UK bathrooms are divided into zones: zone 0 (inside the bath or shower tray) needs low-voltage fittings rated IPX7; zone 1 (above the bath to 2.25m) and zone 2 (60cm around it) need at least IPX4 — which an IP44 fitting satisfies. Outside the zones, no specific rating is required. All bathroom circuits must be RCD-protected, and most bathroom electrical work is a job for a qualified electrician under Part P.
Bathroom lighting is where most people meet electrical regulations for the first time, usually mid-renovation, usually in a hurry, and usually via a forum thread from 2011. The rules — from BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations — are actually simple once you see them as a map of the room rather than a wall of jargon. Water sprays; the regulations draw circles around where it sprays; the closer a light sits to those circles, the tougher its rating has to be.
The zones, walked around the room
Zone 0 is inside the bath or the shower tray itself. Almost nothing lives here — only low-voltage (12V SELV) fittings rated IPX7, designed for immersion. For most bathrooms, this zone is academic.
Zone 1 is the space directly above the bath or shower, up to 2.25 metres from the floor. This is shower-spray territory: fittings need at least IPX4, and in practice most people fit an IP65 downlight here, because it comfortably exceeds the requirement and shrugs off direct jets. Mains-voltage fittings in zone 1 must be RCD-protected — which every modern bathroom circuit is required to be anyway.
Zone 2 extends 60 centimetres beyond the edge of the bath or shower, and up to 2.25 metres high. Think of the wall beside the bath, or beside the basin mirror. Minimum IPX4 again — this is exactly the job an IP44 wall light is made for.
Outside the zones — the rest of the room — the regulations impose no specific IP requirement. A pendant on a high ceiling, a wall light across the room from the shower: legally, an ordinary fitting is allowed. Judgement still applies; a small unventilated bathroom fills with steam, and fittings with some protection last longer in it.
| Zone | Where it is | Minimum rating | Typical choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Inside the bath / shower tray | IPX7, 12V SELV only | Rarely lit at all |
| 1 | Above bath/shower, to 2.25m | IPX4 | IP65 downlight |
| 2 | 60cm around the bath/shower | IPX4 | IP44 wall or ceiling light |
| Outside zones | The rest of the room | None specified | Anything — IP44 as good practice |
Reading an IP rating in five seconds
Two digits. The first (0–6) is protection against solids — dust, fingers, debris. The second (0–9) is water, and it is the one bathrooms care about: 4 means splashes from any direction, 5 means jets, 7 means immersion. So IP44 — the rating you will see on most decorative bathroom fittings — means "splash-proof from every angle", and IP65 means "dust-tight and jet-proof". An X in either position simply means that digit hasn't been tested, which is why zone requirements are written IPX4.
Visby Caged Wall Light · IP44
Aged brass and a caged opal globe, rated for zone 2 — so it can flank the mirror or sit beside the bath, which is exactly where a bathroom earns its character.
The mirror problem, and the ceiling answer
Most bathroom lighting fails at the mirror: a single ceiling light behind your head throws your own face into shadow. The fix is a wall light either side of the mirror at roughly eye height — zone 2 territory, so IP44 — running 3000K for honest skin tone. Then let the ceiling do the general layer: over the shower that means an IP65 fitting, and if you want the ceiling to stay entirely quiet about it, a fire-rated recessed downlight is the discreet answer.
Valo & Valtari fire-rated downlights
The Valo is IP65 — zone 1 over the shower, dust-tight, jet-proof. The slim Valtari brings the same discipline in matt white, black, antique or polished brass for the rest of the ceiling.
The rules that are not about water
Two more things the regulations care about. RCD protection: every bathroom circuit must be protected by a residual current device — standard in any consumer unit fitted in the last decade, worth confirming in an older house. Part P: bathrooms are "special locations" in the Building Regulations, which makes most new electrical work there notifiable — practically, that means using a registered electrician who self-certifies the job. The only bathroom lighting job that sensibly stays DIY is a like-for-like swap of an existing fitting, with the circuit isolated.
