ATEX Marking Validator
Free ATEX marking validator that parses Ex codes, equipment groups, categories, gas/dust subgroups and temperature classes in your browser. No upload.
Paste an ATEX marking string and this ATEX marking validator parses every segment — equipment group, category, atmosphere, protection concept, gas or dust subgroup, temperature class and equipment protection level — then flags any part that is malformed or internally inconsistent. It is built for distributors and catalog teams who need to normalize explosion-protection attributes across thousands of supplier records without becoming a compliance specialist.
ATEX Marking Validator
The interactive version of this tool is coming soon. It will run entirely in your browser — no login, no upload limits.
Planned tool: atex marking validator
Need this now? Talk to ClaroWhat it checks
The validator breaks a marking such as II 2 G Ex db IIC T4 Gb into structured fields and validates each one:
- Ex hex symbol and group — confirms the specific marking (Ex) and a valid equipment group: I (mining), II (surface gas/vapour), or III (combustible dust).
- Equipment category — checks the category digit (M1/M2 for group I; 1/2/3 for groups II and III) and that it matches the declared group.
- Atmosphere letter — validates G (gas), D (dust), or the absence of a letter where it is not expected.
- Protection concept codes — recognizes concept abbreviations (for example d, e, i, p, m, q, o, n) and combinations, and warns on unknown tokens.
- Gas/dust subgroup — verifies IIA/IIB/IIC for gas and IIIA/IIIB/IIIC for dust, and flags a subgroup paired with the wrong atmosphere.
- Temperature class or surface temperature — checks gas temperature classes T1–T6 and dust surface-temperature values, and confirms the class is plausible for the declared atmosphere.
- Equipment Protection Level (EPL) — validates the EPL suffix (Ma/Mb, Ga/Gb/Gc, Da/Db/Dc) and that it is consistent with the category and atmosphere.
- Internal consistency — surfaces contradictions, such as a Category 1 part carrying a Gc EPL, so a record is not silently published with conflicting fields.
How the ATEX marking validator works
ATEX markings follow the structure defined in the EU ATEX Directive (2014/34/EU) and the harmonized standards in the IEC/EN 60079 series. The first block — equipment group and category inside the explosion-protection marking — comes from the directive itself; the Ex block (protection concept, subgroup, temperature class, EPL) follows the 60079 standards. The validator encodes those grammars as a set of ordered, allowed tokens and checks that what you paste conforms.
- 1TokenizeThe string is split into ordered segments and normalized for spacing and case.
- 2Validate each fieldEvery token is matched against the allowed values for its position and against the other fields it depends on.
- 3ReportYou get a per-field pass/fail with a plain-language explanation of each issue and a normalized version you can copy back into your catalog.
Everything runs client-side in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, so you can validate a marking copied from a confidential supplier price file or an internal MRO catalog without it leaving your machine. The same parsing logic that makes a marking readable here is what makes explosion-protection attributes usable downstream — filterable facets on a webshop, structured fields in a PIM, or a clean column in an industrial-distribution feed instead of a free-text blob a buyer cannot search.
Related resources
Glossary
How to Read an ATEX Marking
A field-by-field breakdown of every segment in an ATEX Ex code.
Glossary
ATEX Zone Classification Reference
How zones 0/1/2 and 20/21/22 map to equipment categories and EPLs.
Comparison
ATEX vs IECEx
How the European and international explosion-protection schemes differ on a nameplate.
Guide
Fill Missing Attributes With Provenance
Enrich technical fields while keeping a traceable source for each value.
Playbook
Extract Specs From PDFs With Traceability
Pull ratings and markings out of datasheets without losing the source.
Claro
Attribute enrichment with Claro
Validate and standardize compliance attributes across the full catalog, with provenance.
FAQ
What does the ATEX marking II 2 G Ex db IIC T4 Gb mean?
Read left to right: II is the equipment group (surface, non-mining), 2 is the category (suitable for Zone 1), G is gas atmosphere, Ex db is the flameproof-enclosure protection concept, IIC is the most demanding gas subgroup, T4 caps the maximum surface temperature at 135 °C, and Gb is the equipment protection level. Paste any marking above to see this breakdown automatically.
What is the difference between an ATEX category and an EPL?
The category (1, 2, 3 for surface equipment) comes from the ATEX Directive and indicates the zone the equipment is suitable for. The Equipment Protection Level (Ga/Gb/Gc, Da/Db/Dc) comes from the IEC 60079 standards and expresses the same idea of ignition risk on the Ex block. They should be consistent — for example Category 2 gas equipment carries Gb — and the validator flags a mismatch between them.
Is a product compliant just because the marking is well-formed?
No. A syntactically valid marking only means the string follows the directive and standard structure. Actual compliance depends on the certificate, the notified-body number, and the EU Declaration of Conformity for that product. Use this validator to clean and standardize catalog data, not to confirm certification.
Does this tool work for dust atmospheres, not just gas?
Yes. It validates group III equipment, the D (dust) atmosphere letter, IIIA/IIIB/IIIC subgroups, dust surface-temperature values, and Da/Db/Dc protection levels, and it flags a dust subgroup that is incorrectly paired with a gas atmosphere or vice versa.
Do you store the markings I paste?
No. All parsing and validation happen entirely in your browser. The marking strings are never uploaded to a server, which is why there is no login and no file-size limit.