IP Code

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Not to be confused with IP address.

The IP Code (or International Protection Rating[1], sometimes also interpreted as Ingress
Protection Rating) consists of the letters IP followed by two digits and an optional letter. As
defined in international standard IEC 60529, it classifies the degrees of protection provided
against the intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust,
accidental contact, and water in electrical enclosures.[2] The standard aims to provide users more
detailed information than vague marketing terms such as "waterproof".

Also known as index protection,

The digits ('characteristic numerals') indicate conformity with the conditions summarized in the
tables below. Where there is no protection rating with regard to one of the criteria, the digit is
replaced with the letter X.

For example, 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 IP2X are typical minimum requirements for the design
of electrical accessories for indoor use.

First digit

The first digit indicates the level of protection that the enclosure provides against access to
hazardous parts (e.g., electrical conductors, moving parts) and the ingress of solid foreign
objects.

Object size
L
protected Effective against
evel
against

0 — No protection against contact and ingress of objects

Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but
1 >50 mm
no protection against deliberate contact with a body part

2 >12.5 mm Fingers or similar objects

3 >2.5 mm Tools, thick wires, etc.
4 >1 mm Most wires, screws, etc.
 Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in
5 dust protected sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the
equipment; complete protection against contact
6 dust tight No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact

Second digit

Protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful ingress of water.

L Protected
Details
evel against

0 not protected —

1 dripping water Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmful effect.

dripping water
2 when tilted up Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure
to 15° is tilted at an angle up to 15° from its normal position.

3 spraying water Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have
no harmful effect.
splashing
4 Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no
water harmful effect.
5 water jets Water projected by a nozzle against enclosure from any direction shall
have no harmful effects.
powerful water
6 Water projected in powerful jets against the enclosure from any direction
jets shall have no harmful effects.
immersion up Ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the
7
to 1 m enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and
time (up to 1 m of submersion).
The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under
immersion conditions which shall be specified by the manufacturer.
8
beyond 1 m NOTE: Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically
sealed. However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water
can enter but only in such a manner that produces no harmful effects.

Additional letters

The standard defines additional letters that can be appended to classify only the level of
protection against access to hazardous parts by persons:
 L Protected against access to
evel hazardous parts with

A back of hand

B finger

C tool

D wire

Further letters can be appended to provide additional information related to the protection of the
device:

Lett
Meaning
er

H high voltage device

device moving during water

M
test

device standing still during

S
water test

W weather conditions

[edit] Mechanical impact resistance

An additional number has sometimes been used to specify the resistance of equipment to
mechanical impact. This has now been superseded by the separate IK number specified in EN
50102.

Although dropped from the 3rd edition of IEC 60529 onwards, and not present in the EN
version, older enclosure specifications will sometimes be seen with an optional third IP digit
denoting impact resistance. Newer products are likely to be given an IK rating instead. However
there is not an exact correspondance of values between the old and new standards.

OLD IP Impact Equivalent drop mass

Level energy and height

0 — —

1 0.225 J 150 g dropped from 15 cm

2 0.375 J 250 g dropped from 15 cm
3 0.5 J 250 g dropped from 20 cm
5 2J 500 g dropped from 40 cm
7 6J 1.5 kg dropped from 40 cm
9 20.0 J 5.0 kg dropped from 40 cm
IK Impact
numb energy Equivalent impact
er (joules)

unprotect
00 no test
ed

drop of 200 gram object from 7.5

01 0.150
cm height

drop of 200 gram object from 10 cm

02 0.200
height

drop of 200 gram object from 17.5

03 0.350
cm height

drop of 200 gram object from 25 cm

04 0.500
height

drop of 200 gram object from 35 cm

05 0.700
height

drop of 500 gram object from 20 cm

06 1.00
height

drop of 500 gram object from 40 cm

07 2.00
height

drop of 1.7 kg object from 29.5 cm

08 5.00
height

drop of 5 kg object from 20 cm

09 10.0
height

drop of 5 kg object from 40 cm

10 20.0
height
[edit] IP69K

German standard DIN 40050-9 extends the IEC 60529 rating system described above with an
IP69K rating for high-pressure, high-temperature wash-down applications.[3] Such enclosures
must not only be dust tight (IP6X), but also able to withstand high-pressure and steam cleaning.
The test specifies a spray nozzle that is fed with 80°C water at 8–10 MPa (80–100 bar) and a
flow rate of 14–16 L/min. The nozzle is held 10–15 cm from the tested device at angles of 0°,
30°, 60° and 90° for 30 s each. The test device sits on a turntable that rotates once every 12 s (5
rpm).

The IP69K test specification was initially developed for road vehicles, especially those that need
regular intensive cleaning (dump trucks, cement mixers, etc), but also finds use in other areas
(e.g., food industry)....

[edit] NEMA Rating

NEMA enclosure ratings have equivalent IP ingress protection ratings as follows. NEMA
enclosure standards also dictate other product features not addressed by IP codes (such as
submersibility, operation under icing conditions, and others). [4]

NEMA IP
Enclosure Code

4, 4X IP66

12 IP52

13 IP54

North American enclosure rating systems are defined in NEMA 250, UL 50, UL 508, and CSA
C22.2 No. 94.