes the branch-circuit conductors and the protection. FLA is full-load amps off the motor nameplate, and it sizes only the overload. They are close but not equal, and the exam writes problems to punish anyone who swaps them. Table for the wire, nameplate for the overload.
Last reviewed June 2026 · Answered by JourneymanIQ staff
FLC comes from the table
Full-load current is read from Tables 430.247 through 430.250 by motor type and voltage. It sizes the branch-circuit conductors at 125 percent under 430.22 and the protection.
FLA comes from the nameplate
Full-load amps is the value stamped on the motor. It sizes only the overload under 430.32, never the conductors.
Do not swap them
They look interchangeable but they are not. Plugging nameplate FLA into a conductor calculation is the single most common motor mistake.
FLC from the table sizes the wire and protection. Nameplate FLA sizes only the overload.
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