What are the safety shoe standards?
Tankwalker Team
5/23/20252 min read
General Standards
Personal protective equipment — Safety footwear — (EN ISO 20345:2022+A1:2024)
Key Timeline：
11 May 2023: EN ISO 20345:2022 officially became a European harmonised standard and certificates could be issued.
11 November 2024: Transition period ended. No‑new‑issue certificates to the 2011 version. Existing valid‑term certificates may remain valid for stock‑on‑sale products.
A1 Amendment was released in 2024, with revisions on slip resistance, outsole tread pattern and electrical‑performance tests.
In order to find out which standards the shoes are produced under, you can check the product label, which is usually located on the tongue of the shoe.
The meanings of the codes on a label are as follows;
⇒ EN ISO 20345 : Standard number.
⇒ 0903119-01-86 : PFI Certificate No
⇒ 0193 : Authorized body reference (PFI) approving the product
⇒ A-ONE/701 : Product name and group number
⇒ 08/2009 : Production Date
⇒ 41 : Shoe Size
⇒ S2 : Type of classification
Protection Levels
To facilitate selection, safety shoes normally carry a simple two or three letter code that identifies key safety standards for that product. For example, it starts with an S for a toe cap that protects up to 200 Joule, and is marked using the letter P for 100 Joule. Additional attributes like this can be specified using other codes or pictograms. A summary of key standards is shown below.
Work shoes Standard Markings and Meanings
SB – Basic safety requirement, finger protection up to 200 joules, Oil resistant outer surface. (Minimum Requirements)
SBP – Puncture resistant midsole in addition to SB.
S1 – In addition to SB, anti-static feature and fully energy absorbing base surface.
S1P – Puncture resistant midsole in addition to S1.
S2 – Water resistant and waterproof in addition to S1. It is usually found in winter shoes such as work boots.
S3 – S2 plus puncture-reinforced midsole
S4 – 200 joules Finger Guard. Made of rubber or polymer material (waterproof). Anti-Static properties, Energy Absorbing heel area.
S5 – S4 plus reinforced puncture resistant midsole
S1: Dry environments, places with risk of electrostatic charge (shops, workshops, gas stations, shipyards, carpentry workshops)
S1P: Like S1, but places working with sharp and piercing materials, thorns and large tools (construction sites, machinery industries, steel workshops, foundries, etc.)
S2: Places with high humidity and/or hydrocarbons in abundance (refineries, chemical, cement, wood and plastic industries etc.)
S3: Like S2, but places that work with sharps, thorns and large tools (construction sites, machinery industries, steel workshops, foundries, etc.)
In addition, the features of the shoes can be additionally specified with various codes.
P: Steel Intermediate Base
C: Conductor Shoe
A: Antistatic Shoes
HI: Insulation Against Heat
CI: Insulation Against Cold
E: Energy Absorption of Heel Area
WRU: Waterproof Upper
HRO: 300 °C Resistant Base
ESD: Electrostatic Discharge
