What do the two digits in an IP rating mean?

The first digit (0–6) rates protection against solid objects and dust, where 6 means fully dust-tight. The second digit (0–9K) rates protection against water, from dripping up to high-pressure jets and immersion.

What does the X mean in IPX7?

X is a placeholder meaning that characteristic was not rated. IPX7 means the device was tested for water (immersion to 1 m) but its dust protection was not specified or claimed.

Is IP67 better than IP68?

For water, IP68 is higher: it covers continuous immersion beyond 1 m at a depth the manufacturer specifies, whereas IP67 covers temporary immersion to 1 m for 30 minutes. Both share the maximum dust rating of 6.

What is the difference between IP69 and IP69K?

They describe the same test: protection against close-range high-temperature, high-pressure water jets. IP69K is the original German DIN 40050-9 designation; recent IEC 60529 editions adopted it as level 9.

Does this lookup work offline?

Yes. The full IEC 60529 digit tables are built into the page and decoding runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

IP (Ingress Protection) Rating Lookup

Email me this result

Get this tool's output sent to your inbox, plus one useful tool a week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

What an IP rating tells you

An IP (Ingress Protection) code from IEC 60529 rates how well an enclosure keeps out solids and liquids. It is written as the letters IP followed by two characteristic digits, for example IP67. The first digit covers solid particles and dust; the second covers water.

How it works

The two digits are independent scales. The first digit runs 0–6: 0 is no protection and 6 is fully dust-tight. The second digit runs 0–9 (with 9/9K for high-pressure hot jets): 0 is none, 7 is temporary immersion to 1 m, and 8 is continuous immersion at a stated depth. Either position can be replaced by X when that property was not tested — IPX8 rates water only.

This lookup splits the code, validates each digit, and prints the matching IEC 60529 description for both.

Tips and example

IP54 means dust-protected (limited ingress, no harmful deposit) and protected against splashing water from any direction — a common rating for outdoor light fittings. IP68 is the highest common consumer rating: dust-tight and safe for continuous immersion. Remember the water scale is not strictly cumulative — a device rated IP67 is not guaranteed against pressure jets (level 6) unless it also claims that.