The kitchen small appliance circuits are allowed to only serve countertop and wall receptacles in kitchen, dining room and pantry, except that they can also be used for a refrigerator receptacle. However, the refrigerator may also be on a separate circuit if you want. Any installed appliance (meaning secured in place and not readily moveable) like a dishwasher is required to have a separate circuit.  

    Although these requirements have been in place for quite a while, other rules for kitchen circuits have been gradually added over the past several decades:

1.  A kitchen requires minimum of two 20-amp small appliance circuits, and they must be GFCI-protected. 
2.  Dishwasher circuit must now be GFCI-protected, with cord/plug to a receptacle. If the receptacle contains the GFCI-device, it must be accessible (not behind the dishwasher). The access requirement is usually resolved by putting the GFCI-receptacle on the back wall of the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
3.  A dishwasher and disposal can share a single circuit, but only if the combined rating of the two appliances does not exceed the circuit amperage rating.

    Also see our blog post Is a refrigerator required to have its own dedicated circuit?

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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about ELECTRICAL WIRING:

• How can I find out the size of the electric service to a house?

• Can old electrical wiring go bad inside a wall? 

• What is an open electrical splice?

• What are the most common electrical defects found in a home inspection? 

• What is the life expectancy of electrical wiring in a house? 

• What is an "open junction box"? 

• How dangerous is old electrical wiring? 

• What is a ground wire? 

• I heard that aluminum wiring is bad. How do you check for aluminum wiring?  

• What is "knob and tube" wiring?  

• What is the code requirement for receptacle outlets in a closet?

    Visit our ELECTRICAL and APPLIANCES pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.