How to Wire a Switched Outlet: Half-Hot Receptacle Step-by-Step

The Direct Answer & Terminal Wiring Matrix

To wire a standard half-hot switched outlet (where the top receptacle is always on and the bottom is controlled by a wall switch), you must run a 3-wire cable (Black, Red, White, Bare) from the switch box to the receptacle box. The critical step is breaking the brass connecting tab on the hot side of the duplex receptacle to isolate the two halves. The black wire carries the constant 120V hot, while the red wire carries the switched 120V hot.

Before stripping any wires, review the terminal mapping below. This matrix assumes the most common and code-compliant topology: power enters the switch box first, and a single 3-wire cable drops down to the receptacle.

Table 1: Half-Hot Receptacle Terminal & Wire Color Matrix

Wire Color / Insulation	Termination Point 1 (Switch Box)	Termination Point 2 (Receptacle)	Function & NEC Role
Black (14/3 or 12/3 NM-B)	Pigtail to Line Hot & Switch Common (Brass)	Top Brass Screw (Always-Hot Half)	Constant unswitched 120V feed
Red (14/3 or 12/3 NM-B)	Switch Load Terminal (Brass)	Bottom Brass Screw (Switched Half)	Switched 120V return from switch
White (14/3 or 12/3 NM-B)	Pigtail to Line Neutral (Silver/Wire Nut)	Silver Screws (Both tied together)	Shared neutral return path
Bare Copper (Ground)	Pigtail to Box Ground & Switch Green Screw	Green Ground Screw & Metal Box	Equipment grounding conductor

Tools, Materials, and Device Ratings

Matching your wire gauge to your breaker size is non-negotiable. A 15-amp circuit requires 14 AWG copper minimum; a 20-amp circuit requires 12 AWG copper. Never put 14 AWG wire on a 20-amp breaker.

Materials List

• Cable: Southwire or Cerro 14/3 NM-B (for 15A circuits) or 12/3 NM-B (for 20A circuits). The "/3" indicates three current-carrying conductors plus a ground.
• Receptacle: Leviton T5262 (15A Tamper-Resistant) or Leviton T5266 (20A Tamper-Resistant). Note: NEC 406.12 requires tamper-resistant receptacles in all dwelling unit living areas.
• Switch: Leviton 5601 (15A) or 5603 (20A) Single-Pole AC Quiet Switch.
• Wire Nuts: Ideal Industries Wing-Nuts (Yellow for 3x 14AWG, Red for 3x 12AWG).

Tool List

• Klein Tools 11063 Katapult Wire Strippers (10-14 AWG)
• Fluke 117 True-RMS Multimeter or Klein NCVT-3 Non-Contact Voltage Tester
• Knipex Needle-Nose Pliers (for breaking the brass tab)
• Wiha VDE Insulated Screwdriver Set

Mains Safety Protocol (Non-Negotiable)

Step-by-Step: Wiring the Half-Hot Switched Outlet

This procedure assumes power (Line and Neutral) enters the switch box, and you are running a new 14/3 NM-B cable from the switch box to the receptacle box.

1. Run and Prep the 3-Wire Cable: Route the 14/3 NM-B through the framing. Leave 8 inches of slack past the box edge. Strip back 3/4 inch of insulation from the individual black, red, and white wires, and 3/4 inch from the bare copper ground.
2. Break the Brass Tab (The Critical Step): Take your Leviton duplex receptacle and locate the small brass fin connecting the two brass screws on the hot side. Grip the tab with your needle-nose pliers and bend it back and forth until it snaps off. Do NOT break the silver tab on the neutral side; the neutral must remain shared across both halves.
3. Terminate the Receptacle Ground: Form a J-hook in the bare copper wire and attach it to the Green ground screw on the receptacle. If using a metal box, you must also pigtail a second ground wire from the metal box's grounding clip to this same wire nut connection.
4. Terminate the Receptacle Neutral: Attach the White wire to one of the Silver screws. (Because the silver tab is intact, connecting to either silver screw energizes the neutral for both the top and bottom receptacles).
5. Terminate the Receptacle Hots: Attach the Black wire to the top Brass screw (this will be your always-hot half). Attach the Red wire to the bottom Brass screw (this will be your switched half). Ensure no bare copper is exposed outside the terminal saddle.
6. Wire the Switch Box Grounds: Connect all bare ground wires (Line ground, 14/3 ground, and switch pigtail) together with a wire nut. Attach the pigtail to the Green ground screw on the single-pole switch.
7. Wire the Switch Box Neutrals: Connect the Line White wire and the 14/3 White wire together with a wire nut. The switch itself does not get a neutral connection in a standard single-pole setup; the neutral simply passes through to the receptacle.
8. Wire the Switch Hots: Connect the Line Black wire to one of the switch's Brass terminals (using a pigtail if the Line black needs to feed other devices). Connect the Red wire of the 14/3 cable to the other Brass terminal on the switch. (Standard single-pole switches are not polarity-sensitive, so either brass screw works for Line vs. Load).
9. Fold and Secure: Carefully fold the wires into the back of the boxes. Push the grounds back first, then neutrals, then hots. Mount the devices using the provided 6-32 machine screws, ensuring the yoke sits flush against the drywall or plaster ring.

Verify and Test: Meter Readings & The Most Common Botch

Before plugging in a $2,000 OLED TV or a expensive floor lamp, you must verify the circuit behavior with a multimeter.

Expected Multimeter Readings

Set your Fluke or Klein multimeter to AC Voltage (V~). Insert the black probe into the neutral (long) slot and the red probe into the hot (short) slot of the receptacle.

• Top Receptacle (Always Hot): Should read 114V to 126V regardless of the wall switch position.
• Bottom Receptacle (Switched) - Switch OFF: Should read 0.0V to 0.5V (ghost voltage is normal on digital meters).
• Bottom Receptacle (Switched) - Switch ON: Should immediately jump to 114V to 126V.

The Most Common Botch: Forgetting to Break the Tab

The Symptom: You flip the wall switch, but the lamp plugged into the bottom receptacle stays on all the time. Alternatively, if you wired the hot feed directly to the receptacle and used the switch to break the neutral (a severe NEC violation), the lamp might turn off, but the receptacle blades remain lethally energized.

The Cause: The brass connecting tab on the hot side of the receptacle was left intact. This tab bridges the top and bottom brass screws. If it remains in place, the constant 120V from the black wire flows across the tab to the bottom brass screw, completely bypassing the red switched wire. The switch will click, but it is doing absolutely nothing to the receptacle.

The Fix: Turn off the breaker, pull the receptacle out, and verify the brass tab is physically separated. According to Electrical101's wiring standards, visual confirmation of the broken fin is mandatory before pushing the device back into the box.

Half-Hot vs. Fully Switched: Which Do You Need?

While the half-hot (split-wired) receptacle is the standard for living rooms and bedrooms to satisfy NEC Article 210.70 lighting requirements without installing overhead can lights, some applications demand a fully switched outlet.

Table 2: Application Comparison Matrix

Feature	Half-Hot (Split Receptacle)	Fully Switched Receptacle
Primary Use Case	Living room lamps, bedroom nightstands	Garbage disposals, shop tools, holiday lighting
Cable Required	3-Wire (14/3 or 12/3 NM-B)	2-Wire (14/2 or 12/2 NM-B)
Receptacle Prep	Break brass tab ONLY	No tabs broken; standard wiring
Switch Type	Single-Pole (controls red wire only)	Single-Pole (breaks the black hot wire entirely)
Code Compliance Note	Counts as a switched lighting outlet per NEC 210.70(A)(1)	Does NOT satisfy dwelling unit lighting requirements unless specifically designated

If you are wiring a kitchen garbage disposal, you do not need 3-wire cable. You simply run a standard 2-wire cable, break no tabs on the receptacle, and wire the switch exactly like a standard light fixture, interrupting the black hot wire. Always match your wiring topology to the specific mechanical and safety demands of the load you are controlling.