UNI 9994-1 changed in 2024, here's what's actually different.
On 25 July 2024 the fourth edition of UNI 9994-1 came into force — the Italian standard that defines surveillance checks, inspections, overhauls and pressure tests for fire extinguishers. It isn't a cosmetic update: the intervals for overhauling and pressure-testing powder extinguishers change, the classification of water-based extinguishers changes, and so do a few practical maintenance rules. Here is what the standard requires today, what changed from the 2013 edition, and how it compares with its foreign equivalents.
What UNI 9994-1 covers, in brief
UNI 9994-1 — "Fire-fighting equipment — Portable fire extinguishers — Part 1: Provisions for initial inspection and maintenance" — is the Italian technical standard that sets out how a fire extinguisher is kept serviceable from the day it's installed until it's decommissioned. It applies to both portable and wheeled units, and covers five distinct stages: the initial check at commissioning, the surveillance check, the periodic inspection, the scheduled overhaul and the pressure test.
It isn't a law but a technical reference that fire-prevention regulations point to: it's the text decrees mean when they say "maintenance under the standard in force". The fourth edition, published by UNI on 25 July 2024, replaces the 2013 edition and updates its intervals, definitions and some operating procedures.
For whoever manages fire extinguishers, the part that matters most is the interval table: it says how often a qualified technician has to overhaul the unit, and how often its cylinder has to be pressure-tested. They're the same four familiar appointments — surveillance, inspection, overhaul, pressure test — just with a few different numbers than before.
The four stages, under the standard
Initial check aside — a single, one-off check at commissioning, not a recurring one — the standard organises maintenance into four recurring stages, each with its own interval and its own responsible party.
- 01
Surveillance check
according to a plan proportionate to the risk (in practice, monthly)
staff on site
- 02
Periodic inspection
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
- 03
Scheduled overhaul
24 to 72 months depending on agent and cylinder (60 for all powder and CO₂ extinguishers)
qualified maintenance technician
- 04
Pressure test
120 months, 72 for some water-based cylinders
qualified maintenance technician or approved body
UNI 9994-1:2024 doesn't set a fixed number for the surveillance check: it calls for a plan proportionate to the risk, and it's common practice that has made it monthly in most settings.
What's new in the 2024 edition, against 2013
The most concrete change concerns the overhaul and pressure-test intervals for powder extinguishers, but it isn't the only one: classifications and terminology change too.
| What changes | UNI 9994-1:2013 | UNI 9994-1:2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Overhaul of powder extinguishers | 36 months | 60 months |
| Pressure test of powder extinguishers | 144 months (12 years) | 120 months (10 years) |
| Water-based extinguishers | three cylinder categories, no distinction by pressurisation | classified by pressurisation (permanent/auxiliary), type of extinguishing medium and type of cylinder |
| Surveillance check | recommended interval of one month | interval tied to risk, no longer a fixed number in the standard |
| Terminology | "approved prototype" | "authorised prototype" and "installed extinguisher" |
Data from the UMAN-ANIMA technical summary of the 2024 edition. For powder extinguishers already on the market on 25 July 2024, the instruction manual still states 36 months — and the manual, when it is stricter than the standard, prevails: the overhaul stays at 36 months until the manual carries the new figure. Always check what your maintenance technician and the instruction manual say.
What changes in detail, beyond the numbers
The classification of water-based extinguishers is what changes most: the 2013 edition distinguished three cylinder types, the 2024 edition cross-references the type of pressurisation (permanent or auxiliary), the type of extinguishing medium (plain water, water with additives or with new "fluorine-free" additives, additive in a separate cartridge) and the cylinder material (plastic-coated, or stainless steel/aluminium). The result is a much denser table, but also a much more precise one about what to expect from each type of unit.
On the procedural side, the scheduled overhaul now requires the extinguishing agent to be completely removed: it becomes waste to be disposed of under environmental legislation and is no longer reused. Recharging must use the agent of the authorised prototype, and the overhaul date together with the name of the company that carried it out must appear indelibly on the unit, both inside and out.
What hasn't changed is the point at which an extinguisher must be considered out of service: 18 years from manufacture, regardless of how many overhauls and pressure tests it has passed in the meantime. And a practical principle still holds: when the manufacturer's manual sets a tighter interval than the standard's maximum, the manual takes precedence.
What changes in practice for whoever manages extinguishers
Six points to keep in mind when the overhaul or inspection of your extinguisher fleet touches the 2024 edition.
- For many powder extinguishers the overhaul moves from 36 to 60 months: don't bring it forward, but don't assume it either without checking the manual
- For the same extinguishers the pressure test tightens from 144 to 120 months: anyone who had planned for the tenth year now has to move sooner
- Water-based extinguishers have different intervals depending on pressurisation, additive and cylinder material: the unit's data sheet is the first place to look
- The extinguishing agent removed during overhaul is waste: it isn't recycled into the same extinguisher or into another one
- A copy of the maintenance document must be handed to the client, not just kept by the maintenance technician
- The overhaul date and the company name must appear indelibly, inside and outside the unit
Overhaul and pressure test, by agent and cylinder
UNI 9994-1:2024 sets different maximum intervals depending on the extinguishing agent and, for water-based extinguishers, on the cylinder material too.
| Agent | Cylinder | Overhaul | Pressure test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powder | any | 60 months | 120 months |
| Carbon dioxide (CO₂) | any | 60 months | 120 months |
| Halogenated hydrocarbons | any | 72 months | 120 months |
| Plain water or cartridge additive | plastic-coated | 60 months | 72 months |
| Plain water or cartridge additive | stainless steel or aluminium | 60 months | 120 months |
| Water with mixed additives | plastic-coated | 24 months | 72 months |
| Water with mixed additives | stainless steel or aluminium | 48 months | 120 months |
Values are the same for permanent and auxiliary pressurisation, with one exception: for plain water in a plastic-coated cylinder under permanent pressure, an intermediate check of the internal plastic coating is added at 24 months, which does not bring the overhaul forward. These are maximum intervals: the manufacturer's manual may require tighter ones, never wider.
"Every month" is common practice, not the standard's wording
Neither the 2013 nor the 2024 edition sets a fixed interval in the standard for the surveillance check: the text calls for a plan proportionate to risk, and it's common usage that has turned it into a monthly cadence. Presenting it as a legal obligation with an exact number is a mistake you read often, even in good faith: the actual cadence is decided by whoever manages the site, based on the risk found.
What the 2024 edition left untouched
The pressure test is still a strength test of the cylinder, unchanged in method. The out-of-service threshold stays at 18 years from manufacture. And it still holds that, when the manufacturer's instructions are stricter than the standard's maximum, they're the ones that apply: UNI 9994-1 sets a ceiling, not a floor.
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 9994-1 is an Italian technical standard: it doesn't apply outside national borders. Every country has its own reference — technical, insurance-based 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.
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Italy
References
UNI 9994-1:2024
The technical standard that has replaced the 2013 edition since 25 July 2024: it sets the intervals for surveillance checks, inspections, overhauls and pressure tests for portable and wheeled extinguishers.
DM 1 settembre 2021
Requires the fire safety inspection logbook to be kept and sets the qualification requirements for maintenance technicians applying UNI 9994-1.
D.Lgs. 81/2008, art. 46
Places responsibility for managing fire prevention in the workplace, extinguisher maintenance included, on the employer.
Intervals
Surveillance check
according to a plan proportionate to risk, monthly in practice
staff on site
Periodic inspection
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
Scheduled overhaul
60 months for powder and CO₂, 72 for halogenated hydrocarbons, 24 to 60 for water-based extinguishers
qualified maintenance technician
Pressure test
120 months, 72 for some water-based plastic-coated cylinders
qualified maintenance technician or approved body
NoteThe only one of the five with a dedicated technical standard and intervals differentiated by agent and cylinder. The out-of-service threshold, set by the standard itself, stays at 18 years from manufacture regardless of later overhauls and pressure tests.
France
References
Code du travail
Places firefighting equipment, and keeping it serviceable, in the employer's hands for workplaces.
NF S61-919
The technical reference closest to UNI 9994-1: it defines annual maintenance, deeper maintenance at 5 and 15 years, and workshop overhaul at 10 years.
Règle APSAD R4
The insurance reference for installing and maintaining extinguishers: most policies refer to it explicitly.
Intervals
Annual maintenance (MA)
every year
competent technician
Deeper maintenance (MAA)
at 5 and 15 years after commissioning
competent technician
Workshop overhaul (RA)
at 10 years, under NF S61-919
competent technician or approved workshop
NoteIn France the main interval is annual, not six-monthly like the Italian inspection, and the 5-10-15-year deepening cycle doesn't line up with UNI 9994-1's: don't map the two systems directly onto each other.
Germany
References
ASR A2.2
The workplace technical rule on measures against fire: it requires extinguishers to be checked at regular intervals, at least every two years.
DIN 14406-4
The technical reference closest to UNI 9994-1: it describes the two-yearly Prüfung, a deeper internal check and the cylinder pressure test.
BetrSichV
The industrial safety ordinance: the periodic checks of pressure vessels, extinguishers included, follow from it.
Intervals
Check (Prüfung)
at least every 2 years
competent person (Sachkundiger)
Deeper internal check
every 5 years in practice, under DIN 14406-4
competent person
Cylinder pressure test
every 10 years in practice, under the BetrSichV
person qualified under the BetrSichV
NoteThe German benchmark interval is two years: tighter than the Italian six-monthly inspection combined with the UNI overhaul, but on a different cycle. The two systems don't map onto each other item by item.
Switzerland
References
Brandschutzvorschriften VKF / AICAA
The Swiss fire safety regulations issued by the association of cantonal insurance institutions: Switzerland has no dedicated technical standard like UNI 9994-1, but these regulations play that role for portable firefighting equipment.
OPI / VUV
The ordinance on accident prevention: it places the upkeep of safety equipment in the employer's hands.
Intervals
Maintenance by a specialist
according to the manufacturer's specification: since 2015 the AICAA/VKF regulations no longer set an interval; trade associations and cantonal bodies recommend at least every 3 years in practice
specialist
Availability check
every 3 months in practice
owner or manager of the building
NoteIn Switzerland enforcement is cantonal and there is no single text equivalent to UNI 9994-1: check what your canton's fire authority requires and what the unit's manual says.
Austria
References
TRVB F 124
The Austrian technical directive on first-response firefighting equipment: it covers provision, placement and periodic checking of extinguishers.
ÖNORM F 1053
The technical reference closest to UNI 9994-1, updated in 2021: it sets the two-yearly Überprüfung and two windows for deeper maintenance.
AStV
The workplaces ordinance: it places firefighting equipment, and keeping it serviceable, in the employer's hands.
Intervals
Check (Überprüfung)
every 2 years
qualified person
Deeper maintenance
between the unit's 4th and 6th year and between its 14th and 16th year, under ÖNORM F 1053
qualified person
Pressure test (compressed-gas units)
every 10 years in practice
qualified person
NoteThe Austrian framework is the closest in detail to UNI 9994-1 among the four foreign ones: intervals set by a dedicated technical standard, not by an insurer or a generic ordinance.
What we get asked most.
What changes with UNI 9994-1:2024 compared to the 2013 edition?
The main changes are the overhaul and pressure-test intervals for powder extinguishers — overhaul from 36 to 60 months, pressure test from 144 to 120 months — and the classification of water-based extinguishers, now split by pressurisation type, additive and cylinder. Terminology changes too ("authorised prototype" instead of "approved prototype"), along with some overhaul procedures, such as the complete removal of the extinguishing agent.
What are the maintenance stages under UNI 9994-1?
Surveillance check, periodic inspection, scheduled overhaul and pressure test, plus the initial check at first commissioning. They're five different moments, with different intervals and different responsible parties: the surveillance check is left to whoever works on site, the others to a qualified maintenance technician or, for the pressure test, an approved body.
How often does a fire extinguisher need overhauling under UNI 9994-1:2024?
It depends on the agent: 60 months for powder and carbon dioxide, 72 for halogenated hydrocarbons, 24 to 60 months for water-based extinguishers depending on the additive and the cylinder material. For powder extinguishers this is longer than the 36 months of the 2013 edition.
How often does a fire extinguisher need a pressure test?
The maximum interval is 120 months (10 years) for most extinguishers, 72 months for some plastic-coated water-based cylinders. For powder extinguishers this is shorter than the 144 months (12 years) of the 2013 edition: anyone who had planned for the unit's tenth year now has to move sooner.
Does UNI 9994-1 apply outside Italy?
No — it's an Italian technical standard. Other countries have their own references playing a similar role: NF S61-919 and the insurance rule APSAD R4 in France, DIN 14406-4 in Germany, ÖNORM F 1053 in Austria, the AICAA/VKF regulations in Switzerland — but none of them lines up point for point with UNI 9994-1: the intervals and the deeper-maintenance cycles aren't the same.
Does ToriSet keep track of the new intervals?
ToriSet helps you keep to the deadlines set by the applicable standard: you record each extinguisher with its extinguishing agent and cylinder type, and from there the overhaul and pressure-test dates are calculated using the correct intervals, with automatic reminders and a digital log of work attached to the right unit. The work itself remains the responsibility of the qualified technician.
The intervals have changed. Does your logbook know yet?
With the 2024 edition, the overhaul and pressure-test dates for many powder extinguishers move. Keep every unit, its extinguishing agent and its cylinder in a single digital logbook: the dates are calculated with the right interval, and the reminders arrive before it's too late.
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