IP Code, Ingress Protection Rating

The IP Code, Ingress Protection Rating^, sometimes also interpreted as International Protection Rating, classifies and rates the degree 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.
For example, an electrical socket rated IP22 is protected against insertion of fingers and will not be damaged or become unsafe during a specified test in which it is exposed to vertically or nearly vertically dripping water. IP22 or 2X are typical minimum requirements for the design of electrical accessories for indoor use.

Solid particle protection

The 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.

Level	Object size protected against	Effective against
0	—	No protection against contact and ingress of objects
1	>50 mm	Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part
2	>12.5 mm	Fingers or similar objects
3	>2.5 mm	Tools, thick wires, etc.
4	>1 mm	Most wires, screws, etc.
5	Dust protected	Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact
6	Dust tight	No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact

Liquid ingress protection

The second digit indicates the level of protection that the enclosure provides against harmful ingress of water.

Level	Protected against	Testing for	Details
0	Not protected	—	—
1	Dripping water	Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmful effect.	Test duration: 10 minutes Water equivalent to 1 mm rainfall per minute
2	Dripping water when tilted up to 15	Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle up to 15 from its normal position.	Test duration: 10 minutes Water equivalent to 3 mm rainfall per minute
3	Spraying water	Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60 from the vertical shall have no harmful effect.	Test duration: 5 minutes Water volume: 0.7 litres per minute Pressure: 80–100 kPa
4	Splashing water	Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect.	Test duration: 5 minutes Water volume: 10 litres per minute Pressure: 80–100 kPa
5	Water jets	Water projected by a nozzle (6.3 mm) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.	Test duration: at least 3 minutes Water volume: 12.5 litres per minute Pressure: 30 kPa at distance of 3 m
6	Powerful water jets	Water projected in powerful jets (12.5 mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.	Test duration: at least 3 minutes Water volume: 100 litres per minute Pressure: 100 kPa at distance of 3 m
7	Immersion up to 1 m	Ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1 m of submersion).	Test duration: 30 minutes Immersion at depth of at least 1 m measured at bottom of device, and at least 15 cm measured at top of device
8	Immersion beyond 1 m	The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions which shall be specified by the manufacturer. Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically sealed. However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a manner that it produces no harmful effects.	Test duration: continuous immersion in water Depth specified by manufacturer