Driving licence in Italy: when to exchange it and how

The licence in your wallet is probably the document that will travel with you the most. Whether it can keep doing so after you register as a resident in Italy depends on where it was issued. The rules for a driving licence in Italy are simple for EU citizens and have deadlines for British and Swiss ones.

Is an EU driving licence in Italy valid?

Yes. A licence issued in an EU or EEA state is equivalent to an Italian one, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT). If it carries a standard EU expiry date, you can drive on it until then, even after settling in Italy. When it expires, you renew it in Italy at the Motorizzazione civile (the vehicle and licence office). Exchanging it earlier for an Italian licence is allowed, but optional.

Exchange becomes compulsory in three cases:

• the licence has no expiry date (or one longer than EU rules allow): exchange within two years of becoming resident;
• the licence is lost, stolen or damaged while you live in Italy: you cannot ask your home country for a duplicate any more;
• you are a British licence holder and your grace period ends (below).

"Normal residence" is judged by Italy as registration at the Comune, or at least 185 days a year with personal or professional ties.

What about a UK driving licence in Italy?

British licences are no longer EU licences. Under the Italy-UK agreement of 23 December 2022 and GOV.UK guidance:

• if you registered as a resident on or after 1 January 2023, you can drive 12 months from registration on a valid UK (or Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man) licence;
• after that you must exchange it, without a test;
• the exchange is possible within six years of your registration; beyond that you must apply as a non-EU national, with theory and practical tests, unless you were already resident on 31 December 2020;
• an expired licence can be exchanged if it expired less than five years ago (not for the Isle of Man); provisional licences are excluded.

You cannot renew a UK licence while living in Italy, so do not let it lapse. The wider picture for British movers is in moving to Italy from the UK.

And a Swiss licence?

Switzerland is neither EU nor EEA, but a 2021 agreement with Italy (extended to 12 June 2031) allows exchange with no exam. You may drive on your Swiss licence for one year after registering your residence, then you need to have exchanged it. The request must be filed within four years of registration; later requests are rejected without any possibility of retesting, according to the MIT page updated on 9 October 2026.

How do you exchange a foreign licence for an Italian one?

1. Check your licence: issuing country, expiry date, categories.
2. File form TT 2112 at the Ufficio della Motorizzazione Civile (UMC) of your province, with payment receipts via pagoPA.
3. Provide the original licence and a photocopy (front and back), ID, codice fiscale (guide), and two ID photos if no medical certificate is required.
4. If the licence is near expiry or expired, add a medical certificate (a certificate from a single doctor is valid three months, from a local medical commission six months) and the anamnestic certificate.
5. The new licence keeps the validity left on the old one if it meets Italian law. The UMC sends your old licence back to the issuing country, so there is no way back.

Which of these routes is yours depends on the country, the licence's date, your registration date and whether you want to renew at the same time. If you tell Moovy, Hello Expat's AI assistant, where your licence was issued and when you registered, it can show you the deadlines that apply and the documents to bring to the UMC, so you go once.

How much does it cost and how long does it take?

According to the MIT tariff, the exchange of an EU or non-EU licence costs €10.20 in fees plus a €32.00 stamp (pagoPA code N003). A €16.00 stamp (code N019) applies to the medical-certificate application, and a driving test is €16.20 (N017). Doctors' fees are not fixed by these sources. Sicily, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the provinces of Trento and Bolzano have their own offices and rates.

The ministry sets no delivery deadline, so ask your UMC when you file. An Italian licence for category B is valid for 10 years, 5 years from age 50, 3 years from 70 and 2 years from 80; the medical commission can shorten these.

What are the traps?

• Keeping an old licence "for life". Licences with no expiry date must be exchanged within two years of settling.
• Losing the licence. Once you are resident, the Italian exchange is the only way to get a replacement.
• Letting a UK licence lapse. An expired UK licence beyond five years can no longer be exchanged without a test.
• Waiting too long. Swiss drivers have four years from registration and British drivers six; the MIT says later exchange requests are rejected, with no chance of a retest, and that where exchange is not possible you must obtain an Italian licence by passing the exam. British drivers who have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement can exchange at any time, according to GOV.UK.
• Treating the medical as a formality. It sets the validity of your new licence.

If you are bringing your car as well, you are on a separate clock with separate rules, so check them with the Motorizzazione civile before you move.

How do you renew a licence in Italy when it expires?

Once your licence reaches its expiry date, you renew it at the Italian Motorizzazione, whatever its country of origin within the EU. The steps:

1. Medical visit. A doctor authorised for licence checks, or the local medical commission, issues the certificate. A certificate from a single doctor is accepted for three months, one from a commission for six.
2. File the dossier at the UMC. Payments go through pagoPA after you log in with SPID on the Portale dell'Automobilista.
3. Pay the stamps: the €16 stamp tied to the medical certificate request (code N019), and the renewal fees shown on the Portal.
4. Collect your licence. The ministry sets no delivery deadline, so ask at the office.

If a licence has been expired for more than five years, you may also need to pass a driving test (form TT 746), and a suspended or revoked licence cannot be renewed or exchanged.

What other rules apply to a driving licence in Italy?

• Validity of Italian licences. Category B is valid for 10 years, 5 years from age 50, 3 years from 70 and 2 years from 80. Category C (lorries) lasts 5 years until 65, then 2 years. Category D (buses) lasts 5 years, then 3 from age 70. The medical commission may shorten any of these.
• Other non-EU licences. Without an exchange agreement, you must retake the theory and practical tests after a year of residence. Licences from some countries are convertible only for certain categories.
• A licence obtained by converting a non-convertible foreign one cannot itself be converted.
• The exchange is one-way. The UMC returns your old licence to the issuing country, so you cannot go back to it.

Do you need an international permit?

For up to one year after you become resident, a driver with a valid non-EU licence may drive in Italy with an international driving permit or an official Italian translation. An EU licence needs neither. After that year, only an exchange (where an agreement exists) or the Italian exam will do, so put the date in your calendar when you register as a resident.

Your insurance, your car and your licence all depend on the same registration date, so plan them together, and follow the overall sequence in moving to Italy.