Ballistic ratings: EN 1522 and EN 1063

EN 1522 and EN 1063 are the European standards behind the UK’s ballistic ratings. EN 1522 grades doors, windows and shutters from FB1 to FB7; EN 1063 grades glass from BR1 to BR7. Match the class to the weapon in your threat assessment, then check the test evidence covers the complete assembly you are buying.

• FB1 to FB7EN 1522 classes for doors, windows and shutters
• BR1 to BR7EN 1063 classes for ballistic glass
• S or NSSplinter behaviour stated with the rating
• Tested as oneFrame, glazing and fixings rated together

What EN 1522, EN 1523 and EN 1063 are and who publishes them

EN 1522, EN 1523 and EN 1063 are European standards for bullet resistance. EN 1522 sets the classification for windows, doors and shutters; EN 1523 is the test method used to prove it; EN 1063 does the same job for glass. They are published as European (EN) standards and adopted in the UK by BSI, which is why you will see them written as BS EN 1522 and BS EN 1063 on some documents.

The split between the standards matters when you specify. EN 1522 rates the product: the doorset, the window or the shutter as a complete assembly. EN 1063 rates the glazing material on its own. A bullet resistant window therefore carries two linked ratings in practice: the glass to EN 1063 and the whole window, glass plus frame, to EN 1522. Asking for one without the other leaves a gap an assessor will find.

These standards measure one threat only: bullets. They say nothing about forced entry with tools, about blast pressure, or about fire. A project facing more than one threat needs a product tested to each relevant standard, with separate evidence for each. That layering is normal on high-risk buildings, and it starts with understanding what each rating actually proves.

The EN 1522 classes: FB1 to FB7 and FSG

The FB classes run from FB1, the lightest rated threat, to FB7, the heaviest. The table below sets out the full scale as defined in the standard.

Notice the step change at FB5. Classes FB1 to FB4 cover handgun threats, from the .22 LR rimfire round up to the .44 Magnum. From FB5 the standard moves to rifle ammunition: 5.56 x 45 at FB5, both 5.56 x 45 and 7.62 x 51 at FB6, and the armour piercing 7.62 x 51 hard core at FB7. FSG sits outside the numbered sequence as the dedicated shotgun class.

When you choose a class, work from the threat assessment, not from instinct. FB4 is a common choice for commercial premises facing a handgun threat; FB6 and FB7 belong on buildings assessed against rifle fire. Over-specifying adds weight, thickness and cost to every opening, while under-specifying leaves the rated product unable to meet the threat it will actually face.

Match the class to the assessment. The right FB class is the one the threat assessment calls for. Higher is not automatically better: it is heavier, thicker and harder to integrate.

EN 1063 and the BR classes for glass

EN 1063 grades bullet resistant glass from BR1 to BR7, against the same weapons as the FB classes, plus SG1 and SG2 for shotgun. The table below shows the parallel scale.

The BR number should match the FB number on any one product: BR4 glass in an FB4 window, BR6 glass in an FB6 doorset. A mismatch is a red flag at submittal stage. If the glass is rated lower than the frame, the assembly cannot honestly carry the higher rating; if the glass is rated higher, you are paying for performance the frame cannot use.

Glass also carries a splinter suffix, which the next section explains. When you read a glazing specification, look for three things together: the BR class, the splinter result, and the make-up of the laminate. All three belong on the submittal, and all three should trace back to test evidence.

Splinters: what S and NS mean

A bullet that does not pass through the glass can still throw fragments off the protected face. The standard records this with a suffix: S means splinters are permitted, NS means no splinters. The table below summarises the two results.

For most occupied buildings, NS is the right call. Bank counters, reception screens, embassy windows and residential glazing all put people directly behind the glass, and a no-splinter result is part of what the rating is bought for. S has its place on unoccupied elevations and plant areas, but it should be a conscious choice, not a default.

State the suffix in the specification alongside the class, for example “BR4 (NS)”. Without it, a supplier can legitimately offer either result, and the two are not equivalent in an occupied room.

How the ballistic test works

For EN 1522, the laboratory tests a representative sample of the complete product: leaf, frame, glazing, seals and fixings, built as it would be installed. The sample is shot with the specified weapon and ammunition at defined ranges, with multiple impacts across the face, the edges and the junctions. The pass criterion is simple: the projectile must not penetrate, and for glazing the splinter result is recorded.

For EN 1063, the glass sample is tested on its own in a standard frame, so that the result describes the glazing material rather than any one window design. The window manufacturer then builds that glass into a tested window system to earn the EN 1522 rating for the assembly. Both steps are needed; a BR certificate for the glass is not an FB rating for the window.

Edge and junction shots matter because attackers aim at weak points: the joint between glass and frame, the lock case, the meeting stiles of a double door. A test programme covers these zones, which is another reason the rating belongs to the tested construction. Change the frame section, the bead or the lock, and strictly the test no longer describes what you are buying.

How to read a ballistic rating

A rating on a doorset reads like “FB4”: the product has been tested to EN 1522 against .357 and .44 Magnum. A rating on glass reads like “BR6 (NS)”: the glazing has been tested to EN 1063 against 5.56 x 45 and 7.62 x 51 rifle ammunition with no splinters from the protected face.

Higher numbers mean heavier threats, but the scale is not linear and the classes are not interchangeable. FB5 is not “a bit more than FB4”: it is the move from handgun to rifle, with a step change in the construction needed to defeat it. Read the class against the threat table, not as a score.

Finally, the rating applies to the tested assembly. An “FB6 doorset” claim should come with test evidence naming the leaf, frame, glazing, ironmongery and fixings that were shot. If any of those differ on your project, ask whether the evidence still covers the supply. Our bullet resistant doors page shows how a rated doorset is put together.

How ballistic ratings compare with related standards

Ballistic ratings answer one question: will a bullet get through? Other standards answer different questions, and the table below keeps them apart.

A bullet resistant product is not automatically burglar resistant or blast resistant. LPS 1175 tests what a person with tools can do over minutes; ISO 16933 tests what a pressure wave does to glazing and frame. The constructions differ, the tests differ, and the evidence differs. Where a site faces more than one threat, specify a product tested to each standard, and check each certificate separately. Our blast ratings guide and LPS 1175 guide explain those systems.

One combination deserves a note: forced entry and ballistic together. A doorset can carry both an LPS 1175 rating and an FB rating, each from its own test. On high-risk sites this pairing is common, because the two threats arrive together in real attacks. The security doors range includes assemblies built for exactly this pairing.

How to specify a ballistic rating

1. Define the threat. Establish which weapons the site is assessed against, from handgun through rifle to armour piercing.
2. Choose the class. Select the FB class for doors, windows and shutters, and the matching BR class for the glass.
3. State the splinter result. Write S or NS with the glazing class; choose NS wherever people stand behind the glass.
4. Require the whole assembly. Specify frame, glazing, seals, ironmongery and fixings as the tested construction.
5. Ask for test evidence. Require the test report or certificate naming the class, the construction and the splinter result.
6. Use a competent installer. Ballistic performance depends on the product being installed exactly as tested.

Write the requirement as a single clear line per opening, for example: “Doorset tested to EN 1522, FB4; glazing to EN 1063, BR4 (NS); complete assembly as tested.” That line gives the design team, the supplier and the checker the same thing to verify, and it leaves no room for a lower class to slip in at tender stage.

Products rated to EN 1522 and EN 1063

ArxBridge supplies ballistic protection across doors, windows, facades and residential work. Bullet resistant doors cover FB4 to FB7 steel doorsets. Bullet resistant glass covers BR rated glazing with spall and no-spall options. Bullet resistant windows are framed systems from FB4 to FB7, and ballistic curtain walling takes the rating across glazed facades to FB7. Ballistic louvre doors add ventilation with ballistic protection, and residential ballistic security covers high-risk homes. Sectors that specify these ratings most include banking, government and defence and high-value retail.

Frequently asked questions