IP rating calculator — ingress protection explained

Decode what an IP rating actually guarantees — enter the two digits and read exactly what the connector or enclosure resists, plus a recommendation for indoor, outdoor and submerged use.

Select your rating

Pick one digit from each column — the first for solids, the second for water.

First digit — solids

0 — no protection · 6 — dust tight

Second digit — liquids

0 — no protection · 8 — continuous immersion

Decoded rating

Rating: IP65
Solid protection: Dust tight — no dust ingress
Liquid protection: Water jets from a nozzle

IP65: dust-tight and resistant to low-pressure water jets — a solid outdoor rating for connectors and enclosures exposed to rain.

What you actually need

A quick rule of thumb for common use cases.

Use case	Start from	Why
Indoor, dry	IP20	Office and light industrial equipment
Outdoor, rain and splash	IP65 or better	Full dust seal plus low-pressure jets
Washdown / hosedown	IP66 or IP67	Powerful jets, food and wash-bay areas
Temporary immersion	IP67	Up to 1 m of standing water
Continuous immersion	IP68	Beyond 1 m, marine and submersible use

Common ratings at a glance

The ratings you will actually meet in the catalog, with the job each one fits.

Rating	One-line use case
IP20	Indoor dry — office and light industrial
IP40	Indoor, no water — finger and small-object proof
IP54	Sheltered outdoor — splashing water, dust protected
IP65	Outdoor — rain and low-pressure jets, dust tight
IP66	Washdown — powerful water jets
IP67	Flood-prone outdoor — temporary immersion up to 1 m
IP68	Submersible and marine — continuous immersion beyond 1 m

Shop connectors by rating

Browse related parts:

waterproof connectors IP67 connectors industrial connectors

Frequently asked questions

What does each digit of an IP rating mean?

An IP rating follows IEC 60529 and reads as two digits in order: the first (0–6) rates protection against solid objects — 5 is dust protected, 6 is dust tight — and the second (0–8) rates protection against water, from vertical dripping (1) up to continuous immersion beyond 1 m (8). The digits are not interchangeable, so IP54 and IP45 mean different things.

What IP rating do I need for outdoor use in the rain?

For connectors and enclosures exposed to rain, start from IP65 — dust tight with protection against low-pressure water jets. Washdown areas need IP66 or IP67 (powerful jets), temporary immersion up to 1 m needs IP67, and continuous submersion needs IP68. The tool maps each digit pair to a recommendation tier.

Is an IP67 connector submersible?

IP67 is rated only for temporary immersion up to 1 m, not continuous submersion — for flooded or submersible installations choose IP68. Ratings only guarantee the conditions they were tested under, so check the exact test conditions on the product datasheet before relying on any code.

How it works

An IP rating follows IEC 60529: two digits, where the first (0–6) rates protection against solid objects and the second (0–8) rates protection against water. The digits are not interchangeable — IP54 and IP45 mean very different things — so always read them in order. The second digit is the one most connector datasheets lean on: IC Source Direct marks the IP code on waterproof and washdown parts so you can match the rating to the environment rather than guess from the picture.

Ratings only guarantee the conditions they were tested under. An IP67 connector is rated for temporary immersion, not continuous submersion — for flooded or submersible installations choose IP68 parts. Whatever the code, check the exact test conditions on the product datasheet before relying on it.

← Back to all calculators

IC Source Direct provides this tool for reference only.

More calculators

← Back to all calculators