Ingress Protection
The IP Rating is an abbreviation of Ingress Protection Rating or sometimes referred to as International Protection Rating. It is defined in the international standards IEC 60529 and lists the different levels of protection against solid objects, dust, unintentional contact and water in components such as electrical light fittings.
IP Ratings are described with the letters IP followed by two numerical digits. The digits are explained in the tables below. When no protection rating is awarded, the digit is replaced with the letter X.
| IP Indication | Solid Particle Protection | Liquid Particle Protection | Mechanical impact resistance | Other Protections |
| IP | Single Digit: 0-6 | Single Digit: 0-8 | Single Digit: 0-9 | Single Letter |
| Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory | No longer used | Non-compulsory |
Solid Particle Protection – First digit
| Digit | Object size | Protection against |
| 0 | — | No protection against contact and ingress of objects |
| 1 | >50 mm | Any large surfaced body part, such as the whole hand but no protection against intentional contact with a body part such as a finger |
| 2 | >12.5 mm | Small body parts such as fingers or similarly small objects |
| 3 | >2.5 mm | Tools, thick wires or cables, etc. |
| 4 | >1 mm | Most wires, screws and some nails, etc. |
| 5 | Dust protected | Entry of dust is not entirely protected; complete protection against contact |
| 6 | Dust proof | No entry of dust; complete protection against contact |
Liquid Particle Protection – Second Digit
| Digit | Protection against | Tested for | Details |
| 0 | No protection | — | — |
| 1 | Dripping water | Vertically dripping water drops shall have no harmful effects | Test period: 10 minutes Water drops equal 1mm of rainfall per minute |
| 2 | Dripping water at 15° angle | Dripping water from above shall have no harmful effect when the component is angled at 15° from its normal position | Test period: 10 minutes Water drops equal 3mm of rainfall per minute |
| 3 | Water spray | Water spraying at an angle of up to 60° from above shall have no harmful effects | Test period: 5 minutes Water sprays at rate of 0.7 litres per minute Pressure: 80–100 kN/m² |
| 4 | Water Splash | Splashes of water against component from any angle shall have no harmful effects | Test period: 5 minutes Water splashes at 10 litres per minute Pressure: 80–100 kN/m² |
| 5 | Water ejections | Water ejected by a 6.3mm nozzle head against component from any angle shall have no harmful effects | Test period: 3 minutes or more Water ejected at 12.5 litres per minute |
| 6 | Strong water ejections | Water ejected from a 12.5mm nozzle head against the component from any angle shall have no harmful effects | Test period: 3 minutes or more Water ejected at 100 litres per minute Pressure: 100 kN/m² from 3m |
| 7 | Submerged up to 1 m | Entry of water will not harm the component when submerged in water | Test period : 30 minutes Depth of submersion 1m |
| 8 | Submersion beyond 1 m | The component is suitable for underwater submersion by conditions set by the manufacturer. The equipment is usually hermetically sealed. It may also be interpreted that water could enter but has no harmful effects on the component. | Test period: continuous underwater submersion Manufacturer specifies conditions such as depth |