Bathroom Zones: Where Lights Can Go and the IP Rating Each Needs

Bathroom zones are the areas around a bath or shower, set out in Section 701 of BS 7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations), that decide what electrical equipment can go where. Zone 0 is inside the bath or shower tray. Zone 1 is directly above it, up to 2.25 metres from the floor. Zone 2 runs 0.6 metres out beyond zone 1. Any light in zones 1 or 2 must be rated at least IPX4, and everywhere else in the room is "outside the zones".

The zones are measured, not guessed. Walls, fixed partitions, doors and ceilings can cut a zone short, so a shower enclosed by a fixed screen has a smaller zone 2 than one open to the room.

Zone 0: inside the bath or shower tray

Zone 0 is the inside of the bath tub or shower tray, the part that holds water. Treat it as off limits for normal lighting. Only equipment that its maker designs and marks for that zone belongs there, which in a home usually means specialist bath or shower tray lighting, installed by an electrician.

Zone 1: above the bath or shower

Zone 1 is the space directly above the bath or shower tray, bounded by its outline. It goes up to 2.25 metres above the finished floor, or to the height of the highest fixed shower head or water outlet if that is higher. For a shower with no tray, such as a wet room, zone 1 extends 1.2 metres out from the centre of the fixed water outlet.

Can you have a light over a bath? Yes. Section 701 allows 230 V light fittings above a bath or shower, in zone 1, provided they are at least IPX4. That means an enclosed, water-protected fitting.

Zone 2: the 0.6 metre band

Zone 2 is the band 0.6 metres wide around zone 1, to the same height. It covers the area where you step out of the bath or shower and where splashes land. Lights and extractor fans here must also be at least IPX4.

Outside the zones

Everything beyond zone 2 is outside the zones. Section 701 sets no extra IP rating there, but equipment still has to suit the conditions, and a bathroom is humid and prone to condensation. Electrical Safety First recommends enclosed ceiling lights over hanging ones and keeping exposed fittings out of reach of anyone in the bath or shower.

IP ratings: IPX4, IP44 and IP65 explained

An IP rating has two digits. The first is protection against solid objects and dust, the second against water. An X means that part was not tested or specified.

• IPX4 / IP44: protected against splashing water from any direction. The minimum for zones 1 and 2.

• IPX5 / IP65: protected against water jets. BS 7671 requires at least IPX5 where water jets are likely to be used, for example for cleaning.

• IP65 is also dust tight, and it is the rating you will see on most shower and bathroom downlights.

IP44 vs IP65: both are fine for zones 1 and 2 in a normal bathroom. IP65 is the safer pick directly over a shower, in a wet room, or anywhere the walls get sprayed down. Check that the maker's instructions confirm the fitting is suitable for the zone, not just its IP number.

SELV lights in bathrooms

SELV stands for separated extra-low voltage. SELV fittings run at a low voltage from a safety isolating transformer or driver, and they are often used for lights set very close to water, such as niche lighting or lighting built into a bath panel. They are not the only option: as above, mains-voltage fittings with the right IP rating are allowed in zones 1 and 2. For any SELV system, the transformer or driver's position matters as much as the fitting, which is why we plan both together.

Switches, pull cords and RCDs

Wall switches: a plate switch is allowed outside the zones, at least 0.6 metres from the edge of the bath or shower, and it must suit the location.

Pull cords: the cord of a ceiling pull-cord switch is allowed in zones 1 and 2. Electrical Safety First calls a pull cord a better option than a wall switch in a bathroom, because of damp and wet hands.

RCD protection: BS 7671 requires every circuit of the bathroom, including lighting, to have additional protection by an RCD not exceeding 30 mA.

Extractor fans: IET guidance is that a fan on the lighting circuit of a room without a window should have its own isolator outside the zones, so it can be serviced without working in the dark. With an overrun timer, that isolator needs to be triple pole.

Is bathroom lighting work notifiable?

Often, yes. In England, Approved Document P makes any addition or alteration to circuits in a "special location" notifiable. For a bathroom, that is the space within 0.6 metres of the edge of the bath or shower tray, up to 2.25 metres high or the height of a higher shower head, or within 1.2 metres of the shower head where there is no tray. That space is broadly zones 1 and 2.

So adding a light over the bath, moving a downlight near the shower or fitting a new extractor in those zones must be done by a registered electrician who can self-certify, or notified to building control before the work starts. Our lighting installation and repairs team self-certifies bathroom work under Part P and hands you the certificate. Swapping an existing fitting like for like is not notifiable, even in the zones, as long as the new one is rated for its zone. Work elsewhere in the room is not notifiable unless it is a new circuit, but it still has to meet Section 701, including the RCD.

Bathroom lighting ideas that stay compliant

• Over the shower: IP65 downlights, fire rated if there is a bedroom above.

• Over a freestanding bath: a pendant is only outside the zones if it hangs above 2.25 metres and above any fixed shower head. Lower than that, it is in zone 1 and must be at least IPX4.

• At the mirror: an illuminated mirror or wall lights rated for their zone, positioned where they will not be splashed. Our guide to installing wall lights safely covers the fixing and cabling side.

• In a shower niche: an LED strip or niche light rated for the zone, often SELV.

• Main ceiling light: an enclosed fitting outside the zones, on a pull cord.

Bathroom zone questions, answered

Does a shower screen change the zones?

It can. BS 7671 lets walls, doors, ceilings and fixed partitions be taken into account where they effectively limit a zone, so a fixed glass screen can stop zone 2 extending past it. An electrician should measure it on site rather than assume.

Can I use an ordinary light switch inside the bathroom?

Yes, if it is outside the zones and at least 0.6 metres from the bath or shower. Many people still prefer a pull cord or a switch outside the door.

Getting bathroom lighting signed off

As an electrician in Shifnal, SM Electrical designs and installs bathroom lighting across Wolverhampton, Telford, Shropshire and Staffordshire. If you are planning a new bathroom, contact us while the ceiling is still open.