What does the motorcyclist pictogram on a gear label mean?

It marks the item as certified motorcycle protective equipment rather than ordinary clothing. The class or level the product achieved is printed beside or inside the pictogram, and a small open-book symbol nearby tells you to read the manufacturer's information booklet for the details.

My jacket says EN 17092-3:2020 AA. What does the -3 mean?

The part number maps directly to the garment class: part 2 is AAA, part 3 is AA, part 4 is A, part 5 is B and part 6 is C. So -3 and the letters AA are two ways of printing the same result, and they always agree on a correct label.

Why do the pads inside my jacket have a different label from the jacket itself?

They are certified under different standards. The garment label (EN 17092) rates the shell and says which armor pockets must be filled; each pad's own label (EN 1621) rates the armor's impact performance. The garment class does not tell you the armor level, so read both.

What does KP on a glove label mean?

KP means the glove's knuckle protector passed a standardized impact test under EN 13594:2015. It is optional at Level 1 and mandatory at Level 2, though some Level 2 labels print just the digit 2 without the letters.

What do the four numbers on a boot label mean?

Under EN 13634:2017 they are four independent scores of 1 or 2, read left to right: upper height, impact-abrasion resistance, impact-cut resistance and transverse rigidity. There is no overall boot level, so mixed strings like 1 2 2 2 are normal — the leading 1 only means a short boot.

Updated 2026-07-18

How to read a CE label on motorcycle gear

A top-to-bottom walk through the labels sewn into motorcycle garments, armor, gloves and boots — what each mark means and the order to read them in.

Start at the pictogram

Every piece of CE-certified riding gear carries a small sewn-in label, and it is built around the same anchor: a pictogram of a rider on a motorcycle. That symbol is what separates certified motorcycle protective equipment from ordinary clothing, and the class or level the product achieved is printed beside or inside it. Around the pictogram you will find the CE mark, the standard reference with its edition year — for example EN 17092-3:2020 — a small open-book symbol telling you to read the manufacturer's information booklet, and the usual maker, size and care details.^[2]

The reading order is the same on every item: pictogram first, then the standard number and year, then the class letter or level digits, and finally the separate labels on any armor inside. The rest of this guide walks that order for garments, armor, gloves and boots.

Garments: the part number is the class

On jackets, pants, suits and riding jeans the standard is EN 17092, and the digit after the hyphen tells you the class before you even reach the letters: part 2 is class AAA, part 3 is AA, part 4 is A, part 5 is B and part 6 is C.^[1] A label reading EN 17092-3:2020 AA is saying the same thing twice — the part number and the letters in the pictogram always agree.

The class rates the garment shell — abrasion, seam and tear performance — and dictates which armor pockets must be filled. It does not rate the armor inside; the pads carry their own labels, covered in the next section.^[1]^[3] Three things trip riders up here:

Class B has the same shell requirements as class A but contains no impact protectors at all.^[1]
Class C is an armor holder with no abrasion rating, meant to be worn with another garment, not instead of one.^[1]
No class, including AAA, requires a back or chest protector.^[4]

Labels from around 2018–2019 may read prEN or FprEN 17092 — certification against the near-identical draft of the standard, read the same way.^[5] The full class breakdown is in garment class vs armor.

Armor: a second label in every pocket

Pull each pad out of its pocket and it has a label of its own, because impact protectors are certified under a separate standard family, EN 1621. A typical limb-armor label combines four elements — standard and edition, level, zone letters and size type — often printed like EN 1621-1:2012 Level 2 K+L Type B, though the exact order varies by maker:^[6]^[9]

Standard and edition — EN 1621-1 covers shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and leg armor. Read the year as part of the code: the label certifies what that edition tested.
Level — 1 or 2. For limb armor, Level 2 must pass a lower transmitted-force limit than Level 1 in the standard's drop test.^[6]
Zone letters — S shoulder, E elbow and forearm, H hip, K knee, K+L knee plus shin, L shin below a separate knee pad.^[6]
Type — A is the smaller minimum coverage area, B the larger; both must pass identical force limits.^[6]

Back protectors use EN 1621-2, which swaps the zone letters for coverage codes — FB full back, CB central back, LB lower back — and are sized by waist-to-shoulder length in centimetres, not jacket size.^[7] Chest protectors use EN 1621-3.^[8] You may also see T+ or T-: the pad was additionally impact-tested after hot (+40 °C) or cold (−10 °C) conditioning and still met its level; a missing mark means not tested at that extreme, not failed.^[8] One trap: a level only compares within the same body zone. Back Level 2 and limb Level 2 are different tests with different limits, so a bare "CE Level 2" with no part number is incomplete information.^[6]^[7] The numbers behind each level are in armor levels.

Gloves: one digit, sometimes KP

A certified glove label shows the rider pictogram, the reference EN 13594:2015, a level digit of 1 or 2, and sometimes the letters KP.^[11] Level 2 demands more from every mechanical test and requires a gauntlet cuff reaching at least 50 mm past the wrist, against 15 mm for Level 1 — which is why short-cuff gloves can only ever be Level 1.^[10] KP means the knuckle protector passed a standardized impact test. It is optional at Level 1 and mandatory at Level 2, and some Level 2 labels print just the digit without the letters.^[10]^[11] On a Level 1 glove without KP, a hard knuckle shell is untested styling.^[11]

Boots: four digits, left to right

Boot labels under EN 13634:2017 carry four digits after the pictogram, each independently scored 1 or 2, always in the same order: upper height, impact-abrasion resistance, impact-cut resistance, and transverse (crush) rigidity.^[12] There is no single overall boot level — the 2017 edition removed it — so mixed strings are normal.^[12]^[14] A boot marked 1 2 2 2 is a short boot that reached level 2 on every protection test; the leading 1 describes coverage height, not material strength.^[12] After the digits, optional letters record extra tested properties: WR water resistance, FO fuel- and oil-resistant outsole, SRA/SRB/SRC slip resistance, IPA and IPS ankle and shin armor, WAD insole water absorption and drying, and B breathability.^[13] Gloves and boots get a fuller treatment in glove and boot standards.

The order in short, and where to look up a code

Whatever the item, the same five steps apply:

Find the motorcyclist pictogram — it confirms the item is certified motorcycle protective equipment.^[2]
Read the standard number: EN 17092 is a garment, EN 1621 armor, EN 13594 a glove, EN 13634 a boot.
Note the edition year — the label certifies what that edition tested.
Read the class letter, level digit or digit string next to the pictogram.
Then open the pockets: every pad inside carries a second label of its own.^[3]

Every one of these marks is a published lab result at a fixed test condition — a tier for comparing products, not a prediction about any particular crash; the standards themselves note that test forces do not translate directly to real accidents.^[7] If a code on your gear is not covered here, the label decoder can look it up, and our methodology explains how we treat lab ratings across the site.

Common questions

What does the motorcyclist pictogram on a gear label mean?: It marks the item as certified motorcycle protective equipment rather than ordinary clothing. The class or level the product achieved is printed beside or inside the pictogram, and a small open-book symbol nearby tells you to read the manufacturer's information booklet for the details.
My jacket says EN 17092-3:2020 AA. What does the -3 mean?: The part number maps directly to the garment class: part 2 is AAA, part 3 is AA, part 4 is A, part 5 is B and part 6 is C. So -3 and the letters AA are two ways of printing the same result, and they always agree on a correct label.
Why do the pads inside my jacket have a different label from the jacket itself?: They are certified under different standards. The garment label (EN 17092) rates the shell and says which armor pockets must be filled; each pad's own label (EN 1621) rates the armor's impact performance. The garment class does not tell you the armor level, so read both.
What does KP on a glove label mean?: KP means the glove's knuckle protector passed a standardized impact test under EN 13594:2015. It is optional at Level 1 and mandatory at Level 2, though some Level 2 labels print just the digit 2 without the letters.
What do the four numbers on a boot label mean?: Under EN 13634:2017 they are four independent scores of 1 or 2, read left to right: upper height, impact-abrasion resistance, impact-cut resistance and transverse rigidity. There is no overall boot level, so mixed strings like 1 2 2 2 are normal — the leading 1 only means a short boot.