Generally, high voltage is considered above 1,000 volts AC or 1,500 volts DC under IEC-style standards, though the exact cutoff can vary by industry and region. In some U.S. safety contexts, voltages above 600 volts are treated as high voltage.

Quick Scoop

  • IEC/common international definition: over 1 kV AC or 1.5 kV DC.
  • OSHA-style safety context: 600 V or higher may be treated as high voltage.
  • Some North American power standards: use much higher thresholds for utility transmission, such as 69 kV and above.
  • Vehicles: “high voltage” can start at 30 V AC or 60 V DC in automotive contexts.

What it means in practice

The phrase depends on the setting. For home wiring, 120 V or 240 V is usually not called high voltage, but in industrial or automotive systems, much lower voltages can still be classified as high voltage for safety reasons.

Simple rule of thumb

If you want one practical answer: anything above 1,000 volts AC is typically considered high voltage in general electrical engineering usage.

If you want, I can also give you a one-line answer for a blog post , a safer public-facing definition , or a table by standard.