CEI 64-8

Italy’s residential electrical standard. What CEI 64-8 Ninth Edition covers, how DM 37/08 ties installer authorisation and the Dichiarazione di Conformità together, and what WireSketch does — and doesn’t — model for Italian installations.

What CEI 64-8 is

CEI 64-8 is the Italian national standard for electrical installations supplied at voltages up to 1000 V AC. It is published by the Comitato Elettrotecnico Italiano (CEI). The current text is the Ninth Edition (Nona Edizione), in force from 1 November 2024. The Ninth Edition supersedes the older variant numbering (V1 through V5) that earlier editions used; the residential performance-tier scheme historically associated with V5 should be re-checked against the Ninth Edition before being relied upon.

The Ninth Edition revised:

• Chapter 41 — protection against direct and indirect contact.
• Chapter 46 — disconnection and control.
• Chapter 56 — safety service power supply.
• Section 712 — photovoltaic installations.
• Section 722 — EV charging infrastructure, with wireless charging updates added.
• Section 713 — new section “Elementi di arredo” (furniture elements), replacing CEI 64-11.

CEI 64-8 transposes the HD 60364 family that the rest of the EU shares, with Italian-specific overlay.

Who CEI 64-8 applies to

All low-voltage electrical installations in Italy. CEI 64-8 is the technical reference; the legal frame around installer authorisation and post-installation conformity is set by DM 37/08.

The enforcement model: DM 37/08 + Dichiarazione di Conformità

DM 22 gennaio 2008, n. 37 (Decreto Ministeriale) is the legal framework for installer authorisation and the Dichiarazione di Conformità. It was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale Serie Generale n. 61 of 12 March 2008, implementing article 11-quaterdecies, comma 13, lettera a) of Law 248/2005. DM 37/08 remains the binding regulation as of 2026.

Under DM 37/08, only authorised installation companies (imprese installatrici abilitate) may perform installation work covered by the decree, and the post-installation artefact they hand to the client is the Dichiarazione di Conformità — the declaration of conformity attesting that the work was carried out in accordance with the applicable standards (CEI 64-8 being the central one for low-voltage). For installations above the thresholds defined by DM 37/08, a project signed by a qualified Italian engineer is also required; the precise threshold rules should be checked against the current DM 37/08 text by anyone who needs to rely on them.

The practical implication for any planning tool: the legal compliance artefact in Italy is the Dichiarazione di Conformità issued by the authorised installer, plus the engineer-signed project where required. WireSketch’s planner output is a design and discussion artefact only.

Key requirements

The CEI 64-8 Ninth Edition baseline tracks HD 60364 with Italian additions:

• Bathroom zones — the IEC 60364-7-701 model as transposed by Section 701 of CEI 64-8.
• Protection against electric shock — revised Chapter 41 in the Ninth Edition, covering direct and indirect contact.
• Photovoltaic installations — revised Section 712.
• EV charging — revised Section 722, including wireless charging.
• Furniture elements — new Section 713 replacing CEI 64-11.

WireSketch’s research did not surface a verified primary-source enumeration of every Italian-specific socket-density, circuit-count or RCD-type rule, and the Livello 1 / Livello 2 / Livello 3 residential performance-tier scheme that was associated with earlier editions should be re-checked against the Ninth Edition before being relied upon — an open question this page does not paper over.

What WireSketch models from CEI 64-8

Honest answer: WireSketch does not yet model CEI 64-8 as a separate region. The closest selector is DIN 18015 / VDE 0100 (Germany) as a generic HD 60364 baseline. With DIN selected in Italy you get:

• IEC 60364 wet-room Zone 0/1/2 in bathroom mode — the underlying model Section 701 of CEI 64-8 transposes.
• Type A RCD as the default main protection — a reasonable residential baseline; CEI 64-8 has its own scope rules under revised Chapter 41.
• Kitchen-rule dedicated circuits for heavy appliances — sensible everywhere; the Italian Livello scheme is not enforced.
• Generic installation-zone overlays drawn from DIN 18015 — useful as a planning aid; they are not Italian conventions.

What WireSketch doesn’t model

• CEI 64-8 Ninth Edition revisions — the Chapter 41 contact-protection updates, Section 712 PV updates, Section 722 EV-charging updates (including wireless), and the new Section 713 furniture-elements rules are not encoded.
• Italian residential performance tiers — the Livello 1/2/3 scheme historically associated with earlier editions is an open question against the Ninth Edition and is not modelled.
• Dichiarazione di Conformità format — the legal artefact under DM 37/08 is not produced by the app.
• DM 37/08 engineer-project thresholds — the planner does not flag when an installation falls above the threshold that requires an engineer-signed project.
• Network operator energisation workflow — the planner does not interface with the Italian distributor connection-acceptance process.

Practical tip

If you are a homeowner in Italy planning a remodel or new build: use WireSketch with the DIN 18015 selector to capture the layout you want, generate the Renovation Brief PDF, and give it to your authorised installer. Be explicit that you understand the binding text is CEI 64-8 Ninth Edition and the legal artefact is the Dichiarazione di Conformità under DM 37/08.

If you are an authorised Italian installer, treat WireSketch as a layout and client-communication tool. Map the layout onto the revised Ninth-Edition chapters and sections, especially the updated PV (712), EV (722) and new furniture-elements (713) requirements, and issue the Dichiarazione di Conformità in the form DM 37/08 prescribes.