“Bulletproof” is a marketing word. The measurable thing is a ballistic rating, and a ballistic rating is earned in a laboratory under a defined standard, for a defined threat, on a complete assembly. This article explains how the two main rating systems work, where they differ, and what a buyer should ask for.
How a ballistic rating is earned
A door, window or shutter is mounted as a complete assembly and shot with a defined ammunition type at a defined velocity, from a defined distance and angle, in a defined pattern. The results are then judged against pass criteria. In both the US and European systems the criteria are broadly the same three:
- No penetration of the protected face.
- Limited backface deformation — the depth to which the inside face is pushed in. This is the criterion that protects people behind the panel from blunt trauma even when nothing passes through.
- No spalling — no fragments ejected from the protected face. This is a distinct failure mode from penetration, and a panel that stops the bullet but throws fragments into the room has not done its job.
A rating therefore describes a performance against a threat, not a material property. The same steel will rate differently depending on ammunition, and a rating is only meaningful together with the standard and the class.
UL 752: the US system
UL 752, published by UL Solutions, is the standard most North American specifications reference. It classifies performance in numbered levels, from Level 1 upward, with the threat escalating from handguns to high-powered rifles. The well-known anchors at each end of the scale are Level 1, which addresses 9 mm handgun ammunition, and Level 10, which addresses .50 calibre rifle ammunition. Levels 8 and above address military rifle threats including 7.62 mm NATO.
Two things are worth understanding about using it. First, the levels are not a linear severity scale in ordinary language — the step between levels corresponds to specific cartridge and velocity definitions, so “two levels better” does not mean a fixed percentage improvement. Second, the published standard is the authority on the exact ammunition, velocity and shot pattern for each level; anyone quoting a level to you should be able to point to the current edition of the standard and to a test report issued against it.
EN 1522 and EN 1063: the European system
Europe splits the subject into two standards, and the split matters when you are reading a certificate:
- EN 1522 covers complete elements — windows, doors and shutters — and rates them in FB classes.
- EN 1063 covers security glazing, and rates it in BR classes, from BR1 up to BR7.
The two class systems are aligned, so an FB4 element and a BR4 glazing are matched to the same threat. For a glazed door, both certificates matter: the frame and leaf are rated under EN 1522, and the glass under EN 1063.
The BR classes run from BR1 (rimfire, .22 calibre) through BR2 (9 mm Luger) and BR3 (.357 Magnum) to BR4 (.44 Remington Magnum), then to BR5 (5.56 × 45 mm) and BR6 and BR7, which address 7.62 × 51 mm NATO — BR7 being the hard-core armour-piercing variant of that round.
The practical point: the numbering does not line up
This is the single most useful thing to take from this article. The same threat sits at a different number in each system.
| Threat | UL 752 | EN 1063 / EN 1522 |
|---|---|---|
| .22 rimfire | — | BR1 |
| 9 mm handgun | Level 1 | BR2 |
| .357 Magnum | Level 2 | BR3 |
| .44 Remington Magnum | Level 3 | BR4 |
| 5.56 × 45 mm rifle | Mid-level rifle rating | BR5 |
| 7.62 × 51 mm NATO | Level 8 | BR6 |
| 7.62 × 51 mm armour-piercing | Above Level 8 | BR7 |
| .50 calibre rifle | Level 10 | Not covered |
Treat that table as an orientation, not a specification. The exact ammunition, velocity and shot pattern for every level and class are defined in the standards themselves, and the two systems also differ in test distance and in how the impact pattern is laid out. A product certified to one system cannot be substituted into a specification written to the other without a re-test, and any supplier who offers to “convert” a rating between systems is not giving you a defensible answer.
What goes wrong on real specifications
- The rating is claimed for the leaf, but applies to the assembly. A rated panel in an unrated frame, with unrated hinges and fixings, has no rating. The frame, the hardware and the way the assembly is anchored to the structure are all part of the tested configuration.
- Glass is often the weak point. A door with an unrated vision panel is not a rated door. This is why EN splits the door (EN 1522) from the glazing (EN 1063).
- Multiple ratings get conflated. Ballistic resistance, fire resistance and blast resistance are three separate certifications. A door can hold one, two or all three, and each has its own standard and its own certificate.
- “Bulletproof” is presented as absolute. It is not. A rating says the assembly defeated a defined threat at a defined distance with a defined number of shots. Repeated hits, a different ammunition, or a closer range are outside the scope of the rating.
- The finishing hides a modification. Any cut for a lock, a vision panel or a closer has to be part of the tested configuration. A modification after certification invalidates it.
What to ask for
- The standard and the class, with the edition year of the standard.
- The test report, not the certificate summary — the report tells you what was actually tested.
- The scope of the tested configuration: leaf size range, frame, hardware, glazing and fixing method.
- Whether your specific size, handing and hardware package falls inside that scope.
- Whether a fire or blast rating is also required, and separately certified.
- Who carries the liability if the installed assembly is outside the tested configuration.
What we produce
We manufacture door systems for interiors, wet areas and entrances — WPC, PVC and wood leaves, plus steel and steel-wood entry doors, supplied with matched frames, mouldings and hardware. On top of that range we build ballistic-rated entrance doorsets to order, in the protection class a project specifies.
Because a ballistic rating belongs to the whole assembly, the workable way to specify one is to send us the required standard and class — a UL 752 level, or an EN 1522 element class together with the matching EN 1063 glazing class where there is a vision panel — along with the opening size, the handing and the hardware package. We come back with the construction we would put forward and the test documentation that can be issued with the order. Raise the class early: it sets the core build-up, the frame, the fixings and the weight, and it is far cheaper to settle before production than after.
Where the requirement is less formal — a solid-core entrance door with high resistance to impact and forced entry, without a named ballistic class — say so, and our specification checklist sets out the figures to ask for.
Next step: Tell us the application, the destination market, the required protection class and the volume, and we will come back with the construction for that class and the documentation that accompanies it.
Explore our WPC door range · See our core materials · About our factory
