A North American two-prong plug

Two flat parallel blades, no earth – the everyday plug of the USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan.

Standard: NEMA 1-15
Current: 15 A
Voltage: 100–127 V
Earth: no
Pins: 2

Type A is the ungrounded member of the North American family, standardised as NEMA 1-15. It is used for small devices such as phone chargers, lamps and shavers. In the USA and Canada one blade is usually wider than the other so that the plug can only go in one way round (polarisation); Japanese plugs normally have two blades of equal width. A type A plug fits every type B socket, but not the other way round.

What it looks like

Two flat, parallel blades about 6.3 mm wide and 12.7 mm apart; on polarised plugs the neutral blade is wider.

The drawings are schematic – they show the pin layout, not the exact dimensions of the standard.

Plugs that fit a type A socket

Type A

A type A plug also fits

Type B

Where it is used 55

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the most common type in the country (4)
one of the types in use (51)