Protective earth (earth in a circle)
Marks the terminal for the protective earth conductor, which protects against electric shock if a fault makes the case live. Equipment that depends on it is Class I (earthed).
Symbol reference: IEC 60417-5019
A mark tells you what the maker declares, never that the product is safe.
- What it looks like
- The earth sign, a vertical line ending in three horizontal bars that get shorter, drawn inside a circle.
- Who may apply it
- The equipment maker, on the terminal or screw where the protective earth conductor must connect.
What it does not promise
It shows where the earth must be connected, not that it is connected. The HSE recommends a portable appliance test for Class I equipment so that the earth connection is checked as sound.
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 5019 (title, function, publication) — Symbol 5019 from IEC 60417, “Protective earth; protective ground”: to identify any terminal intended for connection to an external conductor for protection against electric shock in case of a fault. Notes: Class I; PE. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Health and Safety Executive (UK): INDG236 — Maintaining portable electrical equipment in low-risk environments (PDF) — Class I equipment has an earth connection; without it “the outside of the equipment could cause an electric shock”, so a portable appliance test is recommended “to ensure the earth connection is sound”. Checked 2026-09-24.
Written in our own words; quotations are the sources’ wording.