Emergency lighting gets a functional test every six months, and an autonomy test once a year.
UNI 11222 is the Italian technical standard that sets out how a safety lighting installation is tested and kept in working order, whether the units are self-contained or centrally fed. It doesn't set illuminance levels — that's UNI EN 1838's job — but the method for checking them over time: a general test, a functional test and an autonomy test, each on its own cadence. Here is what the standard covers, which checks fall due when, and how it interacts with the legal obligation where one exists.
What UNI 11222 covers, in brief
UNI CEI 11222:2013 — "Light and lighting — Safety lighting systems in buildings — Procedures for periodic testing and maintenance" — is the Italian technical standard that describes how a safety lighting installation is checked over time, from commissioning to decommissioning. It applies to both self-contained units, with their own battery, and centrally fed systems supplying a single power source to multiple light points. It is still the edition in force, but the framework around it is moving: CEI EN 50172 was reissued in September 2024 and UNI EN 1838 in 2025, and industry sources indicate that UNI CEI 11222:2013 will cease to be applicable from April 2027, with the full transition to CEI EN 50172:2024 — check the standard's status before that date.
It doesn't set illuminance levels or the minimum required autonomy: that's the job of UNI EN 1838, the photometric standard the design has to meet from the outset. Nor does it cover how the luminaire itself is built, which is a matter for the product standard CEI EN 60598-2-22. UNI 11222 comes after: it takes those design requirements and says how you check, over time, that the installation keeps meeting them.
As with fire extinguishers, it's a voluntary technical standard: it becomes enforceable where a law refers to it. In workplaces it's DM 2 settembre 2021 that requires safety lighting along escape routes and the inspection register — but for the testing cadence it points to the relevant technical standards and the manufacturer's manual, without setting a figure of its own.
The three tests, under the standard
UNI 11222 organises checking the installation into three distinct tests, each with a different object and a different reference cadence.
- 01
Functional test
every 6 months
designated competent person
- 02
General test
at least once a year
designated competent person
- 03
Autonomy test
at least once a year
designated competent person or qualified maintenance technician
These cadences come from the technical reference practice built on article 4 of the standard: UNI 11222 isn't a decree, so it doesn't set a legal obligation with a hard number. Always check what the design and the manufacturer's manual say.
Technical standard and legal obligation: two different things
UNI 11222 and DM 2 settembre 2021 don't do the same job: one is a technical method, the other a legal obligation. Mixing them up leads to reading a technical cadence as if it were a figure written into a decree.
| Aspect | UNI CEI 11222:2013 | DM 2 settembre 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | voluntary technical standard | ministerial decree, national law |
| What it requires | the method of the three tests and their reference cadence | safety lighting along escape routes and the inspection register in workplaces |
| Cadence | functional every 6 months, general and autonomy at least every year | points to the technical standards and the manufacturer's manual, sets no figure of its own |
Where the decree refers to the technical standard, the technical cadence effectively becomes the reference to follow — but it remains a cross-reference, not a figure written into the law itself.
Who performs the tests, and what the register must show
The standard requires that tests be entrusted to people with adequate knowledge to identify and apply the necessary technical, organisational and procedural measures: unlike the fire extinguisher maintenance technician, no dedicated register of qualified professionals is required, but the employer or the person responsible for the installation must be able to show that whoever is checking knows what they're looking at.
Every test has to be logged. The register — which technical practice expects to align with CEI EN 50172, the European standard for emergency escape lighting systems — records at least the commissioning date, any changes made to the installation, the units' serial numbers, the date of each test, who carried it out and the outcome, including any faults found and how they were fixed.
Units with self-testing (the so-called SE, or self-test, devices) report their charge status and the outcome of the last self-test on their own, and in practice they lighten the manual workload of the functional test. They don't, however, remove the need for the register or the periodic check by a competent person: self-testing helps catch a fault sooner, it doesn't replace whoever signs the report.
Six points to get right
Six practical points for whoever manages a safety lighting installation.
- Check that every unit is visible and not blocked by shelving, furniture or signage moved after installation
- An autonomy that's shrinking against its declared value is the first sign a battery needs replacing, not something to push to the next round
- The technical cadence — functional every 6 months, general and autonomy once a year — is a starting reference: the design or the manual may call for a tighter one
- The test register needs to be kept up to date and on hand, not reconstructed from memory on the day of the check
- "Every so many months" isn't a legal obligation with a fixed number: it's a technical cadence, and it should be presented as one
- A self-testing unit's self-check doesn't replace the periodic check by the competent person
Watch for sources still citing DM 10 marzo 1998
Many online guides still cite DM 10 marzo 1998 for a six-monthly autonomy-test cadence in higher-risk settings. That decree was repealed on 29 October 2022 and replaced by the September 2021 package of decrees — DM 2 settembre 2021 in particular: the new text requires the register and the safety lighting, but for the cadence it points to the technical standards and the manual, with no figure of its own tied to the old decree anymore. If you still see "DM 10/3/98" cited as the source of an exact cadence, that source is out of date.
What UNI 11222 doesn't set
The standard doesn't say how many lux a corridor needs or how many minutes a lamp has to stay lit: those figures live in UNI EN 1838 and in the installation's design. Nor does it say how the luminaire has to be built, which is a matter for the product standard CEI EN 60598-2-22. UNI 11222 sets the method for checking over time, not the starting values.
This guide is informational material: it does not replace the standards cited, the manufacturer's manual or the judgement of a qualified technician. ToriSet organises deadlines and documents; it does not certify compliance.
The same deadlines, without the spreadsheet to recalculate.
Anyone who reaches the end of a guide like this one usually keeps the dates on a spreadsheet, on a tag, or from memory. It works as long as the assets are few and there is one person keeping track. Here is what changes with a logbook.
A spreadsheet with one date per row, on a single computer
A shared logbook: whoever opens the record sees what's due and who did the last job
You recalculate the next deadline yourself, if you remember
ToriSet calculates it from the last job: by months, by hours of use, or whichever comes first
The reminder is a sticky note or a diary
An email 30, 14, 7 and 1 day before, to you and to whoever has to act
Reports and invoices in a folder, to go looking for when needed
Attached to the job, on the product's record
What changes from one country to the next.
UNI 11222 is an Italian technical standard: it doesn't apply outside national borders. Every country has its own reference — technical, building-code or regulatory — playing a similar role. Below are the foreign equivalents, with the caveat that the source that counts remains the one cited, together with the manufacturer's manual and the design.
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Italy
References
UNI CEI 11222:2013
The technical standard that sets the procedures for periodic testing and maintenance of safety lighting installations in buildings.
UNI EN 1838
Sets the illuminance levels and the autonomy required at design stage, the reference UNI 11222 builds on.
DM 2 settembre 2021
Requires safety lighting along escape routes and the inspection register in workplaces, pointing to the technical standards and the manual for cadences.
Intervals
Functional test
every 6 months
designated competent person
General test
at least once a year
designated competent person
Autonomy test
at least once a year
designated competent person or qualified maintenance technician
NoteThese cadences come from technical reference practice built on article 4 of the standard, not from a figure written into a decree: DM 2 settembre 2021 requires the register and the installation itself, it doesn't set the cadence. Always check what the design and the manufacturer's manual say.
France
References
NF C 71-830
The French technical standard on BAES (self-contained safety lighting units): periodic testing and maintenance, the technical reference closest to UNI 11222.
Arrêté du 25 juin 1980
The safety regulation for ERP (buildings open to the public) that requires safety lighting according to the building's category.
Arrêté du 14 décembre 2011
Sets out BAES maintenance in detail.
Intervals
Functional test
every month
designated staff or technician
Autonomy test
every 6 months
designated staff or technician
General check
once a year, often by an approved body
technician or approved body
NoteFor BAES fitted with self-test (SATI) devices, the monthly and six-monthly checks can be simplified: always check the unit's data sheet and the ERP regulation that applies to the building's category.
Germany
References
ASR A3.4/7
The German workplace technical rule on safety lighting and optical safety guidance systems.
DIN VDE 0108-100
The technical reference closest to UNI 11222: planning, installation, operation and maintenance of safety lighting installations.
DIN EN 50172
The harmonised European reference for emergency escape lighting systems, also referred to by the German standard.
Intervals
Visual check
daily or weekly in practice
building manager
Functional and autonomy test
once a year in practice
competent person (Sachkundiger)
In-depth test with illuminance measurement
every 3 years in practice
competent person
NoteThe German framework is more layered than the Italian one, with daily checks left to the building manager and a periodic technical test entrusted to a competent person: always check the DGUV and ASR provisions that apply to your building.
Switzerland
References
Brandschutzvorschriften VKF / AICAA
The Swiss fire safety regulations: they cover safety lighting for escape routes, without a dedicated technical standard like UNI 11222.
SN EN 1838
Sets the photometric requirements and minimum autonomy in Switzerland too, just as UNI EN 1838 does in Italy.
Intervals
Operability check (self-testing units)
monthly in practice
building manager
Charge-state check
once a year in practice
building manager or specialist
Retest of the minimum autonomy value
every 5 years in practice after the initial test
specialist
NoteAs with fire extinguishers, enforcement in Switzerland is cantonal and there is no single text equivalent to UNI 11222: check what your canton's fire authority requires and what the unit's data sheet says.
Austria
References
TRVB S 127
The Austrian technical directive on safety lighting: design, testing and maintenance.
OIB-Richtlinie 2
The Austrian building directive that requires safety lighting for escape routes according to the building type.
ASchG, §29
The employee protection law that places responsibility for fire safety installations, emergency lighting included, on the employer.
Intervals
Functional test
monthly in practice
qualified person
Intermediate test
every 6 months in practice
qualified person
Annual test
once a year in practice, with illuminance measured at least every 2 years
qualified person
NoteThe Austrian framework is the most finely staged of the four foreign ones: three levels of check plus a periodic photometric measurement, under TRVB S 127 and ÖNORM EN 50172.
What we get asked most.
What does UNI 11222 cover?
UNI CEI 11222:2013 sets the procedures for periodic testing and maintenance of safety lighting installations: three tests — general, functional and autonomy — each with a different object, responsible party and reference cadence. It doesn't set illuminance levels, which remain UNI EN 1838's job.
How often are emergency lights checked under UNI 11222?
In the technical reference practice, the functional test is done every 6 months, while the general test and the autonomy test are done at least once a year. These are technical cadences, not a legal obligation with a fixed number: the design or the manufacturer's manual may call for a tighter one.
What is the emergency lighting autonomy test?
It's the measurement of how long the units stay lit after ordinary power is interrupted, checked against the autonomy declared at design stage under UNI EN 1838. In practice it's done by disconnecting the power supply and timing how long the units stay on, usually at least once a year.
Is maintaining emergency lighting a legal obligation?
The obligation to have safety lighting and keep an inspection register, in workplaces, comes from DM 2 settembre 2021. The testing cadences that decree points to, though, are those of technical standards like UNI 11222 and of the manufacturer's manual: the technical standard itself remains voluntary until a law refers to it.
Who can carry out safety lighting tests?
The standard calls for people with adequate knowledge to identify and apply the necessary technical measures, not a dedicated register of professionals: it's the person responsible for the installation who has to ensure whoever checks it knows what they're looking at, and who answers for the register kept under CEI EN 50172.
Does ToriSet help manage emergency lighting maintenance?
ToriSet helps you keep to the testing cadences of your safety lighting installation: you record each unit with its location and its declared autonomy, and from there you get automatic reminders for the functional test and the autonomy test, with a digital log of work attached to the right installation. The tests themselves remain the responsibility of the designated competent person.
Emergency lighting has three tests, not one.
Functional every 6 months, general and autonomy once a year: three different deadlines for every installation, hard to keep straight on paper. Record each unit with its location and its declared autonomy, and let the reminders arrive before the next test is due.
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