Resistor Color Code

Resistor Colour Code

Read the colour bands on a through-hole resistor, or find the bands for a value.

Decode: bands → value

Which end is first? The first band is the one closer to a lead wire. On 5-band parts the gap before the last band is a little wider.

Encode: value → bands

How it works

Small resistors are too tiny to print numbers on, so they use coloured stripes. The first stripes are digits, the next one says how many zeros to add, and the last one says how accurate it is. Start from the end where the stripes are bunched up near the wire.

4-band = digit, digit, multiplier, tolerance (E12/E24 parts). 5-band = digit, digit, digit, multiplier, tolerance (E48/E96/E192). 6-band = 5-band + temperature coefficient (TCR).

Examples: Red / Red / Orange / Gold = 22 × 10³ Ω = 22 kΩ ±5 %. Yellow / Violet / Green / Red / Brown = 475 × 10² Ω = 47.5 kΩ ±1 %. Brown / Green / Red / Gold = 1.5 kΩ ±5 %.

Colour table

ColourDigitMultiplierToleranceTCR (6th band, ppm/K)*

Colour values per Vishay doc 20143 (based on IEC 60062). * TCR values “depending on model” (Vishay). Pink (×10⁻³) is rare, decode only (IEC 60062:2016+A1:2019). Grey/white multipliers are rare and not listed by every maker.