IP rating

The IP Code, International Protection Marking, IEC standard 60529, sometimes interpreted as Ingress Protection Marking, classifies and rates the degree of protection provided against intrusion (body parts such as hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water by mechanical casings and electrical enclosures. It is published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The equivalent European standard is EN 60529.

The standard aims to provide users more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as waterproof. The digits (characteristic numerals) indicate conformity with the conditions summarized in the tables below. Where there is no data available to specify a protection rating with regard to one of the criteria, the digit is replaced with the letter X. The digit 0 is used where no protection is provided.

A rating of X for one or more of the protection criteria can be erroneously misinterpreted as "no protection". To illustrate, a piece of electronic equipment rated IPX7 will almost certainly demonstrate a robust resistance to the ingress of particles, even though a rating for ingress of solids hasn't been formally assigned. Hence, an X designation shouldn't be automatically misconstrued as a lack of protection.

For example, a cellular phone rated at IP58 is "dust resistant" and can be "immersed in 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes". Similarly, an electrical socket rated IP22 is protected against insertion of fingers and will not be damaged or become unsafe during a specified test in which it is exposed to vertically or nearly vertically dripping water. IP22 or 2X are typical minimum requirements for the design of electrical accessories for indoor use.

The ratings for water ingress are not cumulative beyond IPX6. A device which is compliant with IPX7, covering immersion in water, need not be compliant with IPX5 or IPX6, covering exposure to water jets. A device which meets both tests is indicated by listing both tests separated by a slash, e.g. IPX5/IPX7.

There are no hyphens in a genuine IP code. IPX-8 (for example) is thus a false IP code.

IP codes with the letter "K" are from ISO 20653:2013 Road Vehicles-Degrees of protection (IP code), which states that it is in accordance with IEC 60529 except for the "K" tests, which describe special requirements for road vehicles. ISO 20653 has replaced DIN 40050-9. By 2013, IEC/EN 60529 was updated to include the IPX9 water ingress test. This test appears to be identical to the IP69K test from ISO 20653.

This page contains a combination of IEC 60529 (also EN 60529) and other standards, such as ISO 20653. The original documents are available for purchase, and have important and specific requirements that cannot be fully reprinted due to copyright restrictions. This often includes drawings specifying the required test equipment, such as the shape of water nozzles used for water jet testing. Additional standards are often referenced that may contain important information. It's important to refer to the latest revision of the required standard when conducting tests for agency certification.

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