Marine Dictionary & Glossary of Boating Terms

IP Rating

Similar Terms: IP5,IP4,IP54,IP56,IPX65,IP6,IP67,IP68,IP7,Ingress Protection Rating,Ingress Protection Code,International Protection Rating,IPX0,IPX1,IPX2,IPX3,IPX4,IPX5,IPX5/6,IPX6,IPX7,IPX8

Ingress Protection (IP) Rating or International Protection Rating, consists of the letters IP followed by two digits or one digit and one letter and an optional letter, as defined in international standard IEC 60529. The IP Code classifies and rates the degrees of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in mechanical casings and with electrical enclosures. The standard aims to provide users more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as waterproof or splashproof. However, no edition of the standard is openly published for unlicensed readers, hence leaving space for varying interpretation.

The code is comprised of 4 digits; IP followed by the numerical value for protection against solid particle ingress, followed by the numerical value for protection against liquid ingress. Where there is no protection rating with regard to one of the criteria, the digit is replaced with the letter X.

Solids - First Digit  (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.

Liquids - Second Digit