IEC 62368-1

IEC 62368-1 - Safety for Audio/Video and IT Equipment

Audio/video, information and communication technology equipment - Part 1: Safety requirements

Maintained by Giorgi Gaprindashvili Published February 5, 2026 Updated September 18, 2026 Editorial check September 2026

Energy-source classes at a glance

IEC 62368-1 classifies each energy source by what it can do to a person: ES1 is not felt, ES2 may be felt but does not injure, ES3 can injure. Safeguards are required as the class rises.

Key facts

Full title: Audio/video, information and communication technology equipment - Part 1: Safety requirements
Published by: IEC (TC 108)
Current edition: IEC 62368-1:2023, Edition 4.0; IEC lists a corrected version dated 2025-08. Regional adoption of Edition 4 varies by market.
Replaces: Legacy IEC 60950-1 (IT) and IEC 60065 (AV) product-safety families; regional transition and withdrawal dates vary.
Approach: Hazard-Based Safety Engineering (HBSE)
Applies to: AV, IT and communication technology equipment rated up to 600 V
Transition: Check the edition adopted in the target market; publication of a new IEC edition does not create one universal enforcement date.

What changed: from prescriptive rules to hazard-based safety

IEC 62368-1 uses a hazard-based safety approach: identify energy sources, classify them under the applicable operating and fault conditions, and apply safeguards appropriate to the source and the person who may be exposed. The detailed clauses still contain prescriptive requirements; the hazard-based principles do not replace those requirements.

Because the scope covers audio/video, information and communication technology equipment, one framework now addresses product families that historically relied on separate IEC 60950-1 and IEC 60065 standards. Market adoption of editions is handled regionally.

Energy-source classes

Electrical energy sources are classified ES1, ES2 or ES3, but the classification is not a simple product-wide voltage label. The applicable limits and required safeguards depend on operating and single-fault conditions and on who can access the source. Fire, thermal and mechanical hazards use their own classifications and safeguard logic.

SELV is legacy terminology from other standards and is not automatically equivalent to ES1. UL’s IEC 62368-1 guidance explicitly notes that the definitions, limits and insulation requirements can differ, so do not substitute one label for the other without checking the applicable standard and end use.

How it connects to insulation distances

IEC 62368-1 contains product-specific insulation requirements and tables, while IEC 60664-1 provides general insulation-coordination concepts used across electrical standards. The Standard Clarity creepage and clearance calculator implements a bounded IEC 60664-1 reference model; it does not replace the product-specific IEC 62368-1 assessment or its current tables and national differences.

Electrical energy-source classes: what the labels mean

This is a scope summary, not a substitute for the Clause 5 classification tables. Exact limits depend on the conditions defined in the applicable edition.
Class	General meaning	What still has to be checked
ES1	Lowest electrical energy-source class	Applicable limits under normal, abnormal and relevant single-fault conditions; accessibility and end-product context
ES2	Intermediate electrical energy-source class	Person classification, accessibility and the safeguards required by the applicable clause
ES3	Highest electrical energy-source class	Safeguards and construction required for the accessible person class and fault conditions

Tools that use this standard

Creepage & clearance calculator IP / NEMA rating decoder UL 94 rating selector

Related standards

Standard	Relationship	What it means
IEC 60950-1 and IEC 60065	Supersedes	Legacy IT and AV product-safety families that IEC 62368-1 was developed to replace; adoption and withdrawal dates vary by market.
UL/CSA 62368-1	Adopted in North America as	The binational US/Canada version, technically aligned with national differences.
IEC 62368-3	Complemented by	Covers power and data delivered over the communication cabling, such as power over Ethernet.
IEC 60664-1	Relies on	Creepage and clearance inside the equipment are dimensioned with the 60664-1 insulation-coordination method.

Frequently asked questions

What did IEC 62368-1 replace?

IEC 62368-1 was developed to replace the legacy IEC 60950-1 information-technology and IEC 60065 audio/video product-safety families. Do not apply one global transition date: regions and certification programs adopt editions on different schedules.

What is the current edition of IEC 62368-1?

IEC 62368-1:2023, Edition 4.0, is the latest IEC edition; IEC lists a corrected version dated 2025-08. The edition accepted for a particular market can differ, so verify the regional adoption and certification requirements.

What does hazard-based safety engineering (HBSE) mean?

Rather than prescriptive pass/fail rules for each product type, HBSE identifies the energy sources in a product - electrical, thermal, mechanical, radiation and chemical - classifies each by its potential to cause injury, and requires safeguards matched to that class. The approach is designed to adapt to new technology without rewriting product-specific rules.

What is the difference between IEC 62368-1 and UL 62368-1?

They share the same hazard-based structure and energy-source classes. IEC 62368-1 is the international base document; UL 62368-1 is the North American version, published binationally by UL and CSA with national differences for US and Canadian requirements.

Does IEC 62368-1 cover battery safety?

It addresses hazards from equipment that contains batteries and, in its later editions, adds specific provisions for equipment with rechargeable batteries. It is a product-safety standard, not a cell-level battery standard; testing of the cells and packs themselves is covered by other standards such as the IEC 62133 series.

What changed in the 4th edition?

A widely noted change is that components or subassemblies certified only to the legacy IEC 60950-1 or IEC 60065 are no longer automatically accepted and must be evaluated to 62368-1. The edition also refines a number of definitions and requirements. Confirm specifics against the current edition, as the publisher does not release a free list of changes.

Does meeting IEC 62368-1 mean my product is certified?

No. The standard defines safety requirements and test methods; conformity is demonstrated through the applicable route for your market, for example an NRTL in North America or the relevant conformity assessment for CE marking, against the edition that market enforces. The standard is one input, not the approval itself.

Source: IEC webstore — IEC 62368-1:2023, Edition 4.0 (corrected version 2025-08). An overview for design reference - verify against the current edition before relying on it for compliance.