Circle (off, O)
Off: the switch position that disconnects the equipment from the mains, for mains switches and wherever safety is involved.
Symbol reference: IEC 60417-5008
A mark tells you what the maker declares, never that the product is safe.
- What it looks like
- A plain circle, usually on the other end of a rocker switch from the line, and often read as “O”.
- Who may apply it
- The equipment maker, on mains switches or their positions, and in every case where safety is involved.
What it does not promise
It shows what the switch is designed to do. It cannot tell you that the switch works.
Other marks with the same shapes
Sources
Each page below was fetched and read on the date shown. Where a symbol’s IEC 60417 or ISO 7000 number is given, a public page listing that number is among them.
- Wikimedia Commons: File page transcribing IEC 60417 entry 5008 (title, function, notes) — Symbol 5008 from IEC 60417, “OFF” (power): to indicate disconnection from the mains, at least for mains switches or their positions, and all those cases where safety is involved. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Unicode Consortium: Unicode Character Database, NamesList.txt — U+23FB to U+23FE and U+2B58 — U+2B58 HEAVY CIRCLE = power off symbol. Checked 2026-09-24.
Written in our own words; quotations are the sources’ wording.