Type N
Plug Types · 5 specs
Direct Answer
Type N is used in two places -- Brazil and South Africa -- but they are genuinely different implementations, not one standard: Brazil's NBR 14136 uses two different pin-diameter variants and skips a shutter requirement that South Africa's SANS 164-2 (closer to the source IEC 60906-1 spec) includes.
Source: IEC 60906-1 (Brazil: NBR 14136; South Africa: SANS 164-2) · Last reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Specs
| Pin Count | 3 round pins in a triangle (symmetrical layout) |
| Rated Current (Brazil) | 10 or 20 (4.0mm or 4.8mm pins respectively) A |
| Rated Current (South Africa) | 16 (uniform 4.5mm pins) A |
| Grounded | Yes, both implementations |
| Common Regions | Brazil (exclusively) and South Africa (exclusively) -- used nowhere else as a primary standard |
One Letter, Two Different Plugs
Both Brazil's and South Africa's Type N trace back to the same source, IEC 60906-1 (published 1986), but the two countries implemented it differently enough that they deserve separate treatment rather than one shared spec. South Africa's SANS 164-2 (rollout began 2018) follows the IEC spec closely: a single uniform 4.5mm pin diameter across the standard, 16A rating, and mandatory safety shutters over the live and neutral holes.
Brazil's NBR 14136 (mandatory since 2010) diverges on both points: it defines two separate pin-diameter variants -- 4.0mm pins for 10A plugs, 4.8mm for 20A plugs -- and doesn't require shutters at all. Because South Africa's uniform 4.5mm pins sit between Brazil's two sizes, a Brazilian 10A plug can physically insert into a South African socket with a loose, marginal connection -- a genuine practical mismatch between two standards that share a letter and a common ancestor but aren't the same specification.