UNI 11224 changed in 2026, here's what the standard now requires.
On 9 July 2026 UNI published the new edition of UNI 11224, the Italian technical standard that governs initial check, surveillance, periodic control, maintenance and general verification of fire detection and alarm systems. It replaces the 2019 edition and mainly changes the timing and method of the general verification, along with the maintenance technician's qualification requirements. Here is what the standard requires today, what changed from 2019, and how it compares with its foreign equivalents.
What UNI 11224 covers, in brief
UNI 11224 is the Italian technical standard that sets out how a fire detection and alarm system — often called, in practice, simply a fire alarm system, or an IRAI system — is kept working over time: from the initial check at commissioning to the general verification that certifies it still holds up after years in service. Its scope isn't limited to systems that detect fire on their own: it also covers systems used to trigger an automatic extinguishing system or another fire-safety device.
It isn't a law but a technical reference that fire-prevention regulations point to. In particular, DM 1 settembre 2021 — the so-called decreto controlli — sets the general criteria for controlling and maintaining fire-safety systems and equipment in workplaces, and explicitly cites UNI 11224 as the technical reference to apply: it's this double track, technical standard plus the decree that calls it up, that makes its procedures enforceable.
The new edition, published by UNI on 9 July 2026, replaces the 2019 one and updates its timing, verification methods and the maintenance technician's requirements. For whoever manages a detection system, what matters most is still the five-stage structure: initial check, surveillance, periodic control, maintenance and general verification, each with its own interval and its own responsible party.
The four recurring stages, under the standard
Initial check aside — a one-off check at commissioning or when a new maintenance technician takes over, not a recurring one — the standard organises the rest into four stages that repeat over time, each with its own interval and its own responsible party.
- 01
Surveillance
continuous, according to the system's management plan
site staff, not necessarily specialised
- 02
Periodic control
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
- 03
Ordinary and extraordinary maintenance
following faults, anomalies or the outcome of the periodic control
qualified maintenance technician
- 04
General verification
at least every 12 years from commissioning
qualified maintenance technician
UNI 11224:2026 cuts from 6 to 3 years the time allowed to complete the overhaul or replacement work decided at general verification, and drops the live test with sample fires in favour of factory overhaul or replacing the device.
What's new in the 2026 edition, against 2019
The most visible change concerns the timing and method of the general verification, but the new edition also touches the technician's qualification and the criterion used to sample detectors during the periodic control.
| What changes | UNI 11224:2019 | UNI 11224:2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Time to complete the general verification | 6 years | 3 years |
| Testing detectors at general verification | live test with sample fires | live test removed: factory overhaul or replacement of the device |
| Maintenance technician's qualification | the role is introduced by the standard | aligned with the qualified maintenance technician defined by DM 1 settembre 2021 |
| Sampling in the periodic control | percentage tied to 6-year cycles from system handover | updated criterion, with a dedicated threshold for systems over 24 years old |
| Technologies covered | conventional and analogue addressable detectors | more detailed guidance for flame detectors, linear heat detectors, radio systems and voice alarm too |
Data from industry technical summaries of the 2026 edition, published on 9 July 2026: the full text of the standard is sold by UNI. For the exact sampling threshold that applies to your system, always check with your maintenance technician.
What happens at the periodic control, and what gets checked on the panel
The periodic control stays six-monthly, but not every detector is tested at each visit: on conventional systems, devices and call points must be tested 100% at every visit, while on analogue addressable systems the standard ties the share of detectors tested to the system's age, with a percentage that rises over time and converges towards a full check as the system approaches general verification, around the twelfth year. The exact threshold that applies depends on the system type and its age: have your maintenance technician point it out — the text of the standard is the only source that's genuinely precise.
On the fire detection control panel, the periodic control checks that the primary power supply and the backup one both work, that there are no pending fault signals, that the event log is readable and consistent with what actually happened, and that any links to a remote receiving station or the fire brigade are still active. These checks are additional to, not a replacement for, the sample testing of individual detectors and of the sound and visual alarm devices.
Every control, every maintenance job and every general verification has to be logged in a control register: UNI 11224:2026 sets out what it should contain, and that register becomes part of the wider fire-safety control register required by DM 1 settembre 2021. It tracks installation, initial tests, modifications, surveillance, controls, maintenance, faults and real alarms: it's the document an inspector, an insurer or the fire brigade may ask to see.
Six points to keep in mind about your detection system
When the periodic control or the general verification of your system touches the 2026 edition, here's what changes in practice.
- Periodic control stays at every 6 months: two visits a year, though how many detectors get tested at each one depends on the system type and its age
- On the panel, checks cover backup power, pending fault signals and the event log, not just the detectors out in the field
- General verification stays at every 12 years, but the time to complete overhaul or replacement of detectors drops from 6 to 3 years
- The live test of detectors with sample fires has been removed: it's replaced by factory overhaul or replacing the device
- The maintenance technician needs the verified qualifications set out by DM 1 settembre 2021, not just claimed experience
- The system's control register feeds into the company's fire-safety register: keep it updated after every job, not just when someone asks for it
UNI 11224 is a technical standard, not a law
Presenting the six-monthly control or the twelve-year verification as a legal obligation with that exact number, without saying what makes it enforceable, is a common mistake. UNI 11224 remains a voluntary technical standard: it becomes binding where DM 1 settembre 2021 calls it up for systems in workplaces, or where another fire-prevention measure cites it for a specific regulated activity. Always check which obligation applies to your case.
UNI 11224 isn't UNI 9795: two different standards
UNI 9795 governs the design, installation and operation of a detection system: it decides where to place the detectors and whether they genuinely cover the building's risk. UNI 11224 comes in afterwards, once the system is already designed and installed: it's about keeping it working over time, not about checking whether it's adequate for the risk. If the question is whether the system covers the premises properly, the answer lies in UNI 9795 or with whoever designed it, not in periodic maintenance.
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 11224 is an Italian technical standard: it doesn't apply outside national borders. Every country has its own reference — technical or regulatory — for controlling and maintaining fire detection systems. Below are the foreign equivalents, with the caveat that the source that counts remains the one cited, together with the maintenance contract.
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Italy
References
UNI 11224:2026
The technical standard that, since 9 July 2026, replaces the 2019 edition: it sets initial check, surveillance, periodic control, maintenance and general verification for fire detection and alarm systems.
DM 1 settembre 2021
The decreto controlli: sets the general criteria for controlling and maintaining fire-safety systems and equipment in workplaces, requires the control register and the maintenance technician's qualification, and calls up UNI 11224.
D.Lgs. 81/2008, art. 46
Places responsibility for managing fire prevention in the workplace, detection system included, on the employer.
Intervals
Surveillance
continuous, according to the system's management plan
site staff
Periodic control
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
General verification
at least every 12 years, with overhaul or replacement of detectors to be completed within 3 years
qualified maintenance technician
NoteThe only one of the five with a dedicated technical standard covering the system's whole life cycle, from initial check to general verification.
France
References
Règlement de sécurité ERP, art. MS 73
Requires annual verification of the fire safety system — of which the fire detector, the SDI, is one subsystem — by a qualified technician.
NF S61-933
The operating and maintenance rules for the whole Système de Sécurité Incendie (SSI), of which détection incendie is one component: it sets out the technician's tasks and what the maintenance contract must cover.
Code du travail
Places keeping fire-safety equipment in working order, in the workplace, in the employer's hands.
Intervals
Vérification annuelle (SSI)
at least once a year
qualified technician or approved body
Essais périodiques of the detectors
every 6 months in practice, per the maintenance contract
maintenance technician
Vérification triennale
every 3 years, where required by regulation
body approved by the Ministry of the Interior
NoteIn France the system's main interval is annual, not six-monthly like the Italian periodic control: it's the maintenance contract, not a single text, that sets the cadence of the essais on individual detectors.
Germany
References
DIN 14675
The technical standard governing the design, installation and maintenance of Brandmeldeanlagen (fire detection systems): maintenance has to be entrusted to a specialist company certified under this standard.
DIN VDE 0833
The companion electrotechnical standard on system and monitoring requirements for fire alarm systems.
Intervals
Inspektion (operator's inspection)
at least every 3 months
operator or an appointed person
Wartung (maintenance)
at least once a year
specialist company certified under DIN 14675
NoteThe certification of the maintenance company, not just the interval, is the centrepiece of the German system: DIN 14675 qualifies who is allowed to work on the system, not unlike how DM 1 settembre 2021 qualifies the maintenance technician in Italy.
Switzerland
References
Brandschutzrichtlinie 20-15 (VKF/AICAA)
The Swiss guideline dedicated to Brandmeldeanlagen (fire detection systems): Switzerland has no single technical standard like UNI 11224, but this guideline plays that role for detection systems.
OPI / VUV
The ordinance on accident prevention: it places the upkeep of safety equipment, detection systems included, in the employer's hands.
Intervals
Maintenance by a specialist company
per the manufacturer's specification and guideline 20-15: the trade body doesn't publish a fixed number
recognised specialist company
NoteIn Switzerland enforcement is cantonal and there's no single text equivalent to UNI 11224: check what your canton's fire authority requires and what the maintenance contract says.
Austria
References
TRVB 123 S
The Austrian technical directive on design, installation, control and maintenance of Brandmeldeanlagen: the closest equivalent to UNI 11224.
ÖNORM F 3700
Sets the technical qualification that installation and maintenance companies must demonstrate to work on these systems.
Intervals
Wartung (maintenance)
at least once a year
certified maintenance company
Functional check
per the operator's plan, monthly or annual for example
qualified person or operator
NoteAs in Germany, the certification of the company doing the work matters as much as the interval: check that whoever maintains the system is qualified under ÖNORM F 3700.
What we get asked most.
What does UNI 11224 require for maintaining a fire detection system?
UNI 11224 organises maintenance into five stages: the initial check at commissioning, daily surveillance, periodic control at least every six months, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance following faults or anomalies, and general verification of the whole system. The new 2026 edition, in force since 9 July, mainly updates the timing and method of the general verification.
What are the control stages set out by the standard?
Initial check, surveillance, periodic control, maintenance and general verification: five different moments, with different intervals and different responsible parties. Surveillance is left to whoever works in the building, the other four stages to a qualified maintenance technician.
How often does the six-monthly test of detectors need to happen?
The periodic control has to run at least every 6 months. How many detectors get tested at each visit depends on the system type: on conventional systems the test is 100% at every visit, on analogue addressable systems the share is tied to the system's age and rises over time. The exact threshold is set by the maintenance technician based on your system.
What gets checked on a fire detection control panel?
The periodic control checks that the primary power supply and the backup one both work, that there are no pending fault signals, that the event log is consistent, and that any links to a remote receiving station are active — on top of sample-testing the detectors and the sound and visual alarm devices.
Is UNI 11224 a legal obligation?
No, it's a voluntary technical standard. It becomes enforceable where a law calls it up: for systems in workplaces, that's DM 1 settembre 2021, which requires the control register and the maintenance technician's qualification. Outside those cases, it remains a good-practice technical reference.
Does ToriSet help with maintaining a fire detection system?
ToriSet helps you keep to the deadlines set by the applicable standard: you record the system with the type of detectors installed, and from there the periodic control and general verification dates are calculated using the correct intervals, with automatic reminders and a digital log of the work. The work itself remains the responsibility of the qualified maintenance technician.
Your detection system's control has a date. Does your register know it?
Periodic control every 6 months, general verification every 12 years: keeping track of them for every panel and every system gets complicated fast. With ToriSet the dates calculate themselves, reminders arrive before the deadline, and the control register stays within reach.
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