The IP code or International Protection Rating (previously known as Ingress Protection Rating) consists of the letters IP followed by two digits. As defined in international standard IEC 60529, it classifies the degrees of protection provided against intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in electrical enclosures. The standard aims to provide users more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as waterproof.
The digits indicate conformity with the conditions summarised in the tables below.
| Level | First Digit Protection against ingress of solids |
Second Digit Protection against ingress of liquids |
| 0 | No protection against contact and ingress of objects. | No protection |
| 1 | Protected against solid objects over 50mm eg. hands, large tools. | Protected against vertically falling drops of water. |
| 2 | Protected against solid objects over 12mm eg. hands, large tools. | Protected against direct sprays of water up to 15 degrees from vertical. |
| 3 | Protected against solid objects over 2.5mm eg. wire, small tools. | Protected against direct sprays of water up to 60 degrees from vertical. |
| 4 | Protected against solid objects 1.0mm eg. wires. | Protected against water sprayed from any direction. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 5 | Limited protection against dust ingress (no harmful deposit). | Protected against low pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 6 | Totally protected against dust ingress. | Protected against high pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted. |
| 7 | N/A | Protected against immersion between 15cm and 1m. |
| 8 | N/A | Protected against long periods of immersion under pressure. |
Further and more detailed information on the International Protection rating system can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code. The IP code or International Protection Rating (previously known as Ingress Protection Rating) consists of the letters IP followed by two digits. As defined in international standard IEC 60529, it classifies the degrees of protection provided against intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in electrical enclosures. The standard aims to provide users more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as waterproof.
