The National Council of Engineers (C.N.I.) is regulated by Law 1395/23, by the Royal Decree 2537/25 and by the Royal Decree 382/44 of the Italian legal system. It is the body institutionally representing the significant interests of the Engineers' professional category at the national level.

The Council is a public law body in compliance with a specific legal provision. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice and is located in Rome . It is constituted by fifteen Councillors whose appointment is ratified by a Decree of the Ministry of Justice following the results of regular elections held by all the Councils of the provincial Orders.

The Councillors' mandate lasts five years and expires when the new elected Council takes actual office.

The Councillors elect the President, the Vice President, and the Councillor Secretary within themselves. Each Councillor is entrusted by the Council to deal with a particular sector of its activities; he has to report to C.N.I. and may propose deliberations he/she deems necessary.

C.N.I. institutionally is the second degree Court relevant to petitions and claims of the members against decisions of their Provincial Councils of the Order; C.N.I. gives its opinion concerning parliamentary bills and regulations relevant to the profession on request of the Ministry of Justice; C.N.I. is the referent of the Government in matters relating to professional fees; C.N.I. fixes the annual fee each Order has to pay, in proportion to the number of its members, to have the Consiglio Nazionale operate.

Furthermore, C.N.I. has the power to give its opinion to the competent authority if the single Councils of the Order are dissolved, when they cannot any longer operate regularly (article 8, R.D. 382/44).

C.N.I. performs a primary role promoting, developing and enhancing Engineers' activities to increase their incidence in the society where they operate and is more and more active in pursuing the development of their technical and cultural knowledge and in enhancing a higher and higher social and political recognition of the leading role Engineers have in the evolution and change processes.

The self-regulatory system of the Engineers' professional category works at two autonomous levels: C.N.I. operates at the national level, while the 106 provincial Orders operate at the local one. C.N.I. has the precise task to issue opinions and orientations, thus conforming the activities on the national territory, without prejudice to the necessary difference deriving by different territorial locations and relevant economic and social requirements. The Meeting of the Presidents of all the provincial Orders and regional Federations is a precious instrument to implement this policy.

C.N.I. is a member of some important international organizations ( CLAIU , FEANI , FMOI-WFEO , ECCE and ECEC ), and actively participates to their works. Of course, it is also in contact with the national Associations of several European and non-European countries. Bilateral technical and cultural agreements were ratified with some of them (in particular with ASCE , CNISF , FEBRAE and CAI ).

C.N.I. publishes and circulates a monthly cultural and information magazine L'Ingegnere italiano , which is freely sent to all the members of the Ordini.

To contribute to the enhancement of the Engineers' profession as defined in the Mission provided for in its instituting Decree, C.N.I. has, furthermore, decided to create an own Centro Studi in 1999.