EN 420, EN ISO 21420
Protective gloves — general requirements
The base standard behind every protective glove: innocuousness (e.g. pH, Chromium VI), sizing, dexterity, marking and information.
Current edition:
EN ISO 21420:2020 + A1:2024 — successor of EN 420:2003+A1:2009Compared with EN 420 it introduced new innocuousness limits (DMFa, nickel, PAHs, azo colourants) and ties electrostatic testing to EN 16350. A1:2024 fixes dated references to the test methods without changing technical requirements.
At the review date EN ISO 21420:2020+A1:2024 is newly cited on the harmonised list under Regulation (EU) 2016/425 (cited 16 June 2026, Decision (EU) 2026/1279); its predecessor EN 420:2003+A1:2009 stays listed as a transition until 16 December 2027. The EU Official Journal defines the status at any given time.
What does the standard require?
- Innocuousness: chromium(VI) in leather < 3 mg/kg, pH 3.5–9.5, nickel release from metallic parts, azo-colourant and PAH limits
- DMFa (dimethylformamide) < 1,000 mg/kg in any polyurethane-containing material — absent from EN 420
- Sizing by hand circumference and length (sizes 4–13); protection must not impair the task
- Dexterity levels 1–5, measured by picking up steel pins of decreasing diameter
- Marking and user-information rules referenced by every product-specific glove standard
Classes and levels: No pictogram of its own: it supplies the horizontal requirements that the product-specific standards (EN 388, EN 407, EN 511 …) mark against.
Related standards
Laboratory testing
Laboratory testing related to this standard — for development, verification and quality disputes. Which of the standard's tests run in our own laboratory, and which are sourced from a laboratory equipped for them, is stated before the quotation.
Certification (NB 1524)
This standard sets general requirements. BIMEO applies them in every EU type-examination of the products they cover, together with the standard for the protection claimed; on their own they are not a certification basis.
Further reading
Technical content cross-checked against external sources. Last reviewed: 2026-08-14. The authoritative list of harmonised versions is always the EU Official Journal.
A question about testing to EN 420, EN ISO 21420, or about certifying a product that has to meet these requirements?
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