Enter an IP code to see what each numeral and letter means under IEC 60529, and what the rating does not cover.
IP65
Dust-tight, water jets
Check the values to see a result.
IP + first numeral (solids, 0 to 6) + second numeral (water, 0 to 9) + optional lettersX marks a numeral not tested
IP65 is dust-tight and protected against water jets.
Tip: IP67 does not mean jet-proof. For wash-down areas, look for IP66 or a dual code such as IP66/IP67.
An IP code rates an enclosure against solids and water under the tests in IEC 60529. The first numeral, 0 to 6, covers solid objects and dust. The second, 0 to 9, covers water. IP67 is dust-tight (6) and survives temporary immersion (7).
An X replaces a numeral that was not tested. IPX4 passed the splash test and says nothing about dust. Read an X as no rating, not as a pass.
IP 0 to 6
1 to 4 are graded by the smallest object kept out: 50 mm (the back of a hand), 12.5 mm (a finger), 2.5 mm (a tool) and 1 mm (a wire). 5 is dust-protected: some dust can enter, but not enough to stop the equipment working. 6 is dust-tight.
IP 0 to 9
1 to 4 cover dripping, spraying and splashing water. 5 is a jet from a 6.3 mm nozzle at 12.5 l/min, and 6 is a jet from a 12.5 mm nozzle at 100 l/min, both from 2.5 to 3 m for at least 3 minutes. 7 is 30 minutes under water, with the lowest point 1 m down or the top 0.15 m down, whichever is deeper. 8 is continuous immersion under conditions the manufacturer states, which must be more severe than 7. 9, added in 2013, is 80 °C water at 8 to 10 MPa from 0.10 to 0.15 m.
IP 2 0 B, IP 6 8 M
An additional letter A to D after the numerals says what cannot reach hazardous parts: the back of a hand, a finger, a tool or a wire. A supplementary letter adds H for high-voltage apparatus, M or S for water tests with moving parts in motion or stationary, and W for specified weather conditions.
Water ratings up to 6 include the ones below. An IP66 enclosure also meets IPX5 and IPX4. Ratings 7, 8 and 9 include nothing below them. Still water 1 m deep presses on a seal at about 10 kPa. The IPX6 jet leaves its nozzle at about 14 m/s and can strike from below, straight into a lid joint. A box can pass one test and fail the other. A product that passes both carries both codes, such as IP66/IP67.
The test is done on a new enclosure at room temperature. It does not cover breathing. Air sealed in a box that cools from 20 °C to −20 °C falls to about 86% of its starting pressure, a pull of about 14 kPa. That is more than the 1 m head of the IPX7 test. Each cycle draws damp air in past the weakest gland seal, and the water condenses inside with no way out. Outdoors and in cold stores, put cable entries on the underside, give each cable a drip loop, and fit a pressure-equalising membrane vent where the enclosure takes one.
A sensor or junction box in a meter pit can sit in standing water after heavy rain. IP67 covers that case: dust-tight, immersion to 1 m, for 30 minutes in the test. It has no jet rating. If the pit is also hosed out, specify IP66/IP67.
IP67 Dust-tight, immersion to 1 m Open in the calculator
A panel beside a production line that is hosed down each shift needs a jet rating, not an immersion rating. IP65 is dust-tight, water jets: it passed the 6.3 mm nozzle at 12.5 l/min. A pressure washer at 100 bar (10 MPa) is the IPX9 test, not the IPX5 test. Where the line is cleaned with hot water at high pressure, specify IPX9.
IP65 Dust-tight, water jets Open in the calculator
The two water numerals were tested separately, so the code reads as water jets, immersion to 1 m. Without the IPX5 half, the IPX7 half would say nothing about jets. The X means dust was not tested. For a device on a dusty plant floor, ask the manufacturer for a first numeral.
IPX5/IPX7 Water jets, immersion to 1 m Open in the calculator
Protection against solid objects and dust, from IEC 60529.
| First numeral | Protected against |
|---|---|
| 0 | Not protected against solid objects |
| 1 | Solid objects of 50 mm and more; the back of a hand cannot reach hazardous parts |
| 2 | Solid objects of 12.5 mm and more; a finger cannot reach hazardous parts |
| 3 | Solid objects of 2.5 mm and more, such as a tool |
| 4 | Solid objects of 1 mm and more, such as a wire |
| 5 | Dust may enter, but not enough to interfere with operation or safety |
| 6 | No dust enters |
Protection against water, from IEC 60529. Up to 6, each rating includes the ones below it; 7, 8 and 9 do not include 5 and 6.
| Second numeral | Protected against |
|---|---|
| 0 | Not protected against water |
| 1 | Water dripping vertically |
| 2 | Water dripping vertically with the enclosure tilted up to 15° |
| 3 | Water sprayed at up to 60° from vertical |
| 4 | Water splashed from any direction |
| 5 | Water jets from any direction, 6.3 mm nozzle |
| 6 | Powerful water jets from any direction, 12.5 mm nozzle |
| 7 | Temporary immersion, 1 m for 30 minutes in the standard test |
| 8 | Continuous immersion, under conditions agreed with the manufacturer and more severe than 7 |
| 9 | Close-range, high-pressure, high-temperature water jets (added in 2013) |
Both are dust-tight. IP67 is a fixed test: 1 m for 30 minutes. IP68 has no fixed depth or time. The manufacturer states them, and they must be more severe than IP67. An IP68 claim without a depth and a time tells you little, so read both from the datasheet.
For immersion, yes. For water jets, not necessarily: IP65 was tested with jets and IP67 was not, unless the product carries both codes. Choose by the water the enclosure will actually meet.
No. NEMA 250 enclosure types, used in North America, also cover corrosion, ice and oil. A NEMA type can be matched to a minimum IP code. An IP code cannot be converted to a NEMA type, because the IP tests leave those hazards out.
The K comes from DIN 40050-9, now ISO 20653, a road-vehicle standard. It is not part of IEC 60529. It is a wash-down test with hot water at high pressure, common in food processing. In 2013 IEC 60529 added its own numeral 9 for a similar test: 80 °C water at 8 to 10 MPa and 14 to 16 l/min, from 0.10 to 0.15 m.
The rating holds only with the parts it was tested with. Fit glands rated at least as high as the enclosure, put a sealed plug in every unused entry, and close the covers fully. Choose each gland by the measured sheath diameter of its cable. A 6.5 mm cable fits an M20 gland that clamps 6 to 13 mm, but at the bottom of the range, where the seal grips least. An M16 gland that clamps 4 to 10 mm holds the same cable near the middle of its range. Put one round cable in each single-hole gland. A flat or twin cable leaves a gap that a round seal cannot close.
The ZEM energy monitor and the TES temperature sensor both have IP67 enclosures. The ZEM is double insulated and rated from −30 °C to 60 °C, so it can mount outside a panel. The TES operates from −30 °C to 55 °C, and its probes are IP68, so a probe can stay wet through the defrost cycles of a cold store.
