The regulation reorganising the installation of building systems and governing their safety. It establishes who may install (qualified firms), when a design is required, which systems are concerned and — above all — requires the Declaration of Conformity (DICO) on completion, a key document for occupancy and property transactions. It replaced the historic Law 46/1990.
It applies to systems serving buildings, regardless of use: electrical and electronic, radio/TV, heating/air-conditioning, water and sanitary, gas distribution and use, lifting, and fire-protection systems. It concerns installing firms, clients, designers and administrators; the works director checks the documentary outcomes.
D.M. 37/2008 answers three practical questions: who may install a system, when a design signed by a professional is required, and which document closes the work. The answer to the first is the qualified firm; to the second, the mandatory design above the thresholds set by the decree; to the third, the Declaration of Conformity. It is the administrative frame that makes a system lawful, as well as working.
The DICO is the document by which the firm certifies that it has built the system in a workmanlike manner, in compliance with the design and the technical standards. The drawings and component information are attached to it. For older systems lacking the original declaration, the law provides the Declaration of Compliance (DiRi), issued by a qualified technician. Without these documents, occupancy and many property transactions are blocked.
The decree does not rewrite the technical rules of each system: it refers to good-practice standards (UNI, CEI). Conformity with these standards leads to a presumption of workmanlike execution. It is the mechanism linking the general legal obligation to the specific sector technical requirements.
The full, up-to-date text of the decree can be consulted free of charge at the official source indicated on this sheet.
It is the document by which the installing firm certifies it has built the system in a workmanlike manner, in compliance with the design and technical standards. It is required for occupancy and in property transactions.
When the size or performance thresholds set by the decree for each type of system are exceeded. Below them, the as-built scheme of the system may suffice.
Only qualified firms holding the required technical-professional requisites and entered in the business register or the artisans' roll. "DIY" does not satisfy the decree for the systems concerned.
For systems built before the obligation or lacking the original declaration, a qualified technician can issue the Declaration of Compliance (DiRi), in the cases and under the conditions provided.
Largely, but not entirely. Art. 3(1) of D.M. 37/2008 repeals Law no. 46 of 5 March 1990 'with the exception of articles 8, 14 and 16': the funding of technical standardisation (art. 8), the checks (art. 14) and the penalty regime (art. 16) therefore remain in force — and the penalties are still the ones referred to today. For the rest the decree takes up its structure, broadening and updating the scope and the obligations.