The current design of plates in tension due to the limit state in tensile rupture according to the requirements outlined in ANSI/AISC 360 (2016) establishes that the effective net area value (Ae), must be the net area value (An), but did not be greater than 0.85 of the gross area (Ag) of the element. The research aim was to evaluate the experimental behavior of the effective net area of failure concerning 0.85Ag of steel plates subjected to tension load conduct to reliable or unsafe design. Thirty-five specimens of A36 steel with different arrangement of holes were tensile tested. Five different plates thicknesses were considered from 3.1 mm (1/8”) up to 9.5 mm (3/8”). The behavior of the effective net area of failure is discussed in term of the slenderness ratio of steel plate, the effective net area of design and analyzed based on current design specifications. The results showed that the effective net area of failure of the undrilled specimens presented a slight tendency to increase with increasing slenderness ratio. In the specimens with two rows of holes and staggered holes this tendency decreased. Whereas for the specimens with one rows of holes the effective net area of failure did not present a clear behavior with respect to slenderness ratio. Moreover, the undrilled specimens of this study developed an effective net area of failure greater than the effective net area of design, satisfying the design specifications. But in the specimens with holes the effective net area of design was greater, generating unreliable designs. In other words, the 0.85Ag value was found adequate for the specimens without holes. Nevertheless, this value was high for the specimens with holes in this experimental research.