A bathroom splits into three zones, and each one sets the minimum IP rating a light fitting must have. Zone 0, inside the bath or shower itself, needs a sealed IP67 fitting on 12V. Zone 1 (above the bath or shower, up to 2.25m) and Zone 2 (0.6m beyond that, and around the basin) need at least IP44. Everywhere else, any fitting is legal.
Bathroom lighting is the one job in the house where getting it wrong is not just an eyesore, it is a genuine safety matter. Water and mains electricity have strong opinions about each other. The good news is that the rules, once someone lays them out without the jargon, are simple enough to hold in your head. We sell bathroom fittings every day of the week, so here is the whole thing in plain English, plus the corners we would never let you cut.
What are the bathroom lighting zones?
The zones come from BS 7671, the UK wiring regulations (currently the 18th Edition). They are not marketing invention, they are law, and your electrician works to them whether you have heard of them or not. A bathroom is treated as three zones plus everything outside them.
- Zone 0 is the inside of the bath or the shower tray. The bit that actually holds water. Anything fitted here can expect to be submerged, so the bar is high.
- Zone 1 is the area directly above the bath or shower, up to 2.25m from the floor. If you have a wall-mounted showerhead with no tray, Zone 1 also reaches out 1.2m horizontally from the head. This is the ceiling above the shower, in other words, where most bathroom downlights end up.
- Zone 2 stretches 0.6m (600mm) sideways from the edge of Zone 1, again up to 2.25m high, and it also covers the space around the basin where taps throw splashes.
- Outside the zones is everything else. The far wall, the ceiling over the middle of the room, the light by the door.
One thing worth flagging, because it trips people up. Older editions of the regulations had a Zone 3, and plenty of out-of-date guides online still mention it. It was removed years ago. If a blog is still talking about Zone 3, it was not written by anyone who has opened the current regs, and you should treat the rest of it with the same suspicion.
What IP rating do I need for each bathroom zone?
Here is the whole thing in one table. This is the bit to screenshot before you go shopping.
| Zone | Where it is | Minimum IP rating | Also worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 0 | Inside the bath or shower tray | IP67 | Low voltage only, 12V maximum (SELV). Rare in practice, most people never light Zone 0. |
| Zone 1 | Above bath or shower, up to 2.25m | IP44 (IP65 if a power shower) | Where most ceiling downlights sit. Go IP65 and stop worrying. |
| Zone 2 | 0.6m beyond Zone 1, and around the basin | IP44 | Wall lights beside a mirror live here. IP44 is the floor. |
| Outside zones | Everywhere else in the room | None required (IP20 in practice) | Legally you can fit anything, but steam does not read zone maps. |
Notice that Zones 1 and 2 share the same minimum, IP44. That is deliberate, and it is the single most useful fact in this article. It means you do not have to draw a precise 600mm line on your ceiling and agonise over which downlight crosses it. Fit the same rated fitting across the lot and the decision disappears. More on that below, because it is the thing we would overrule you on most often.
What do the IP numbers actually mean?
IP stands for Ingress Protection, and the two digits are not a single score, they are two separate tests. Once you know which is which, the codes stop looking like a lottery.
- The first digit is solids and dust, on a scale of 0 to 6. A 6 is fully dust-tight.
- The second digit is water, on a scale of 0 to 8 (and beyond). This is the one that matters in a bathroom. A 4 means protected against splashing from any direction. A 5 means protected against water jets. A 7 means it survives being briefly submerged.
So IP44 is 'keeps out fingers and stray objects, shrugs off splashes'. IP65 is 'dust-tight and jet-proof'. IP67 is 'dust-tight and survives a dunking'. You will sometimes see a rating written as IPX4, with an X in place of the first digit. That just means the fitting was not tested for dust, only for water. For a bathroom, the water digit is the one doing the real work, so IPX4 and IP44 protect you against the same splashes.
IP44 or IP65 for a bathroom? Our honest view
The regulations let you fit IP44 in Zones 1 and 2. We would fit IP65 across the whole ceiling anyway, and here is why.
IP44 is a minimum, not a target. It is the legal floor you are not allowed to go under, which is a very different thing from the sensible choice. A hot shower fills a small room with steam that settles on everything, zone lines or not. An IP65 downlight and its IP44 sibling are near enough interchangeable to fit, and only one of them shrugs off that steam year after year. Choose IP65 for anything on the ceiling of a shower room and you have covered Zone 1, Zone 2 and most of your future worries in one decision.
The one place we will happily let you drop to IP44 is a wall light or mirror light in Zone 2, well away from the shower, where genuine jets are never going to reach. A pair of IP44 wall lights either side of a mirror is a perfectly good buy. But on the ceiling, above anywhere that steams, IP65 is the answer and we will not be talked down. If a fitting you have fallen for is only IP44 and it is destined for the shower ceiling, choose a different fitting. Do not choose a different opinion.
Do lights outside the zones need to be IP rated?
Legally, no. The bit of ceiling over the middle of the room, or a light by the door, sits outside the zones and can be an ordinary IP20 fitting. That is where a lot of people relax, and it is where a lot of people go wrong.
Steam does not stop at an imaginary boundary. In a small, poorly ventilated bathroom the whole ceiling gets damp, and a fabric-shaded pendant hung 'outside the zones' will drink that moisture up, discolour, and start to smell. We see it constantly. So our rule is simple. Meet the zone minimums as an absolute, then let common sense push you higher wherever steam actually travels. In a tight ensuite with a fierce shower, we would treat the entire ceiling as if it were Zone 1 and fit IP65 throughout. In a large, well-ventilated family bathroom with a window that opens, an ordinary fitting genuinely outside the splash zones is fine. Read the room, not just the rulebook.
Do bathroom lights need an RCD, and do I need an electrician?
Yes on both counts, and this is not the part to get creative with.
Every circuit serving a room with a bath or shower must be protected by a 30mA RCD, the device that cuts the power in a fraction of a second if current starts leaking to earth. That is what stands between a fault and a very bad day. A bathroom is also classed as a 'special location' under the wiring regulations, so the work is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations in England and Wales. In plain terms, this is a job for a registered electrician who can certify it, not a Sunday afternoon with a YouTube tab open. We are as keen on a bit of DIY as anyone, but wiring in a wet room is exactly where we draw the line, and so should you.
The short version
- Three zones. Zone 0 (in the bath/shower) needs IP67 on 12V. Zone 1 (above it, to 2.25m) and Zone 2 (0.6m beyond, and the basin) need at least IP44.
- Outside the zones, no IP rating is legally required, but steam ignores the map.
- IP44 is the legal floor. On any shower ceiling we would fit IP65 and not think twice.
- The first IP digit is dust, the second is water. The water digit is the one that counts here.
- Every bathroom circuit needs a 30mA RCD, and the work is notifiable. Use a registered electrician.
Once you know the rating you need, the choosing is the enjoyable part. Start with the bathroom downlights if you are lighting a shower-room ceiling, the flush bathroom fittings if the ceiling is low, or the bathroom wall lights for mirror and vanity lighting. Every product page states that fitting's IP rating, so you can check it against the zone you are lighting. And if you are not certain a particular light is right for the spot, tell us where it is going and we will tell you straight.
Frequently asked questions
What IP rating do I need for a bathroom ceiling light?
If the ceiling light is above or near the bath or shower it sits in Zone 1 and needs at least IP44, or IP65 for a power shower. We would fit IP65 across any shower-room ceiling regardless, because steam spreads well beyond the shower itself.
Is IP44 enough for a bathroom?
IP44 is the legal minimum for Zones 1 and 2, so yes for wall or mirror lights away from direct spray. For anything on the ceiling above a shower we would step up to IP65. IP44 is the floor, not the goal.
What zone is a bathroom basin or sink in?
The area around the basin is treated as Zone 2, so lights near it need to be at least IP44. Mirror and vanity lights beside a basin should be rated accordingly.
Do bathroom lights need to be on an RCD?
Yes. Every circuit serving a room with a bath or shower must have 30mA RCD protection under BS 7671. Bathroom electrical work is also notifiable under Part P, so it should be done by a registered electrician.
Can I fit an ordinary light outside the bathroom zones?
Legally yes, an IP20 fitting is allowed outside Zones 0, 1 and 2. In practice, steam travels, so in a small or poorly ventilated bathroom we would still choose a moisture-resistant fitting rather than an open fabric shade.
Words by Reece Knight, KES Lighting & Home. Last updated 16 July 2026.
More on bathroom lighting
