The Code opens with Preliminary and General Rules, containing amongst other things the aims of the Code, the subjects bound to it, obligations and definitions of marketing communication, consumer, message and product.
Title I (articles 1 to 16) contains the Rules of Behaviour.
Among these, all valuable with reference to each advertising message whatever the medium or product/service offered, predominate the principle of loyalty in marketing communication, the prohibition for communication to be misleading, the obligation to demonstrate the truthfulness of the messages and identification of marketing communication, the prohibition to exploit fear and credulity, for messages to be vulgar, violent or indecent, the respect of moral, civil, political convictions and religious beliefs besides the respect for dignity and the human being. To these, always within the rules of behaviour, some rules have been added referring specifically to business competition. In fact, there is prohibition to imitate, confuse, or exploit the notoriety of others, prohibition to denigrate different companies or products, while it allows indirect comparison.

Special Rules

Title II Special Rules, broken down into Sales Systems (articles 17 to 21) and Product Categories (articles 22 and 28 bis). These rules are especially aimed at detailing the principles already expressed in the Rules of Behaviour, illustrating the various requirements and peculiarities pertaining to the various sales systems and product categories taken into consideration.

Organs, procedures and sanctions

Titles III and IV concern Organs and their Responsibilities (articles 29 to 35) and Procedural Rules and Sanctions (articles 36 to 42) respectively.
Title V covers some important articles concerning the Protection of Creativity (articles 43 to 45) one of the major peculiarities of the Italian self-regulatory system as compared with those in other European countries and what is provided in the official legislation, which does not protect marketing communication creativity in any particular way.

Social Communication

Finally, Title VI is the latest addition to the Code, and consists of article 46 only, concerning Social Communication. This important innovation is motivated by the increasing number of campaigns appealing to the public's generosity for the collection of funds for social, humanitarian, health-care, and so on, reasons, without there being any possibility for anyone to ascertain the reliability of such initiatives. Neither are missing messages making use of shocking decoys, at times able to produced unjustified perturbation in the public of both adults and children. The growing number of such campaigns has contributed to stimulate debate within the Istituto, also encouraged by the consideration that incorrect social communication can discredit marketing communication itself in the eye of the public, in a way similar to that of incorrect business advertising.