Is your driving license valid in Italy?

14 Mar Is your driving license valid in Italy?

Is your driving license valid in Italy? Depending on the country where it was issued, there are three main groups of driving licenses:

• Driving licenses issued by EU countries, Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein are valid in Italy, subject to special rules.
• Driving licenses issued by a country in the list below have limited validity in Italy, depending on the duration of the stay. If your stay exceeds one year you must convert your national driving license into an Italian driving license.
• Driving licenses issued by all countries other than the above-mentioned have limited validity in Italy, depending on the duration of the stay. If your stay exceeds one year, you shall obtain a new Italian driving license by undergoing medical checks and a driving license exam (both theory and driving test).

In either case, if you hold a driving license that is not in the official EU format, you must have – together with your national driving license – either an International Driving License or a certified translation of your national driving license.

List of Countries whose Driving license can be converted into an Italian one:

• Albania (agreement valid till 25 December 2019)
• Algeria
• Argentina
• Brazil (agreement valid till 13 January 2023)
• El Salvador (agreement valid till 4 August 2021)
• Philippines
• Japan
• Israel ((agreement to be renewed)
•  Lebanon
• Macedonia
• Morocco
• Moldova
• Principalty of Monaco
• Republic of Korea
• Republic of San Marino
• Serbia (agreement to be renewed)
• Sri Lanka (agreemnt valid till 4 March 2022)
• Switzerland (agreement valid till 11 June 2021)
• Taiwan
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Ukraine (agreement valid till 29 May 2021)
• Uruguay (agreement valid till17 May 2020)

Special Rules

1. EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein Driving Licenses.

• Driving licenses issued in an EU country or in Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein (European Economic Area) are equivalent to an Italian driving license.
• Holders of driving licenses issued in the above-mentioned countries having the same validity period of the Italian one (generally 10 years, 5 years if aged over 50) can drive in Italy with their national driving license until the expiration date.
• If your national driving license has a validity period that goes beyond the Italian one, your national driving license will be valid for 10 years (5 years if aged over 50) from the moment you are a resident in Italy. As an example, if you become a resident in Italy on 1st of January 2019 and your national driving license is valid till December 2031, you will have to convert it into an Italian one within 1st of January 2029.
•  If your national driving license has no expiration date, you must convert it into an Italian one within two years from obtaining the residency in Italy.
• Residency rule applies to the official residency as well as to the so called “normal residency”. “Normal residency” is effective if you stay in Italy for more than 183 days in a year (even if not continuous).
•  Once your national driving license expires you must request its conversion. Your national driving license will be returned to the issuing country and you will be provided an Italian one, subject to provide a health certificate.
•  You can of course request the conversion of your national driving license before its expiry date. In this case you will be allowed to an Italian driving license with same expiry date of your national one or, if you show a new health certificate, your new Italian driving license will have a validity period starting from that moment.
• Your EU driving license cannot be converted to an Italian one if it was issued as a conversion of a driving license from a country that does not have conversion agreement with Italy.
• All holders of a driving license issued in a country of the European Economic Area are subject to Italian Laws regarding validity and medical check.

2. Countries whose driving license may be converted to an Italian one

• Holders of convertible driving licenses (see list above) can drive in Italy with their national driving license for one year. They must however also have an International driving license or a certified translation of their national driving license. After one year of residency in Italy they are no longer allowed to drive with their national driving license and must convert it into an Italian one.
• The conversion of the driving license is only allowed if:
•  The driving license has been issued before you became a resident in Italy
• The applicant is a resident in Italy for less than four years. If you want to convert you driving license to an Italian one after four years of residency in Italy, you must undergo a driving license exam.
• Your driving license cannot be converted to an Italian one if it was issued as a conversion of a driving license from a country that does not have conversion agreement with Italy.

3. Countries whose driving license cannot be converted to an Italian one

• Holders of non-convertible driving license can drive in Italy with their national driving license for one year. They must however also have an International driving license or a certified translation of their national driving license. After one year in Italy they are no longer allowed to drive with their national driving license and must apply for a new Italian driving license by undergoing medical check and driving license exam.