What does this mark on a charger or appliance mean?

Find it by its shape. 1. Pick what you see on the label. 2. Match the drawing. Each of the 27 marks here links to the law, standard entry or official guide it comes from, with the date we checked it.

A mark tells you what the maker declares, never that the product is safe. CE and UKCA are the maker’s own declaration that it followed the rules. For ordinary mains electrical goods, nobody outside the company has to check that declaration.

Tap a shape — the marks that use it appear here.

Letters — 6 marks

CE markingConformity mark UKCA markingConformity mark UKNI markingConformity mark III in a diamond (Class III, safety extra-low voltage)IEC 60417-5180 Crossed-out bin on a battery, with Cd, Pb or HgThe crossed-out wheeled bin printed on a battery,…Roman numeral on a power supply (efficiency level, e.g. VI)A Roman numeral from I to VII, often VI, on the power…

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Square or diamond — 2 marks

Double square (Class II, double insulated)IEC 60417-5172 III in a diamond (Class III, safety extra-low voltage)IEC 60417-5180

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Crossed-out bin — 3 marks

Crossed-out wheeled bin (WEEE)A wheeled rubbish bin with a lid, crossed out by two…Crossed-out bin with a bar under itThe crossed-out wheeled bin with a solid black bar under it.Crossed-out bin on a battery, with Cd, Pb or HgThe crossed-out wheeled bin printed on a battery,…

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House — 1 mark

House outline (for indoor use only)IEC 60417-5957

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Triangle or bolt — 2 marks

Lightning arrow (dangerous voltage)IEC 60417-5036 Triangle with wavy lines (caution, hot surface)IEC 60417-5041

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Earth lines — 3 marks

Protective earth (earth in a circle)IEC 60417-5019 Functional earth (earth under an arch)IEC 60417-5018 Earth (ground) signIEC 60417-5017

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Wave or line — 3 marks

Sine wave (alternating current, AC)IEC 60417-5032 Solid line over a dashed line (direct current, DC)IEC 60417-5031 Line over a wave (both AC and DC)IEC 60417-5033

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Power button — 4 marks

Broken circle with a line (standby, power button)IEC 60417-5009 Vertical line (on, I)IEC 60417-5007 Circle (off, O)IEC 60417-5008 Line inside a circle (on/off push button)IEC 60417-5010

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Dot in a C — 1 mark

Dot inside a C, with + and − (DC plug polarity)IEC 60417-5926

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Two circles — 2 marks

Two circles in a shield (safety isolating transformer)IEC 60417-5222 Two overlapping circles (isolating transformer)IEC 60417-5221

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Box with a line — 1 mark

Fuse (box with a line through it)IEC 60417-5016

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Book — 1 mark

Book (read the operator’s manual)ISO 7000-0790

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IP44, IP67, IPX4?

An IP code is letters and digits, not a drawing: the first digit rates solids and touch, the second rates water. Type the code into the IP-code decoder →

Four things worth knowing

Conformity marks are self-declarations. The CE marking is put on by the manufacturer, and for equipment under the Low Voltage Directive the manufacturer checks the product itself. A four-digit number beside the CE means a notified body took part. See CE marking.
The double square means no earth is needed. Class II equipment relies on extra insulation instead. The UK HSE says to treat an item without it as Class I (earthed). See Class II.
The crossed-out bin means separate collection, not your recycling bin. A bar under it means the product was placed on the market after 13 August 2005. See bin with a bar.
Waves and lines. The sine wave on a rating plate means AC only. A solid line over a dashed line means DC only. A line over a wave means both.

What this page leaves out

Certification and brand logos, such as UL, RCM, the USB logos or the Green Dot. They belong to the organisations that license them, so we do not draw them. Check them on their owners’ own sites.
France’s Triman sorting logo is described in words on our recycling codes page. It is a logo, so we do not draw it here.
Symbols without a public listing, for example the short-circuit-proof transformer variants. We only quote an IEC 60417 or ISO 7000 number when a public page lists it, and we leave out any mark whose meaning we could not source.
It cannot tell you whether a particular product really meets what its marks declare. Only a test, the maker’s documents or a market-surveillance authority can.

Sources

Every page below was fetched and read on the date shown. Each mark page lists what its sources say.

EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the EU): Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 — Article 30 and Annex II, the CE marking Checked 2026-09-24.
EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the EU): Directive 2014/35/EU (Low Voltage Directive) — Article 1, Article 17 and Annex III Checked 2026-09-24.
Your Europe (European Union): CE marking — obtaining the certificate, EU requirements Checked 2026-09-24.
GOV.UK (Department for Business and Trade): Placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market in Great Britain (last updated 21 August 2026) Checked 2026-09-24.
GOV.UK (Department for Business and Trade): Placing CE, or CE and UKNI marked products on the market in Northern Ireland (last updated 8 April 2026) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5172 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Health and Safety Executive (UK): INDG236 — Maintaining portable electrical equipment in low-risk environments (PDF) Checked 2026-09-24.
US Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Letter of interpretation: marking recognition, regulations and policy of double insulated power tools (1985) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5180 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5019 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5018 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5017 (title, function) Checked 2026-09-24.
EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the EU): Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) — Articles 14 and 15, Annex IX Checked 2026-09-24.
Your Europe (European Union): WEEE — what does the label mean, EU requirements (page last checked by the EU 12/07/2026) Checked 2026-09-24.
GOV.UK (Environment Agency): Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) producer responsibility (last updated 12 August 2025) Checked 2026-09-24.
EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the EU): Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries — Article 13 and Annex VI Checked 2026-09-24.
EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the EU): Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators (repealed from 18 August 2025) — Article 21 Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5957 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5016 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikipedia: Fuse (electrical) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5032 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5031 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5033 (title, function, publication) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page for the polarity symbol, IEC 60417 No. 5926 / JEITA CP-1104B No. 1030 Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikipedia: Polarity symbols (the article itself flags that it lacks inline citations) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikipedia: DC connector Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5222 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5221 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page for ISO 7000 reference 0790, Read operator’s manual Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing ISO 7000 entry 1641 (title, function) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5036 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5041 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
ENERGY STAR (US EPA): The External Power Supply International Efficiency Marking Protocol (the original 2005 version, PDF) Checked 2026-09-24.
eCFR (US Government): 10 CFR 430.32(w) — energy conservation standards for external power supplies (current text read via the eCFR versioner API) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5009 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikipedia: Power symbol Checked 2026-09-24.
Unicode Consortium: Unicode Character Database, NamesList.txt — U+23FB to U+23FE and U+2B58 Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5007 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5008 (title, function, notes) Checked 2026-09-24.
Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5010 (title, function) Checked 2026-09-24.