Every pair of safety glasses on a job site carries a small stamp near the hinge, usually just the letters Z87, and most people never look at it twice. That stamp is the entire reason the glasses are legal to wear instead of the sunglasses from the gas station. In January 2026, the standard behind that stamp changed for the first time since 2020. If your company runs a safety-eyewear program, or you just buy your own gear and want it to actually hold up in an audit, it is worth five minutes to know what moved.
The short version
The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) published ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025 on January 8, 2026. It replaces the 2020 edition as the current American National Standard for occupational and educational eye and face protection, the document manufacturers test against before they can legally stamp a lens or frame with Z87. It is a revision, not a reinvention. The core structure, the impact testing, the Z87 and Z87+ marking system, is the same one you already know. What changed is mostly clarity: how markings get labeled, how prescription lenses are documented, and how a few gray areas in testing get interpreted.
What actually changed
Per ISEA and the ANSI Blog's writeup of the revision, the 2025 edition makes four real changes worth knowing:
- A formal cross-reference to ANSI/ISEA Z87.62-2021, the standard covering protection from blood and other potentially infectious materials, so eyewear rated for that hazard is easier to identify and specify correctly.
- Expanded guidance on product markings, including clearer rules for how prescription lens carriers get labeled and new worked examples in Annex L, which matters if your program mixes off-the-shelf and Rx safety glasses.
- Updated language around impact testing, lens haze, and minimum coverage area, aimed at getting testing labs and manufacturers to run those tests more consistently against each other.
- General editorial reorganization, grouping requirements by hazard type so the document is easier to navigate section to section.
None of that touches the marking codes themselves. Z87 is still the base impact mark, Z87+ is still high-velocity impact, and the letter suffixes for welding shades, UV filters, and anti-fog coatings work the same way they did under the 2020 edition. If you want the full breakdown of what each letter and number on the stamp actually means, we already covered that ground in ANSI Z87.1, Explained, and none of it needed a rewrite.
Why ISEA bothered
Standards committees do not revise a document every five years for fun. The stated goal here is consistency: giving manufacturers, testing labs, and the safety managers who buy from them a shared, less ambiguous reading of the same rules. Eye injuries are common enough that the ambiguity matters. ISEA's own release on the update leans on figures from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the CDC to make that case.
"ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 has always been about practical protection, not theory. This revision is focused on making the standard clearer and more usable for the people who depend on it, from manufacturers and safety professionals to the workers and students wearing this equipment every day."
Does this affect glasses you already own
No. A revision to the standard does not reach backward and un-certify eyewear that was tested and marked under the 2020 edition. Glasses stamped Z87 or Z87+ under the prior standard remain what they were the day they were made. What the update does affect is anything newly manufactured, tested, or marked going forward, since that's what has to be certified against the current edition. If you're building or refreshing a program, that's the practical trigger point, not a recall of what's already in the lockers.
What a safety manager should actually check
This isn't a reason to panic-order new eyewear. It is a reasonable prompt to look at three things. First, if your program includes prescription safety glasses, ask your supplier whether their carrier and lens documentation reflects the clarified Annex L guidance, since that's the part of the revision most likely to touch an Rx order. We cover the ordering side of that in How to Order Prescription Safety Glasses. Second, if anyone on your crew handles bloodborne pathogen exposure risk, welding, or lab work, the Z87.62 cross-reference is worth a look with whoever manages your compliance documentation. Third, treat this as a normal-cycle nudge to revisit your written eyewear policy generally, not because the rules changed dramatically, but because most programs are overdue for a look regardless. Our rundown on OSHA eye protection requirements for employers and our guide to running a safety-eyewear program for a crew are both good starting points if that hasn't happened in a while.
For teams outfitting more than a handful of people, we run a dedicated corporate safety eyewear program that handles the ordering, the documentation, and the fitting logistics so this isn't one more thing landing on a single person's desk.
What to actually look for on a frame
Whatever edition a pair was certified under, the buying logic hasn't changed: match the frame to the hazard. A few current, Z87-rated options across the brands we carry, all tested to the impact standard: the Wiley X JAKL for a tactical-leaning fit with side coverage, the Heat Wave Vise for a lighter everyday shop frame, the Oakley SI Ballistic M Frame 2.0 Strike for a wraparound ballistic profile, and the Spy Bounty for a more casual frame that still clears the bar. Full range is in our Z87 safety sunglasses collection.
Common questions
Do I need to replace safety glasses that meet the 2020 standard?
No. Eyewear certified under ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2020 remains valid PPE. The 2025 edition applies to products tested and marked going forward, not retroactively to what's already in service.
What is the difference between Z87 and Z87+?
Z87 indicates a lens and frame that passed the standard's basic impact test. Z87+ indicates it passed the higher-velocity, high-impact test. That distinction did not change in the 2025 revision.
Does the 2025 update change anything about prescription safety glasses?
It clarifies how lens carriers and prescription components should be marked and documented, with new examples in Annex L. It does not add a new certification category for Rx eyewear.
Is ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2025 the same thing as an OSHA requirement?
No. OSHA's eye and face protection rule, 29 CFR 1910.133, requires employers to provide appropriate protection and commonly points to the ANSI Z87.1 standard as the benchmark for what "appropriate" means. ANSI/ISEA writes the technical standard; OSHA enforces the workplace requirement.
How do I know which edition my current glasses were certified under?
The frame itself won't say 2020 or 2025, since the Z87 marking doesn't include a year. If it matters for your documentation, check the purchase date and ask your supplier which edition was in effect when the product was manufactured and tested.
None of this is a reason to rebuild a program from scratch. It's a reason to spend ten minutes confirming your current gear and your supplier's documentation are still lined up with what's current. Browse the full Z87 safety sunglasses lineup if it's time to add to the rotation.
