Here is the short answer: your bathroom is divided into three zones, and the zone decides the fitting before your taste gets a vote. Zone 0 is inside the bath or shower and needs IPX7 at low voltage. Zone 1 is directly above it to 2.25m and needs IPX4 minimum. Zone 2 extends 0.6m beyond that and also needs IPX4 minimum.
Everything outside those zones is, electrically speaking, just a room — although a room with a lot of steam in it, which is its own argument.
The conversation we have most often at the Villa Road counter goes like this: someone has bought a beautiful fitting online, held it up in the bathroom, and only then wondered whether it is allowed. Usually it is not, and usually by about 300mm. Fifty years of selling into this trade has taught us to ask the zone question first and the style question second.
1. The three zones, in plain English
Zone 0
Inside the bath tub or the shower tray itself. Anything here must be rated IPX7 — protected against temporary immersion — and run at low voltage (SELV, maximum 12V AC). In practice this means purpose-made submersible or bath-side fittings with a remote transformer sited outside the zones. It is a specialist buy and we would rather spec it with you at the counter than have you guess from a picture.
Zone 1
The volume directly above the bath or shower tray, up to 2.25m above the floor. Minimum IPX4. If the space is ever cleaned with water jets, that rises to IPX5. This is where the overhead shower downlight lives, and it is where most of the mistakes happen.
Zone 2
A 0.6m band extending outwards from the edge of Zone 1, and the same 2.25m height. Minimum IPX4. The wash-basin area sits here in most bathrooms — the space within 0.6m of a tap is treated as Zone 2.
Outside the zones
Beyond that 0.6m band, BS 7671 sets no specific IP requirement for the location itself. That does not make an unrated fitting a good idea in a small steamy room, and we will say so — but it is not a regulations question at that point.
Trade tip: the zones are measured from the edge of the bath or tray, not from the wall, and the 2.25m is from finished floor level, not from the top of the bath. In a room with a boxed-in bath or a raised tray, people habitually measure from the wrong datum and place a fitting one zone lower than it really is. Measure from the tray edge, on the floor, before you drill anything.
Which brings us to the fitting that ends up in Zone 1 nine times out of ten.
2. Zone 1: the shower downlight
A dedicated IP65 shower downlight is the standard answer above a bath or tray. IP65 comfortably exceeds the IPX4 minimum, which gives you margin — and margin matters in a room where the ceiling gets a warm fog every evening.
The Knightsbridge VFRSHGICW is the one we sell most of.
The VFRSHGICW is a 230V GU10 IC fire-rated shower downlight, IP65, dimmable, 35W max, in white. Two things there earn their keep: IC means it is rated to be covered by insulation, which matters enormously in a loft-adjacent bathroom ceiling; and fire-rated means it restores the fire resistance of the ceiling you have just cut a hole in.
If you want the lamp integrated rather than a separate GU10, the SpektroLED Evo SPKEVF does the same job with the wattage and colour temperature selectable on the unit.
The SPKEVF is a fixed IP65 fire-rated downlight with selectable 5W/7W output and a 2700K–6000K colour temperature range, supplied without a bezel so you choose the finish separately. Being able to set colour temperature after the ceiling is up is worth more than it sounds — see our guide to warm white vs cool white for why the choice is harder than it looks.
3. Zone 2 and beyond
Zone 2 still wants IPX4 as a minimum, so an IP65 downlight remains a perfectly sensible fit — you simply have more freedom. The Knightsbridge RDSHW is the value option here.
The RDSHW is an IP65 GU10 recessed downlight in die-cast aluminium with a white finish, 230V, 35W max. Note what its specification does not say: it is not listed as fire-rated. If you are cutting into a ceiling that separates storeys, you want the fire-rated version — that is a building-fabric question, not a moisture one, and the two get confused constantly.
Trade tip: IP65 and fire-rated are completely independent properties. A fitting can be one, the other, both or neither. In a ground-floor bathroom with a bedroom above, you need both. In a single-storey extension with nothing above the ceiling but a cold roof, you may only need IP65. Ask which ceiling it is going into before you choose.
4. The other things on a bathroom wall
Lighting is not the only circuit in the room, and the rest of it has rules too.
Switching. A conventional wall switch is not permitted inside the zones. The two accepted answers are a ceiling pull-cord inside the room, or a plate switch outside the door. The Knightsbridge 8300PC is a 10AX two-way pull-cord switch with a 1.5m cord, certified to EN 60669-1.
Shaver supply. A shaver socket is the one socket allowed in a bathroom, and it must be outside Zones 0, 1 and 2. It works because it is isolating: an internal transformer separates the shaver from earth.
The SF8900PC is a dual-voltage 115V/230V shaver socket, IP41 rated, screwless, polished chrome, 20VA. That IP41 figure is precisely why it lives outside the zones — it is a splash-tolerant fitting, not a wet-zone one.
Extract fan isolation. A bathroom fan needs a means of isolating all poles including the switched live, which is what a triple-pole isolator does.
The SF1100PC is a 10A triple-pole fan isolator switch, screwless, polished chrome, 230V 50Hz. Fit it outside the zones — usually just outside the door or in the loft above. See the full range of bathroom extractor fans.
5. Layering: why one central light is never enough
Zones tell you what is permitted. They do not tell you what looks good, and a bathroom lit by one ceiling fitting always looks worse than the sum of its parts — because every light comes from directly overhead, which is the single least flattering angle at a mirror.
Three layers fix it:
- General: two to four IP65 downlights across the ceiling, spaced roughly to the ceiling height and pulled away from the walls, not hugging them.
- Task: light at the mirror from the sides rather than above. Even a modest side light removes the under-eye shadow that a downlight creates.
- Accent or night: a low-level or dimmed circuit. If you have ever gone to a bathroom at 3am and been fully woken by 3000 lumens, you already understand the argument.
Bathroom Zones, Summarised
| Zone | Where | Minimum IP | WME pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 0 | Inside bath or shower tray | IPX7, SELV 12V max | Spec at the counter |
| Zone 1 | Above bath/tray to 2.25m | IPX4 (IPX5 if jet-cleaned) | VFRSHGICW |
| Zone 2 | 0.6m beyond Zone 1 | IPX4 (IPX5 if jet-cleaned) | SPKEVF |
| Outside zones | Beyond 0.6m | No zone requirement | RDSHW |
| Shaver supply | Outside all zones | IP41 | SF8900PC |
Where DIY stops — and in a bathroom, it stops early
This is the room where we are least relaxed about DIY, and we are not being precious about it. In England, additions and alterations to circuits in a room containing a bath or shower are notifiable under Part P and must be carried out or certified by a registered electrician; Wales applies broader notification rules again. All circuits serving the location require 30mA RCD protection, and the earthing and bonding arrangement has to be verified rather than assumed.
Choosing the fitting is your job. Putting it in a bathroom ceiling is an electrician's. There is no shame in that split — it is how the job is meant to run.
Expert Help in the West Midlands
Villa Road, Birmingham, since 1975. Bring a sketch with the bath edge marked and the ceiling height and we will tell you which fittings are legal where, which ones need to be fire-rated as well as IP-rated, and how many you actually need — which is usually fewer than the internet suggests.
Browse spotlights and downlights, the wider lighting range, or switches and controls for pull-cords and isolators. Get in touch for a spec.
Frequently Asked Questions
What IP rating do I need for bathroom lights?
IPX4 is the minimum for Zones 1 and 2, rising to IPX5 where water jets are used for cleaning. Zone 0 requires IPX7 at SELV. IP65 fittings are the common practical choice for Zones 1 and 2 because they give you margin over the minimum.
Can I put a normal light switch in a bathroom?
Not inside the zones. Use a ceiling-mounted pull-cord switch inside the room, or a conventional plate switch on the wall outside the door.
Do bathroom downlights have to be fire-rated?
That depends on the ceiling, not the bathroom. If you are cutting into a ceiling that provides fire separation between storeys, use a fire-rated fitting. IP rating and fire rating are separate properties and a fitting may have one without the other.