IP Rating Decoded — IEC 60529 Ingress Protection Codes

Reference manual hosted for technician access. 3 pages.

Brand

cBallast

Equipment

Enclosure, sensor, cable gland, luminaire

Document type

Reference

Revision

IEC 60529 : 2013 / IEC 60529 AMD1 : 2018

Issued

2026-07-14

Pages

Format

PDF (application/pdf)

Decodes the two-digit IP (Ingress Protection) rating per IEC 60529: first digit identifies solid-body / dust ingress protection (0 to 6), second digit identifies water ingress (0 to 9K). Includes the IK impact-resistance code (IK00 to IK10) and the industry-specific NEMA Type equivalents used in North America. Written for specifying enclosures, cable glands, luminaires, sensors and switchgear in industrial and marine service.

IP code structure

An IP code is written as IP followed by two digits. The first digit describes protection against solid objects and dust ingress; the second describes protection against water ingress. A hyphen and additional letters may follow to describe supplementary protection (e.g. IP54M means IP54 with a motion-testing exception). A digit shown as X means the property is untested.

First digit — solid ingress

Digit	Test criterion	Protection
0	—	No protection
1	50 mm sphere	Back of hand
2	12.5 mm sphere	Fingers
3	2.5 mm rod	Tools, thick wires
4	1.0 mm wire	Most wires, small screws
5	Dust protected	Limited dust ingress permitted
6	Dust tight	No dust ingress

Digit

Test criterion

Protection

—

No protection

50 mm sphere

Back of hand

12.5 mm sphere

Fingers

2.5 mm rod

Tools, thick wires

1.0 mm wire

Most wires, small screws

Dust protected

Limited dust ingress permitted

Dust tight

No dust ingress

Second digit — water ingress

Digit	Test	Protection
0	—	No protection
1	Vertical drip 1 mm/min for 10 min	Dripping water
2	Drip 3 mm/min at 15° tilt for 10 min	Dripping water when tilted 15°
3	Spray at 60° from vertical, 10 min	Spraying water
4	Splash from any direction, 10 min	Splashing water
5	6.3 mm jet from any direction, 15 min	Water jets
6	12.5 mm jet from any direction, 3 min	Powerful water jets
7	Immersion 1 m depth for 30 min	Temporary immersion
8	Immersion at manufacturer-declared depth & duration	Continuous immersion
9K	80 °C, 8-10 MPa, 14-16 L/min, 0.1-0.15 m, 4 × 30 s per angle	High-pressure high-temperature washdown

Digit

Test

Protection

—

No protection

Vertical drip 1 mm/min for 10 min

Dripping water

Drip 3 mm/min at 15° tilt for 10 min

Dripping water when tilted 15°

Spray at 60° from vertical, 10 min

Spraying water

Splash from any direction, 10 min

Splashing water

6.3 mm jet from any direction, 15 min

Water jets

12.5 mm jet from any direction, 3 min

Powerful water jets

Immersion 1 m depth for 30 min

Temporary immersion

Immersion at manufacturer-declared depth & duration

Continuous immersion

80 °C, 8-10 MPa, 14-16 L/min, 0.1-0.15 m, 4 × 30 s per angle

High-pressure high-temperature washdown

Common IP codes and their applications

Code	Application
IP20	General indoor electronics housing (limited finger protection, no water rating)
IP44	Residential outdoor luminaire, wall-mounted socket outlet with cover
IP54	Standard outdoor industrial enclosure, HVAC control panel
IP55	Motor terminal box, outdoor pushbutton station
IP65	Sealed sensor, LED floodlight, outdoor CCTV camera
IP66	Marine deck enclosure, offshore control panel
IP67	Vehicle-mounted equipment, occasional submersion tolerance
IP68	Submerged sensor, submersible pump, buried weighbridge load cell
IP69K	Food-processing, pharma, dairy — high-pressure high-temperature washdown

Code

Application

IP20

General indoor electronics housing (limited finger protection, no water rating)

IP44

Residential outdoor luminaire, wall-mounted socket outlet with cover

IP54

Standard outdoor industrial enclosure, HVAC control panel

IP55

Motor terminal box, outdoor pushbutton station

IP65

Sealed sensor, LED floodlight, outdoor CCTV camera

IP66

Marine deck enclosure, offshore control panel

IP67

Vehicle-mounted equipment, occasional submersion tolerance

IP68

Submerged sensor, submersible pump, buried weighbridge load cell

IP69K

Food-processing, pharma, dairy — high-pressure high-temperature washdown

IK impact rating (EN 62262)

IK code	Impact energy	Test
IK00	None	Not tested
IK04	0.5 J	200 g mass, 25 cm drop
IK07	2 J	500 g mass, 40 cm drop
IK08	5 J	1.7 kg mass, 30 cm drop
IK09	10 J	5 kg mass, 20 cm drop
IK10	20 J	5 kg mass, 40 cm drop

IK code

Impact energy

Test

IK00

None

Not tested

IK04

0.5 J

200 g mass, 25 cm drop

IK07

2 J

500 g mass, 40 cm drop

IK08

5 J

1.7 kg mass, 30 cm drop

IK09

10 J

5 kg mass, 20 cm drop

IK10

20 J

5 kg mass, 40 cm drop

NEMA Type approximate equivalents

NEMA	Approx IP	Additional protection over IP
1	IP20	None
2	IP22	Dripping non-corrosive liquid
3	IP54	Rain, snow, sleet, external ice formation
3R	IP24	Rain, sleet, external ice
4	IP66	Hose-directed water, ice
4X	IP66	4 + corrosion resistance
6	IP67	Temporary submersion
6P	IP68	Prolonged submersion
12	IP52 / IP54	Dust, dripping non-corrosive liquid
13	IP54	Oil, dust

NEMA

Approx IP

Additional protection over IP

IP20

None

IP22

Dripping non-corrosive liquid

IP54

Rain, snow, sleet, external ice formation

IP24

Rain, sleet, external ice

IP66

Hose-directed water, ice

IP66

4 + corrosion resistance

IP67

Temporary submersion

IP68

Prolonged submersion

IP52 / IP54

Dust, dripping non-corrosive liquid

IP54

Oil, dust

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Document provided as a reference for technicians servicing installed equipment. Trademarks and copyright remain the property of cBallast. Consult cBallast or your service representative for the current revision before performing any maintenance or warranty work.