Pick the bands to read a 4, 5 or 6-band resistor, type a value to get its colors, or decode an SMD code such as 103, 4R7 or 01C. It follows IEC 60062 and flags readings that are not standard values.
Resistance
4.7 kΩ
±5% · IEC 60062 4-band code
Start at the band nearest one end; the wider tolerance band goes last. On a 4-band resistor the first two bands are digits, the third is the multiplier and the fourth is the tolerance, so yellow, violet, red, gold is 47 × 100 = 4.7 kΩ ±5%. A 5-band resistor has three digits: red, yellow, white, orange, brown is 249 × 1,000 = 249 kΩ ±1%.
Each result shows the tolerance range, the matching SMD codes, and the nearest standard values when the reading is not one, which usually means a misread color or the wrong reading direction.
The resistor color code is set by IEC 60062. Read from the band nearest an end. The digit bands come first, then a multiplier that says how many zeros to add (or, for gold and silver, where the decimal point goes), then the tolerance band, which the standard makes 1.5 to 2 times wider than the rest. As a formula:
R = digits × 10multiplier, ± tolerance
A 3-band resistor has two digits and a multiplier and no tolerance band, which means ±20%: blue, grey, red is 6.8 kΩ. A 4-band resistor adds a tolerance band. A 5-band resistor has three digits for precision values, and a 6-band resistor adds a temperature coefficient band after the tolerance.
Yellow (4), violet (7), red (×100), gold (±5%): 47 × 100 = 4.7 kΩ. At ±5% the real value can be anywhere from 4.465 kΩ to 4.935 kΩ.
Red (2), yellow (4), white (9), orange (×1,000), brown (±1%): 249 × 1,000 = 249 kΩ, from 246.5 kΩ to 251.5 kΩ. This is the example IEC 60062 itself uses. 249 kΩ is an E96 value, which is why it needs the third digit.
Orange, orange, gold, gold is 33 × 0.1 = 3.3 Ω ±5%. Gold is a multiplier here and a tolerance in the last position. Add a red 6th band to the 249 kΩ resistor above and it is specified at ±50 ppm/K, so a 50 °C rise can move it by about 622.5 Ω.
IEC 60062:2016 Table 1. The same colors serve as digits, multipliers, tolerances and temperature coefficients depending on the band's position.
| Color | Digit | Multiplier | Tolerance | TCR (6th band) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | ×1 | — | 250 ppm/K |
| Brown | 1 | ×10 | ±1% (F) | 100 ppm/K |
| Red | 2 | ×100 | ±2% (G) | 50 ppm/K |
| Orange | 3 | ×1k | ±0.05% (W) | 15 ppm/K |
| Yellow | 4 | ×10k | ±0.02% (P) | 25 ppm/K |
| Green | 5 | ×100k | ±0.5% (D) | 20 ppm/K |
| Blue | 6 | ×1M | ±0.25% (C) | 10 ppm/K |
| Violet | 7 | ×10M | ±0.1% (B) | 5 ppm/K |
| Grey | 8 | ×100M | ±0.01% (L) | 1 ppm/K |
| White | 9 | ×1G | — | — |
| Gold | — | ×0.1 | ±5% (J) | — |
| Silver | — | ×0.01 | ±10% (K) | — |
| Pink | — | ×0.001 | — | — |
| No band | — | — | ±20% (M) | — |
Older charts list grey as ±0.05%. IEC 60062:2016 gives grey ±0.01% and orange ±0.05%, and added pink for ×0.001.
4-band with gold (±5%) and 5-band with brown (±1%) tolerance, plus the chip resistor markings.
| Value | 4-band | 5-band | SMD code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Ω | Brown, black, black, gold | Brown, black, black, gold, brown | 100 / 10R0 |
| 22 Ω | Red, red, black, gold | Red, red, black, gold, brown | 220 / 22R0 |
| 47 Ω | Yellow, violet, black, gold | Yellow, violet, black, gold, brown | 470 / 47R0 |
| 100 Ω | Brown, black, brown, gold | Brown, black, black, black, brown | 101 / 1000 |
| 220 Ω | Red, red, brown, gold | Red, red, black, black, brown | 221 / 2200 |
| 330 Ω | Orange, orange, brown, gold | Orange, orange, black, black, brown | 331 / 3300 |
| 470 Ω | Yellow, violet, brown, gold | Yellow, violet, black, black, brown | 471 / 4700 |
| 680 Ω | Blue, grey, brown, gold | Blue, grey, black, black, brown | 681 / 6800 |
| 1 kΩ | Brown, black, red, gold | Brown, black, black, brown, brown | 102 / 1001 |
| 2.2 kΩ | Red, red, red, gold | Red, red, black, brown, brown | 222 / 2201 |
| 3.3 kΩ | Orange, orange, red, gold | Orange, orange, black, brown, brown | 332 / 3301 |
| 4.7 kΩ | Yellow, violet, red, gold | Yellow, violet, black, brown, brown | 472 / 4701 |
| 10 kΩ | Brown, black, orange, gold | Brown, black, black, red, brown | 103 / 1002 |
| 22 kΩ | Red, red, orange, gold | Red, red, black, red, brown | 223 / 2202 |
| 47 kΩ | Yellow, violet, orange, gold | Yellow, violet, black, red, brown | 473 / 4702 |
| 100 kΩ | Brown, black, yellow, gold | Brown, black, black, orange, brown | 104 / 1003 |
| 220 kΩ | Red, red, yellow, gold | Red, red, black, orange, brown | 224 / 2203 |
| 1 MΩ | Brown, black, green, gold | Brown, black, black, yellow, brown | 105 / 1004 |
Chip resistors use digits instead of colors. A three-digit code is two significant digits and a power of ten, so 103 is 10 × 10³ = 10 kΩ. A four-digit code has three significant digits for E96 values: 1002 is also 10 kΩ. Below 10 Ω (or 100 Ω for four digits) the letter R marks the decimal point. Small ±1% chips often carry an EIA-96 code instead: two digits giving the position in the E96 series and a multiplier letter.
| Code | System | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 103 | 3-digit | 10 kΩ |
| 472 | 3-digit | 4.7 kΩ |
| 101 | 3-digit | 100 Ω |
| 4R7 | RKM | 4.7 Ω |
| R100 | RKM | 0.1 Ω |
| 1002 | 4-digit | 10 kΩ |
| 4701 | 4-digit | 4.7 kΩ |
| 01C | EIA-96 | 10 kΩ |
| 68X | EIA-96 | 49.9 Ω |
| 000 | 3-digit | 0 Ω jumper |
Code number and E96 value. Multiply by the letter: Y ×0.01, X ×0.1, A ×1, B ×10, C ×100, D ×1k, E ×10k, F ×100k (Bourns CRP0603). Charts disagree on R and S, so check those against the datasheet.
| 01 100 | 02 102 | 03 105 | 04 107 | 05 110 | 06 113 | 07 115 | 08 118 |
| 09 121 | 10 124 | 11 127 | 12 130 | 13 133 | 14 137 | 15 140 | 16 143 |
| 17 147 | 18 150 | 19 154 | 20 158 | 21 162 | 22 165 | 23 169 | 24 174 |
| 25 178 | 26 182 | 27 187 | 28 191 | 29 196 | 30 200 | 31 205 | 32 210 |
| 33 215 | 34 221 | 35 226 | 36 232 | 37 237 | 38 243 | 39 249 | 40 255 |
| 41 261 | 42 267 | 43 274 | 44 280 | 45 287 | 46 294 | 47 301 | 48 309 |
| 49 316 | 50 324 | 51 332 | 52 340 | 53 348 | 54 357 | 55 365 | 56 374 |
| 57 383 | 58 392 | 59 402 | 60 412 | 61 422 | 62 432 | 63 442 | 64 453 |
| 65 464 | 66 475 | 67 487 | 68 499 | 69 511 | 70 523 | 71 536 | 72 549 |
| 73 562 | 74 576 | 75 590 | 76 604 | 77 619 | 78 634 | 79 649 | 80 665 |
| 81 681 | 82 698 | 83 715 | 84 732 | 85 750 | 86 768 | 87 787 | 88 806 |
| 89 825 | 90 845 | 91 866 | 92 887 | 93 909 | 94 931 | 95 953 | 96 976 |
The IEC 60063 E24 series, one decade. Bold values are also in E12. Every decade repeats them: 4.7 Ω, 47 Ω, 470 Ω, 4.7 kΩ and so on. Vishay, for example, makes ±5% chips in E24 and ±1% chips in E24 and E96.
| 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
| 4.7 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 9.1 |
Resistors you will meet on almost every board, with their colors and chip markings.
| Scenario | Value | Bands | SMD |
|---|---|---|---|
| LED on 5 V A 2.0 V LED at 15 mA: (5 − 2) ÷ 0.015 A. Check your LED’s forward voltage. | 200 Ω | Red, black, brown, gold | 201 |
| I²C pull-ups A common starting value for 100 kHz buses; the right value depends on bus capacitance. | 4.7 kΩ | Yellow, violet, red, gold | 472 |
| MCU reset or GPIO pull-up A common default for reset lines and button inputs. | 10 kΩ | Brown, black, orange, gold | 103 |
| USB-C sink CC pull-downs The Rd pull-down a USB-C device puts on CC1 and CC2 so a charger detects it and turns on VBUS. | 5.1 kΩ | Green, brown, red, gold | 512 |
| CAN bus termination One at each end of the bus, matching the cable’s impedance. | 120 Ω | Brown, red, brown, gold | 121 |
| 50 Ω line termination The E96 value closest to 50 Ω, so it has an EIA-96 code. | 49.9 Ω | Yellow, white, white, gold, brown | 49R9 or 68X |
| Current-sense shunt 0.1 Ω drops 100 mV per amp. Low values use R as the decimal point. | 0.1 Ω | Brown, black, silver, gold | R10 |
The digits run from black (0) and brown (1) through the rainbow, red (2) to violet (7), and end with grey (8) and white (9). A mnemonic such as "Big Boys Race Our Young Girls But Violet Generally Wins" covers them. The multiplier is the same number as a power of ten, so red is ×100 and orange ×1,000. Gold and silver only appear as multipliers (×0.1, ×0.01) or tolerances (±5%, ±10%).
IEC 60062 defines the color code and the three- and four-character chip codes, and its 2016 edition carries the E96 position code (EIA-96) as an informative annex. IEC 60063 defines the E-series. Manufacturers mostly follow both, but not always: some print a tolerance letter or use a gap rather than a wider band, and EIA-96 letter charts differ for R and S. This calculator follows IEC 60062:2016, so values from older charts (grey ±0.05%) may differ. A color reading only tells you the nominal value; to know the real resistance, measure it.
In the ProtoFlow desktop app you rarely decode a resistor at all. Describe the circuit and the AI drafts a schematic with catalog parts, or place resistors yourself and type values however you like: 4k7, 4.7k and 4700 all become the same normalized 4.7 kΩ. When the schematic moves to the board, any resistor that has a value and package but no footprint is matched to a catalog part with exactly that value and size, so a 10 kΩ 0603 never turns into a 1 kΩ by fuzzy search. The BOM groups identical values, compares LCSC, DigiKey and Mouser, and exports with the pick-and-place file for assembly. Download ProtoFlow free for macOS, Windows or Linux.
A 10 kΩ resistor with 4 bands is brown, black, orange, gold (1, 0, ×1,000, ±5%). With 5 bands it is brown, black, black, red, brown (1, 0, 0, ×100, ±1%). As a chip resistor it is marked 103, 1002 or, in EIA-96, 01C.
A 1 kΩ resistor is brown, black, red, gold with 4 bands and brown, black, black, brown, brown with 5 bands. Its SMD codes are 102 and 1001.
330 Ω ±5%: 3, 3, then ×10, so anything from 313.5 Ω to 346.5 Ω is in spec. Red, red, red, gold is 2.2 kΩ ±5%.
Start from the band closest to one end of the body. IEC 60062 makes the tolerance band 1.5 to 2 times wider than the others, and it usually sits apart from them, so it goes last. Gold and silver are never the first band. If a reading lands on a non-standard value, try the other direction.
A 4-band code has two significant digits, enough for the E24 series used by ±5% parts. A 5-band code has three digits for E96 values such as 4.99 kΩ, so it is used on ±1% and tighter resistors. In both, the band before the tolerance is the multiplier.
It is the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) in ppm per kelvin: brown 100, red 50, yellow 25, orange 15, blue 10, violet 5. A 249 kΩ part with a red 6th band can drift by about 622.5 Ω over a 50 °C swing. Since IEC 60062:2016 the 6th band is no longer the wide one.
Three digits are two significant digits and a power of ten: 472 is 47 × 10² = 4.7 kΩ. Four digits work the same with three significant digits: 4701 is also 4.7 kΩ. An R marks the decimal point (4R7 = 4.7 Ω), and two digits plus a letter is an EIA-96 code.
It is an EIA-96 code. The digits are the position in the E96 series (01 is 100, 96 is 976) and the letter is a multiplier (C is ×100), so 01C is 10 kΩ and 68X is 49.9 Ω. EIA-96 is used on small ±1% chips with no room for four digits.
Three bands are two digits and a multiplier with no tolerance band, which IEC 60062 defines as ±20%. Blue, grey, red is 6.8 kΩ ±20%. You mostly see this on old parts.
Use a mnemonic for black to white (0 to 9): "Big Boys Race Our Young Girls But Violet Generally Wins" gives black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, grey, white. Then remember that gold means ×0.1 or ±5% and silver means ×0.01 or ±10%.
ProtoFlow is free AI PCB design software: describe a circuit and get a schematic with real parts, PCB layout with an autorouter, SPICE simulation and Gerber files. Native KiCad, Altium and EAGLE import and export. Free on macOS, Windows and Linux.
Free to start. No card required.
Download ProtoFlow
