How to get your driving licence in Italy

If you’re moving to Italy to study, live, or even just visit for a longer period, you might need a car to get around, especially outside major cities. While public transport in urban areas like Rome, Milan, or Florence is efficient, once you venture into the countryside, having a car becomes almost essential.

So, here’s the big question: is your foreign driving licence valid in Italy? And if not, how do you get an Italian one?

Which country's driving licence is valid in Italy?

Let’s start by understanding whether you really need to go through the process of obtaining an Italian driving licence or if you can use your existing one.

The answer depends on your country of origin and whether you're staying in Italy short-term as a visitor or long-term as a resident.

Do you need an international driving licence to drive in Italy? 

In the first scenario, if you're visiting Italy for a short time as a tourist:

• EU/EEA driving licences are valid throughout Italy without restrictions. If you’re coming from one of these countries you won’t need an international driving licence.
• Non-EU/EEA citizens can drive with a valid foreign licence only if it’s accompanied by an international driving licence (or international driving permit). This is basically a translation of your licence and must be obtained in your home country before traveling. It is typically valid for one year and must always be shown along with your original licence.

In the second case, if you become a resident in Italy, the rules change based on your country of origin:

EU/EEA Licence Holders

If you have a licence from another EU or EEA country you can continue to drive in Italy without any additional permits.
You also have the option to voluntarily exchange your licence for an Italian one. This is not mandatory, unless your licence is close to expiry or has expired.

Non-EU/EEA Licence Holders

You can drive with your foreign licence (with an IDP, if required) for up to 12 months after establishing residency. After that, you must get an Italian driving licence.

Some countries (like UK, Switzerland and South Korea) have a reciprocal agreement with Italy, so you can exchange your licence without taking tests.
If you come from a country that doesn’t have this type of agreement with Italy (like Australia or USA), you will need to get an Italian driving licence starting from scratch, just like any Italian applying for their first licence.

Is a UK driving licence valid in Italy?

As of the latest agreements between Italy and the UK (post-Brexit), UK driving licences are valid for driving in Italy, and residents can exchange them without taking exams.

The steps to get your driving licence in Italy

First of all, as we said before, you need to be a resident in Italy to register with a driving school and start the process to obtain your driving licence.

Find a good driving school in Italy

Finding a good driving school (autoscuola) is crucial to simplify the bureaucracy of getting a licence in Italy. They will help you with:

• Preparing all the documents you need to start the process
• Getting you registered at the “motorizzazione civile”
• Studying for the theory test
• Practicing your driving
• Taking the driving test

Something important that you need to know is that by law you will need to take 6 mandatory hours of driving lessons with an instructor of the driving school.

That applies to everyone: it doesn't matter if you've already been driving for 20 years, you can’t just skip it and take the driving test.

Another thing you should consider is that in Italy most cars are manual, so it isn’t such a bad idea to take some driving classes if you are switching from automatic driving to driving a stick.

Study for the driving licence theory test

The driving licence theory test is composed of 30 multiple-choice questions for which you’ll have 20 minutes to answer. The test is in Italian, and you can make a maximum of 3 mistakes.

To prepare for the test you can study online with tools like Quiz Patente Online, where you can find all the questions of previous tests.

Get your P and start driving!

Once you pass the theory test, you will receive your “foglio rosa” which is the authorization to start taking practical lessons to prepare for the driving test. You will need to put a big letter P (principiante) on the back of your vehicle to signal to other cars that you are a beginner and you’re still learning.

When you feel confident about your driving, take the driving test and get the “Patente B”, the Italian standard licence, valid for most standard vehicles. Good luck!