What "CE certified" on a riding jacket actually means: EN 17092 classes and armour levels explained

Short answer: "CE certified" on a riding jacket covers two different things. The class letter, AAA, AA, A, B or C, grades the garment itself under the European standard EN 17092. Level 1 or Level 2 grades the armour that sits in the pockets, under a different standard, EN 1621. A jacket can have Level 2 armour and no garment class at all, so the letter is the number you want to see first.

The class letter grades the jacket, not the pads

REV'IT, which publishes its certification explainer in full, describes Class AAA as garments that "offer the highest level of protection from impact and abrasion", with one-piece suits as the example. Class AA sits in the middle and is meant to cover "the greatest diversity of riding activities". Class A offers "the minimum necessary degree of protection from impact and abrasion" with the fewest ergonomic penalties. Class B is the odd one out, matching Class A abrasion performance but with no impact protectors at all. Class C is not a jacket in the normal sense, it is an armour ensemble worn as an undergarment or overgarment, and it protects only the areas the protectors cover.

To earn a class, the garment is tested for impact abrasion, where a 5 mm hole is the failure threshold, plus tear strength, seam strength, dimensional stability with a maximum of 5 per cent shrinkage, and innocuousness, which is the chemical safety check. REV'IT notes that since April 2018 all motorcycle garments fall under the scope of the European PPE regulation, which is why the paperwork exists at all. A certified garment carries labelling and markings inside, and comes with a booklet stating the class it was certified in. If there is no booklet and no class letter on the label, you are looking at an uncertified shell.

Level 1 and Level 2 are only about the armour

The armour standards work the other way around. They measure how much force passes through the protector in a test strike, in kilonewtons, and lower is better. Bennetts BikeSocial lists the limits as EN 1621-1 for limb protectors at 35 kN for Level 1 and 20 kN for Level 2, EN 1621-2 for back protectors at 18 kN for Level 1 and 9 kN for Level 2, and EN 1621-3 for chest protectors at 18 kN for both levels.

So Level 2 elbow pads in a jacket with no garment class tell you about two small pieces of foam, not about the fabric, the stitching or the way the jacket holds together when it slides.

How to read it in an Indian showroom

The cleanest labels spell out both halves. Rynox lists its Outlander Pro jacket as Class AA certified to EN 17092-3:2020, with Level 2 shoulder and elbow protectors to EN 1621-1:2012, a Level 2 back protector to EN 1621-2:2014 and Level 2 chest protectors to EN 1621-3:2018, at ₹13,950. On the same brand's CE certified listing, the Outlander Pro pants are ₹11,950, the Apex Evo jacket is ₹18,750 and the Downtown Pro jeans are ₹7,950, all shown as Class AA.

That gives you a usable benchmark. Class AA kit from an Indian brand starts in the ₹8,000 to ₹19,000 band, and a jacket at a quarter of that, sold only on the strength of "CE armour", has not been through the garment tests. Ask for the declaration of conformity or the class letter before you pay. Brands that have done the testing publish both.

Sources

• REV'IT!: What is CE certification?
• Bennetts BikeSocial: What's the safest motorcycle gear? CE ratings explained
• Rynox Gear: Outlander Pro jacket
• Rynox Gear: CE certified apparel