Wiring a private dock on Lake Lanier: why the Corps of Engineers rules come first
Private docks along Forsyth County's Lake Sidney Lanier shoreline sit on public land managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and electrical service to them follows the Corps' rules in addition to the National Electrical Code. The Corps says its permits and licenses for private facilities are issued for a maximum of five years, are nontransferable, and grant no real estate rights. Its Shoreline Management Plan says that regardless of age, condition or grandfathered status, all electrical service must have ground-fault protection and be buried underground, and that recertification is required at each permit renewal, at a change of ownership, or whenever an inspection shows the service does not meet requirements.
So when a lakefront home in Cumming is sold, or a Shoreline Use Permit comes up for renewal, the dock wiring gets looked at again.
The Corps' electrical requirements, step by step
The Corps' requirements for electric service on government property at Lake Lanier say all installations must meet or exceed the National Electrical Code standards for wet locations, marinas and boatyards (Article 555), plus the Corps' own rules. From the property line to the shoreline service pole, the run must be underground and follow the access path, with no overhead wiring; only UF or USE cable may be used, direct buried or in conduit, at a minimum depth of 24 inches with warning tape at 12 inches.
The service pole cannot be set below elevation 1,073 feet above mean sea level, must be wooden, no more than 6 inches square or in diameter and 10 feet long. The shoreline panel box must be at eye level and no less than five feet above the ground, with the cable from the ground enclosed in conduit and hard-wired. Cable from the panel box to the dock must be hard-wired into ground-fault circuitry and approved for wet locations, with locking and grounding receptacles and plugs at the shoreline panel and at connections to the floating dock. Surplus cable for low lake levels must be coiled and attached to the service pole.
Receptacles, dock wiring and lighting
All receptacles must have ground-fault protection at the service pole and sit in weatherproof boxes with self-closing caps, and a dock may have at most two single receptacles or one duplex. Shore power receptacles for boats must be rated at least 20 amps and be locking and grounding type; convenience outlets must be 15 or 20 amp and unplugged when unattended. Receptacles must be at least 4 feet above the ground on the service post and at least 30 inches above the deck on the dock.
Dock wiring must be approved for wet locations and run in conduit, with the conduit ends sealed against moisture and liquidtight flexible conduit at movable ramp and dock joints. Lighting is limited to what is needed for safe access, with a maximum of 150 watts per bulb; fixtures must be wet-location rated, aimed downward and kept within the dock's outer perimeter. See the boat lift wiring page for lifts.
The house side of the job follows Forsyth County's rules. The County's Do I Need a Permit? guide lists the addition of an electrical circuit and an electrical service repair or upgrade as work that needs a permit, so a new feeder from the house panel to the shoreline service pole is permitted and inspected like any other circuit. The County's residential inspections page says it inspects electrical work to the 2023 National Electrical Code, the same National Electrical Code whose Article 555 the Corps cites for docks.
Want a licensed electrician to look at the job?
Request quotesCertification: the change on October 1, 2026
Until this fall, Shoreline Use Permit holders submitted Exhibit C, a form certified by a state-licensed electrical contractor. The Corps' Mobile District announced on September 21, 2026 that beginning October 1, 2026, Exhibit C is no longer used. Instead, permit holders submit a letter from a state-licensed electrical contractor certifying that the electrical service complies with current National Electrical Code requirements. The Corps says the electrical requirements themselves are not changing, and packages mailed before October 1 continue to use Exhibit C.
Because the letter must come from a state-licensed electrical contractor, the license check guide is worth a look. The Lake Lanier Operations Management Office can be reached at 770-945-9531 for permit questions. When you are ready, the form on this page lets independent local electricians contact you about dock work.