A rugged tablet carries the marking "ATEX/IECEx Zone 2/22". The project, however, is in Texas, at an operator in Alberta, or at a group whose specification demands "Class I Division 2". Three terms now sit side by side, and they do not answer the same question. ATEX is EU law for manufacturers. IECEx is an international certification system. Class and Division describe, in the USA, how a location is classified and which equipment is approved for it. This article puts the three systems side by side and shows what the data sheets of our six Ex rugged tablets say about them. The zone classification itself (Zone 0 to 2 for gas, Zone 20 to 22 for dust) is explained in ATEX and explosion protection. It is taken as known here. The statements about the systems come from pages of IECEx, the European Commission, the US occupational safety authority OSHA and committee documents of the NFPA, which we retrieved on 20 October 2026.
ATEX asks: may this product be placed on the EU market? IECEx asks: has a recognised body tested the device under uniform rules, and is the manufacturer monitored? Class and Division ask about the location first: which class and which division does the area have, and is the equipment "approved" for it? Anyone who reads the three as competitors for the same label arrives at wrong equations such as "IECEx equals Class I Division 2". The table summarises what the retrieved sources say about each system.
| Feature | ATEX | IECEx | Class/Division and zones (USA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | EU Directive 2014/34/EU, applicable since 20 April 2016 | IEC certification system; by its own statement it does not carry out conformity assessment itself | Classification of locations and requirements for equipment under 29 CFR 1910.307; NEC rules in Articles 500, 505 and 506 |
| Who tests | Conformity assessment before placing on the market, then CE marking | Certification bodies (ExCBs) and test laboratories (ExTLs) | The equipment must be "approved", for example by a nationally recognised testing laboratory |
| Evidence | Ex marking on the device, CE marking | Certificate of Conformity based on a test report (ExTR) and a factory audit (QAR) | Marking with class, group and temperature; with zones, the AEx symbol |
| Classification of the location | Zones 0, 1, 2 and 20, 21, 22, set by the operator | not covered by the retrieved pages | Class I, II, III with Division 1 or 2; for Class I alternatively Zone 0, 1, 2 |
| Scope | EU market | 37 countries in the member list, including the USA, Canada and Germany | US workplaces under OSHA |
According to the European Commission, Directive 2014/34/EU covers equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. It sets safety requirements and conformity assessment procedures that must be met before placing on the market. It has applied since 20 April 2016 and replaced Directive 94/9/EC. The CE marking may only be affixed once the prescribed conformity assessment is complete. The Commission also keeps a list of harmonised standards in Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1668, which give a presumption of conformity. The list was last amended on 3 September 2026.
Directive 2014/34/EU is addressed to the manufacturer. The operator is covered by Directive 1999/92/EC: it lays down minimum requirements for the protection of workers who may be endangered by explosive atmospheres and, according to the Commission, adds the employers' duties to those of the manufacturers. In practice: the manufacturer supplies a marked device, the operator classifies its areas and decides whether the device fits. What the individual characters of the marking mean is resolved character by character in Reading the ATEX marking.
IECEx stands for the IEC system for certification to standards relating to equipment for use in explosive atmospheres. It aims to facilitate international trade in such equipment and services, is non-profit by its own statement, and does not carry out conformity assessment itself. Manufacturers apply to an approved certification body. All bodies work to a common set of rules.
The central document for a device is the Certificate of Conformity. It requires two parts: a type-tested sample, documented in a test report (ExTR), and an assessment of production with regular surveillance, documented in a Quality Assessment Report (QAR). There are also component certificates and unit verifications for one-offs. Issued certificates, licences and reports can be viewed publicly in the IECEx online system. That helps in purchasing: the model designation and the certificate number can be checked there instead of trusting the brochure.
What remains open is whether a country requires or recognises the IECEx certificate. The retrieved IECEx pages say nothing definite on this. They only state that test reports and QARs can be referenced in countries with national differences. The member body list names 37 countries, including the USA, Canada, Germany, Australia and China. A country must be a full or associate member of the IEC to join. Membership is not a promise, however, that every authority there accepts the certificate.
In the USA, the OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.307 governs electrical equipment in classified locations. Every room and every area is classified individually. The class says what is combustible: Class I stands for ignitable gases or vapours. The division says how likely that is. Under the definitions in 1910.399, an area is Class I Division 1 if ignitable concentrations can occur in normal operation. Class I Division 2 covers areas where volatile flammable liquids or gases are handled or used but are normally kept in closed containers or systems and escape only through rupture or abnormal operation.
In addition, 1910.307(g) expressly allows employers to use zone classification as an alternative to the division system. The wording names Class I, Zone 0, Zone 1 and Zone 2 for this, that is gases, vapours and liquids. According to OSHA, zone equipment carries the AEx symbol, followed by zone, type of protection, gas group and temperature class. The example in the regulation reads "Class I, Zone 0, AEx ia IIC T6". The NFPA committee documents on the National Electrical Code give the split of the articles: Article 500 deals with Class I, II and III with Division 1 and 2, Article 505 with Zones 0 to 2 as the alternative, Article 506 with the dust zones 20 to 22. Under 1910.399, dust belongs to Class II ("hazardous because of the presence of combustible dust"), and in the zone system only to Article 506. We have not checked which edition of the NEC applies in your state.
Two consequences matter for purchasing. First, the regulation does not equate Zone 2 with Division 2. It only says that Class I Zone 2 areas may abut Division 2 areas but must not overlap them. A device with "Zone 2" therefore does not automatically prove "Division 2". Second, under 1910.307(e), equipment approved for Division 1 may be installed in a Division 2 location of the same class and group. The group is part of the approval and must match the gas. We retrieved no source for Canada. Everything in this section applies to the USA.
A simple order can be derived from the sources. It does not replace a review by the explosion protection specialist, but it narrows the questions.
The retrieved OSHA passages do not say that an ATEX or IECEx certificate replaces the US approval. Do not assume it does. Conversely, a North American approval is no substitute in the EU for the marking under Directive 2014/34/EU. For industrial projects with plants in several regions, this is the most frequent reason for queries. The page Industry gives an introduction to the requirements of the sector.
The table is taken from the data sheets on robustbook.bitblade.io. The markings appear there verbatim from the manufacturer data sheet where one exists. The "North America" column contains only what the data sheet states. An entry "not stated" means that we cannot document anything, not that no approval exists.
| Device | Display, protection rating | Zone and system per data sheet | Marking per data sheet | North America per data sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getac ATEX EX80 | 8 inches, IP67 | ATEX/IECEx Zone 0/20 | not stated | UL913 (Class I/II Division 1), no group stated |
| Getac T800 EX ATEX | 8.1 inches, IP65 | ATEX, Zone 2/22 (IECEx not stated) | not stated | not stated |
| Getac F110-EX | 11.6 inches, IP66 | ATEX/IECEx Zone 2/22 | Ex II 3G Ex ic op is IIC T4 Gc; Ex II 3D Ex ic op is IIIC T130°C Dc | not stated |
| Getac K120-EX | 12.5 inches, IP66 | ATEX/IECEx Zone 2/22 | Ex II 3G Ex ic op is IIC T4 Gc; Ex II 3D Ex ic op is IIIC T130°C Dc | not stated |
| Getac UX10-EX | 10.1 inches, IP66 | ATEX/IECEx Zone 2/22 | Ex II 3G Ex ic op is IIC T4 Gc; Ex II 3D Ex ic op is IIIC T130°C Dc | not stated |
| Getac ZX80-EX | 8 inches, IP67 | ATEX/IECEx Zone 2/22 | Ex II 3G Ex ic op is IIC T4 Gc; Ex II 3D Ex ic op is IIIC T130°C Dc | not stated |
Three points stand out. First, only the EX80 states any North American entry at all, and it reads Division 1, not Division 2. There is also no longer a manufacturer data sheet for the EX80, as Getac removed the model and its documents from its own site. The entry comes from the product page, where it reads "ATEX/IECEx Zone 0/20 and UL913 (Class I/II Division 1)". Which gas groups the approval covers is not stated anywhere. Whether the EX80 fits a Division 2 area in an individual case under 1910.307(e) depends on exactly this group and cannot be answered from the data sheet.
Second, the F110-EX, K120-EX, UX10-EX and ZX80-EX carry the marking "Ex II 3G" for gas and "Ex II 3D" for dust, that is equipment group II and category 3. That is the European notation, and it contains no division. The UX10-EX is listed in the table as of the manufacturer data sheet dated 21 April 2026. According to the article The new generation Getac UX10-EX, the new generation keeps the same marking. That article also notes that the Getac documents we checked do not name an approval under Class I, Division 2.
Third, the emphasis is on Zone 2/22. Five of the six devices are specified for it, only the EX80 for Zone 0/20. None of the six states anything for Zone 1/21.
Before ordering, clarify four things:
Limits of this article: we retrieved no source on the Canadian rules, none on the relationship of IECEx to national authorities outside the EU, and none on which edition of the NEC applies in which US state. Anyone who must have Class I Division 2 gets no documentation from the data sheets of the six Ex tablets. The data sheets of the Getac ZX80, ZX80W, F120 and G140 list it as an option; these tablets carry no Ex marking. The approval for the chosen configuration has to be requested from the manufacturer.
None of the retrieved sources says so. The European Commission describes its own procedure for Directive 2014/34/EU, consisting of conformity assessment and CE marking. The five devices with an IECEx entry list both, ATEX and IECEx, in their data sheets.
The definitions in 1910.399 sound similar: in both cases, ignitable concentrations are not expected in normal operation. The regulation, however, treats zones and divisions as two systems that lie next to each other at a boundary but must not overlap. It contains no equation of the equipment approvals.
None of the six data sheets names Class I Division 2. According to the product page, the Getac ATEX EX80 lists UL913 (Class I/II Division 1). As an option, the data sheets of the Getac ZX80, ZX80W, F120 and G140 list approval to ANSI/UL 121201 and CSA C22.2 NO. 213 (Class I Division 2); these tablets carry no Ex marking. Anyone who needs Division 2 asks the manufacturer for the approval of the specific model and gas group.
In the IECEx online system, which publicly shows issued certificates, licences and reports. There you search by certificate number or manufacturer and compare model and type of protection with the data sheet.
For Zone 2/22 in the EU there are five Ex tablets to choose from: the ZX80-EX with 8 inches, the T800 EX ATEX with 8.1 inches, the UX10-EX with 10.1 inches, the F110-EX with 11.6 inches and the K120-EX with 12.5 inches. Anyone who needs IECEx certificates rules out the T800 EX ATEX, because its data sheet does not name IECEx. For Zone 0/20 the range has only the EX80, which is also the only one of the six Ex tablets with a North American entry, and that is for Division 1. For a project that requires Class I Division 2, the data sheets of the six Ex tablets document nothing. The option appears in the data sheets of the Getac ZX80, ZX80W, F120 and G140, which carry no Ex marking. In that case the approval question belongs before the choice of device. For questions about the right Ex certification for your country and your area, the RobustBook team is glad to help.