The IP Code Decoder
Every IP rating is two digits: the first for solids/dust (0-6), the second for liquids (0-9K). This is the normalized decoder for both scales — what each level actually requires, the test conditions behind it, and what an X means when a digit is skipped (as in IPX4). It is a reference dataset, not a buying guide — pair it with a specific product's declared rating from our Reality Index.
The one thing to know: IP68's "8" has no fixed depth or duration in the standard itself — it only means deeper than 1 meter, with the manufacturer declaring the actual tested depth and time.
First digit — solids & dust (0-6)
| Digit | What it means | Test condition |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No protection | No test performed |
| 1 | Objects ≥ 50 mm (e.g. accidental hand contact) | 50 mm sphere probe must not fully penetrate |
| 2 | Objects ≥ 12.5 mm (e.g. fingers) | 12.5 mm jointed finger probe |
| 3 | Objects ≥ 2.5 mm (e.g. tools, thick wires) | 2.5 mm rod/wire probe |
| 4 | Objects ≥ 1 mm (e.g. wires, screws) | 1 mm rod/wire probe |
| 5 | Dust protected — limited ingress allowed, doesn't interfere with operation | Talcum-powder dust chamber, timed exposure, low vacuum |
| 6 | Dust tight — zero dust ingress permitted | Talcum-powder dust chamber, full vacuum, zero ingress |
Second digit — liquids (0-9K)
| Digit | What it means | Test condition |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No protection | No test performed |
| 1 | Vertically dripping water | Drip test, 1 mm/min, 10 minutes, device upright |
| 2 | Dripping water, enclosure tilted up to 15° | Same drip test at 4 tilt positions to 15° |
| 3 | Spraying water up to 60° from vertical | Spray nozzle/oscillating tube, 10 minutes |
| 4 | Splashing water from any direction | Oscillating spray, 10 minutes, all directions |
| 5 | Low-pressure water jets from any direction | 6.3 mm nozzle, 12.5 L/min at 30 kPa, 3+ minutes from ~3 m |
| 6 | Powerful water jets from any direction | 12.5 mm nozzle, 100 L/min at 100 kPa, 3+ minutes from ~3 m |
| 7 | Temporary immersion, up to 1 meter | Full immersion to 1 m depth for 30 minutes, still fresh water |
| 8 | Continuous immersion beyond 1 meter — depth/duration is MANUFACTURER-DECLARED | No fixed depth or time in the base standard; manufacturer declares and tests its own depth/duration by agreement with the test body |
| 9K | High-temperature, high-pressure jets / steam-cleaning washdown | ISO 20653 / DIN 40050-9 protocol — 80°C water at 8–10 MPa from close range; separate standard, not implied by IP68 |
What does the X mean in IPX4?
X marks a digit that was not tested or is not being claimed for that product. IPX4 claims only the second digit (liquids, level 4 — splashing from any direction); the manufacturer isn't making any claim about the first digit (dust/solids) at all. It does not mean "zero protection" — it means "not rated."
Caveats — read before citing a digit
- IP68's depth/duration is manufacturer-declared, not fixed. The standard only requires "deeper than 1 meter" — always check the specific product's declared figures, which we aggregate in the IP Rating Reality Index.
- Digits are mostly but not perfectly cumulative. Jet tests (digit 6) and immersion tests (digits 7/8) use separate procedures — a jet-rated product isn't automatically immersion-rated, and vice versa.
- IPX9K is a different protocol (ISO 20653/DIN 40050-9, high-temp/high-pressure washdown) and is not implied by any IP67/IP68 rating.
- Fresh water is the default test medium for the second-digit tests; salt water and chlorinated pool water are not part of the standard test and typically void coverage.
- This table describes the standard's test protocol, not a durability or safety guarantee for any specific product — see our degradation explainer.
License: CC BY 4.0 — free to use with attribution
The IP Code Decoder is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Reuse, redistribute, and build on it for any purpose, including commercial use, with credit to IP68 Decoded.
How to cite
IP68 Decoded. "IP Code Decoder," version 1.0, published July 30, 2026. Available at https://ip68-decoded.pages.dev/ip-code-decoder/. CC BY 4.0.
Methodology & versioning
Version 1.0 — published July 30, 2026. Digit definitions and test conditions are drawn from public summaries of the IEC 60529 standard as published by accredited testing labs and standards bodies, cross-checked across multiple independent technical references. We do not perform ingress testing ourselves. Corrections: if a definition needs a fix, this page and both CSVs are updated in place and the version/date bumped — see How We Evaluate.
Machine-readable download: current table at /ip-code-decoder.csv, version-pinned copy at /ip-code-decoder-v1.0.csv, condensed digest in /llms-full.txt.
Frequently Asked Questions
A normalized reference table for every IEC 60529 IP-code digit: the first digit (0-6, solid-object/dust protection) and second digit (0-9K, liquid protection), what each level actually requires, and the test conditions behind it. It exists because most 'IP rating explained' articles summarize loosely instead of citing the actual test protocol.
X means that digit was not tested or is not being claimed. IPX4 means the first digit (solids/dust) was not tested or rated — only the second digit (liquids, level 4: splashing from any direction) is being claimed. It does NOT mean zero dust protection; it means dust protection simply was not part of the test or the claim.
No. IEC 60529 only requires that the '8' digit mean deeper than 1 meter — the exact depth and duration is manufacturer-declared, tested by agreement between the manufacturer and the testing body. That is why one IP68 phone can be declared for 1.5 meters/30 minutes and another for 6 meters/30 minutes. See our per-product numbers in the IP Rating Reality Index.
Mostly, but not perfectly. Digits 1-6 are cumulative (a device tested to level 4 splash resistance generally also passes level 1-3 tests). But digit 6 (powerful jets) and digits 7/8 (immersion) use different test procedures — a device can be rated for jets (IPX6) without any immersion rating, and vice versa, so IPX6 does not automatically imply IPX7 or IPX8.
No. IPX9K covers high-temperature, high-pressure jet washdowns (like steam-cleaning equipment), tested under ISO 20653/DIN 40050-9 — a completely different protocol from the immersion test behind IP67/IP68. A device rated IP68 is not automatically rated IPX9K, and vice versa.