ANSI Z87.1 is the American national safety standard for eye and face protection. It sets the testing criteria, performance requirements, and marking system that safety glasses, goggles, face shields, and welding helmets must meet to be sold as protective eyewear in the United States. If you’ve seen “Z87” stamped on a pair of safety glasses, that marking tells you the eyewear has been designed and tested to this standard.
The standard is published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in partnership with the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA). It covers protection against impact, chemical splash, dust, and harmful radiation like UV, infrared, and intense visible light from welding. The most recent version is ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025, though earlier editions remain in wide use.
What the Standard Covers
Z87.1 applies to four categories of protective eyewear: spectacles (safety glasses), goggles, face shields, and welding helmets. It addresses hazards commonly found in workplaces and educational settings, including machinery operations, welding and cutting, chemical handling, and assembly work. The standard spells out general design requirements, testing protocols, permanent marking rules, and guidance on selecting the right protector for a given hazard.
Importantly, Z87.1 is not limited to industrial settings. It also applies to educational environments like school science labs and shop classes, anywhere eyes face predictable hazards from flying objects, splashing liquids, or harmful light.
How to Read Z87.1 Markings
Every piece of Z87.1-compliant eyewear carries permanent markings on both the lens and the frame. These codes tell you exactly what the eyewear is rated to protect against. Learning a few key markings makes it easy to verify whether a pair of safety glasses matches the hazards you face.
Impact Ratings
The most basic marking is “Z87” stamped on the lens. This means the lens has passed the standard’s basic impact test. If you see “Z87+” instead, the lens meets the high-impact rating, which involves more demanding testing with faster projectiles and heavier dropped objects. The plus sign is the critical detail: eyewear marked Z87+ offers significantly more protection against flying debris than basic-rated lenses.
Frames carry a similar distinction. A frame marked “Z87” meets basic impact requirements, while “Z87+” on the frame means it passed high-velocity impact testing as a complete unit. For full high-impact protection, both the lens and the frame need the “+” marking.
Splash, Dust, and Fine Dust Codes
Beyond impact, Z87.1 uses letter-number codes to indicate protection against other hazards:
- D3: splash and droplet protection, meaning the eyewear resists liquid chemicals or biological fluids from reaching your eyes
- D4: dust protection, designed to keep larger airborne particles out
- D5: fine dust protection, for environments with very small airborne particles like grinding dust or powder
These markings typically appear on goggles rather than standard safety glasses, since goggles form a seal around the eyes that open-frame spectacles cannot provide. If your work involves chemical splashes or dusty conditions, look for the appropriate D-rating rather than relying on impact-rated glasses alone.
Radiation and Light Filter Codes
For work involving harmful light or radiation, Z87.1 uses letter codes followed by a number indicating the filter’s shade or scale:
- W (followed by a shade number): welding filter lens, where higher numbers block more intense light
- U (followed by a scale number): ultraviolet light filter
- R (followed by a scale number): infrared light filter
- L (followed by a scale number): visible light filter
A welding helmet lens marked “W 10,” for example, provides shade 10 welding protection. These markings help you match the filter to the specific type and intensity of radiation you’ll encounter.
Why OSHA Requires It
Z87.1 matters beyond product labels because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) references it directly in federal workplace safety regulations. Under OSHA standard 1910.133, employers must provide eye and face protection that complies with an approved version of Z87.1. OSHA currently accepts three editions of the standard:
- ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010
- ANSI Z87.1-2003
- ANSI Z87.1-1989 (R-1998)
OSHA also allows eyewear that an employer can demonstrate is “at least as effective” as products built to one of those listed editions. In practice, this means newer versions of the standard (like the 2020 or 2025 editions) are generally acceptable as long as they meet or exceed the requirements of the referenced versions. But if you’re buying safety glasses for a regulated workplace, confirming the Z87 marking is the simplest way to ensure compliance.
Choosing the Right Z87.1 Eyewear
The Z87.1 marking alone does not mean the eyewear protects against every hazard. A pair of safety spectacles rated Z87+ handles high-velocity impact well but offers no splash or dust protection. A set of goggles marked D3 resists liquid splashes but may not carry a high-impact rating. Matching the markings to your specific hazards is the whole point of the coding system.
Start with the primary hazard. If you’re running a grinder or using power tools, high-impact (Z87+) spectacles or goggles are the priority. If you’re handling chemicals, D3-rated goggles that seal against your face are more important than an impact rating. Welding requires the appropriate W shade for the process you’re performing. Many jobs involve overlapping hazards, and in those cases, you need eyewear that carries multiple markings or you need to layer protectors, like wearing safety goggles under a face shield.
Prescription safety glasses can also be Z87.1 compliant. These carry the same markings as non-prescription eyewear, so you can verify their ratings the same way. If you wear corrective lenses, prescription safety glasses eliminate the need to wear goggles over your regular glasses, which improves both comfort and the likelihood you’ll actually wear them consistently.
What Z87.1 Does Not Cover
The standard applies specifically to occupational and educational eye protection. It does not cover sports eyewear (which falls under ASTM standards), military ballistic eyewear (governed by MIL-PRF specifications), or sunglasses sold purely as fashion accessories. A pair of sunglasses with no Z87 marking may block UV light effectively but has not been tested for impact resistance or structural integrity under the Z87.1 protocol.
Z87.1 also sets minimum performance thresholds, not guarantees of invulnerability. High-impact rated lenses resist a specific projectile speed and energy in controlled testing. Hazards that exceed those test conditions can still cause injury. The standard reduces risk substantially, but selecting the right category and rating for your actual working conditions is what makes the protection effective.