EN IEC 63522-38:2025

Electrical relays - Testing and measurement - Part 38: Mechanical interlock

IEC 63522-38:2025 This part of IEC 63522 is used for testing all kinds of electrical relays and for evaluating their ability to perform under expected conditions of transportation, storage and all aspects of operational use. This document defines a standard test method for mechanical interlock.

Elektrische Relais - Mess- und Prüfverfahren - Teil 38: Mechanische Verriegelung

Relais électriques - Essais et mesurages - Partie 38: Verrouillage mécanique

IEC 63522-38:2025 La présente partie de l'IEC 63522 traite des essais de tous les types de relais électriques et elle évalue leur aptitude à fonctionner dans les conditions prévues de transport, de stockage et dans tous les aspects de leur utilisation opérationnelle. Le présent document définit une méthode d'essai normalisée pour le verrouillage mécanique.

Električni releji - Preskusi in meritve - 38. del: Mehanska zapora

Ta del standarda IEC 63522 se uporablja za preskušanje vseh vrst električnih relejev in vrednotenje njihove zmožnosti delovanja v pričakovanih pogojih med transportom in skladiščenjem ter v vseh vidikih operativne uporabe.
OPOMBA 1: Primeri električnih relejev za potrebe tega dokumenta vključujejo elektromehanske releje, releje reed, kontakte reed, stikala reed, polprevodniške releje, časovne releje in njihove tehnološke kombinacije.
Ta dokument določa standardno preskusno metodo za mehansko zaporo.
Preskus se uporablja za osnovne releje z mehanskim zapornim mehanizmom.
OPOMBA 2: Ta preskus se ne uporablja za električno zaporo.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 05-Jun-2025
• ICS: 29.120.70 - Relays
• Technical Committee: CLC/SR 94 - All-or-nothing electrical relays
• Drafting Committee: IEC/TC 94 - IEC_TC_94
• Current Stage: 6060 - Document made available - Publishing
• Start Date: 06-Jun-2025
• Due Date: 01-Sep-2023
• Completion Date: 06-Jun-2025
• Ref Project: SIST EN IEC 63522-38:2025 - Electrical relays - Testing and measurement - Part 38: Mechanical interlock

Relations

• Refers: prEN IEC 63522-0:2025 - Electrical relays - Tests and measurements - Part 0: General and guidance
• Effective Date: 03-Feb-2026

Overview

EN IEC 63522-38:2025 is part of a comprehensive series of standards dedicated to testing and measuring electrical relays, as developed by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CLC) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Specifically, Part 38 focuses on the assessment of mechanical interlock mechanisms in electrical relays. The standard defines methodologies to verify that mechanical interlocks function correctly under expected conditions encountered during transportation, storage, and operational use.

By providing a uniform test procedure, EN IEC 63522-38:2025 ensures consistency and reliability in relay performance, which is critical for safety and dependable operation in a broad range of electrical and electronic systems.

Key Topics

• Scope and Applicability:

  • Applies to all types of electrical relays equipped with mechanical interlocks, including electromechanical relays, reed relays, solid state relays, and combinations thereof.
  • Focuses exclusively on mechanical, not electrical, interlocking mechanisms.

• Definitions:

  • Mechanical Interlock: A feature that physically prevents the relay from operating under undesired conditions.
  • Opposing Contact: The contact that should not close when the interlock is engaged.
  • Dual Coil Circuit: Relays featuring two independent coil systems.

• Test Procedure Highlights:

  • One contact is held in a closed position via mechanical or electrical means.
  • The actuating coil of the opposing contact is cycled ON and OFF to simulate operational use.
  • The test cycle consists of a defined ON/OFF time and is repeated over 200 cycles.
  • The relay passes if the opposing contact does not close during testing.

• Evaluation and Reporting:

  • Results must document the method used to maintain contact position and the outcome regarding whether the interlocked contact remained open throughout the test.
  • Test reporting should provide enough detail for reproducibility.

Applications

EN IEC 63522-38:2025 serves as a valuable reference for:

• Manufacturers of Relays:

  • Ensuring that relay products meet rigorous mechanical interlock reliability standards before market release.
  • Facilitating conformity assessment in both R&D and quality control environments.

• Testing Laboratories:

  • Providing standardized procedures for performance and type testing of mechanical interlock features.

• System Integrators and OEMs:

  • Specifying compliant relays for use in critical applications such as industrial automation, transportation, energy distribution, and safety systems.

• Installation and Maintenance Teams:

  • Aiding in the selection and verification of relays that comply with recognized international standards for mechanical interlocks.

Related Standards

• EN IEC 63522-0 – Electrical relays - Tests and measurements - Part 0: General and guidance

  • The foundational document establishing general testing frameworks for the 63522 series.

• IEC 63255-0 – Provides applicable terminology for relays and their components.

• Other Parts in IEC 63522 Series – Covering additional aspects of relay test and measurement, supporting comprehensive relay assessment.

Practical Value

Implementing EN IEC 63522-38:2025 ensures that electrical relays with mechanical interlocks can be reliably tested for operational safety and performance. Adherence to this standard helps reduce the risk of relay failure under real-world conditions, supports international trade, and underpins product certification processes in the electrical components industry. This delivers confidence to manufacturers, end users, and regulatory bodies seeking high levels of safety and equipment reliability in electrical systems.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2025
Električni releji - Preskusi in meritve - 38. del: Mehanska zapora
Electrical relays - Testing and measurement - Part 38: Mechanical interlock
Elektrische Relais - Mess- und Prüfverfahren - Teil 38: Mechanische Verriegelung
Relais électriques - Essais et mesurage - Partie 38: Verrouillage mécanique
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN IEC 63522-38:2025
ICS:
29.120.70 Releji Relays
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN IEC 63522-38

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM June 2025
ICS 29.120.70
English Version
Electrical relays - Testing and measurement - Part 38:
Mechanical interlock
(IEC 63522-38:2025)
Relais électriques - Essais et mesurages - Partie 38: Elektrische Relais - Mess- und Prüfverfahren - Teil 38:
Verrouillage mécanique Mechanische Verriegelung
(IEC 63522-38:2025) (IEC 63522-38:2025)
This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2025-05-28. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC
Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the
same status as the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2025 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. EN IEC 63522-38:2025 E

European foreword
The text of document 94/1132/FDIS, future edition 1 of IEC 63522-38, prepared by TC 94 "Electrical
relays" was submitted to the IEC-CENELEC parallel vote and approved by CENELEC as
The following dates are fixed:
• latest date by which the document has to be implemented at national (dop) 2026-06-30
level by publication of an identical national standard or by endorsement
• latest date by which the national standards conflicting with the (dow) 2028-06-30
document have to be withdrawn
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document is read in conjunction with EN IEC 63522-0 .
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national committee. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CENELEC website.
Endorsement notice
The text of the International Standard IEC 63522-38:2025 was approved by CENELEC as a European
Standard without any modification.

Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: prEN IEC 63522-0:2024.
Annex ZA
(normative)
Normative references to international publications
with their corresponding European publications
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments)
applies.
NOTE 1  Where an International Publication has been modified by common modifications, indicated by (mod),
the relevant EN/HD applies.
NOTE 2  Up-to-date information on the latest versions of the European Standards listed in this annex is available
here: www.cencenelec.eu.
Publication Year Title EN/HD Year
2 3
IEC 63522-0 — Electrical relays - Tests and Measurements EN IEC 63522-0 —
- Part 0: General and Guidance

Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: IEC CDV 63522-0:2024.
Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: prEN IEC 63522-0:2024.
IEC 63522-38 ®
Edition 1.0 2025-04
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Electrical relays – Testing and measurement –

Part 38: Mechanical interlock
Relais électriques – Essais et mesurages –

Partie 38: Verrouillage mécanique

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
ICS 29.120.70  ISBN 978-2-8327-0363-2

– 2 – IEC 63522-38:2025 © IEC 2025
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Test procedure . 6
4.1 Purpose . 6
4.2 Procedure . 6
4.3 Conditions to be specified . 6
5 Evaluation . 6
5.1 General . 6
5.2 Test report . 6

IEC 63522-38:2025 © IEC 2025 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
ELECTRICAL RELAYS –
TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS –
Part 38: Mechanical interlock
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and
in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports,
Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)”). Their
preparation is entr
...