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EXPLAINED: What is Italy’s PEC email and how do you get one?

If you're looking to save time, paper and postage costs, swap registered mail for registered email. Here's how you can use PEC, or certified email, to send your most important messages in Italy.

Published: 10 June 2021 10:38 CEST
Updated: 29 April 2023 10:42 CEST
Email inbox on laptop
Life in Italy can be much easier with a PEC email. Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

What is PEC?

PEC (pronounced “peck”) stands for Posta Elettronica Certificata, or Electronic Certified Mail.

It’s essentially an email account that gives you proof that your message was delivered.

Messages sent between PEC accounts are certified with a date and time stamp to show when you sent them and when they were received, with a record of receipt automatically emailed to you as an attachment. In Italy – though not outside of it – they have the same legal value as a physical lettera raccomandata (registered letter).

As of mid-2022, according to the Italian government’s statistics, there were around 14.4 million PEC addresses and over 430 million messages exchanged by PEC.

Who needs a PEC?

Anyone over 18 who lives in Italy can get a PEC, as well as Italian nationals who live abroad.

For some people it’s compulsory. As of October 2020 all businesses registered in Italy are legally required to have a PEC account, including self-employed professionals and ditte individuali (sole proprietorships) – basically anyone with a partita IVA, or VAT number.

Even if that’s not you, you can choose to get a PEC in order to get more Italian admin done online. If you need to send important documents or an official request, for instance to change your registered address or register a contract, you can do it via PEC from home without having to print forms or go to the post office.

In some cases, a PEC may be the only way to send something online. For instance, if you’re writing to a PEC address, messages from a regular email account usually won’t get through. (You may be able to configure your PEC to receive messages from ordinary email accounts, and you can always write from a PEC address to a regular one, but in either case the messages won’t be certified.)

That’s a hurdle UK nationals in Italy have run into when trying to make appointments with the police office, or questura, to apply for a post-Brexit residence card, or carta di soggiorno. Booking involves emailing the questura‘s PEC address, which has to be done from another PEC account.

READ ALSO: Permesso di soggiorno: A complete guide to getting Italy’s residency permit

If you only need to use PEC occasionally and don’t think it’s worth opening your own account, ask someone else with a PEC – e.g. your employer, accountant or lawyer – to send the message on your behalf: it doesn’t necessarily have to come from an account in your own name. 

It’s important to remember that when you send a PEC message, you should get an auto-reply confirming receipt. If you don’t, it might mean your email hasn’t gone through, and could land you in hot water – as our reporter found out the hard way.

How do you get a PEC?

PEC accounts are managed by government-approved private providers, with the Poste Italiane, Aruba and InfoCert (Legalmail) among the most used.

Find a full list of authorised PEC providers here. You can find the details of their services, as well as how to apply, on each company’s website. 

The exact procedure for opening an account varies depending on which company you choose, but most providers allow you to do it entirely online. It usually involves entering your personal information (including your codice fiscale, or tax number), choosing a username and password, signing a contract, and showing a copy of your official ID. 

READ ALSO: Disappearing PECs: How lost emails can land you with big fines in Italy

In most cases you’ll also have to pay for a PEC account, with fees usually charged on an annual basis. 

How much does a PEC cost?

It varies by company and what level of service you choose: Aruba‘s basic package starts at €5 plus VAT per year, rising to €40 plus VAT for a “premium” option with more storage and an option to get notifications via SMS.

The Poste Italiane charges €5.50 for one year, €9 for two years and €10.50 for three years (not including VAT), with the option to add storage for an extra fee.

It’s worth shopping around to find the deal that suits you best, especially as providers regularly run promotions offering discounts or free trials. 

You might also find that a PEC comes included for free with certain bank accounts, particularly business ones.

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ROME

Why Rome has been ranked among the least ‘smart’ cities in the world

A new global report ranks Italy's capital among the least 'smart' cities worldwide. What exactly does this mean?

Published: 9 April 2024 16:38 CEST
Why Rome has been ranked among the least 'smart' cities in the world

There are many things that make the Eternal City an enduring draw for millions of tourists every year, as well as for new residents – but modern innovations are not generally known to be among them.

So the results of a new study ranking Rome as among the least ‘smart’ cities in the world may not come as too much of a surprise to anyone familiar with it.

In fact, you might think this was appropriate enough for a city where people live amidst 3,000 years of history.

Still, Rome’s particularly low ranking at 133rd place out of 142 cities worldwide – placing between Sao Paolo and Lima – might also seem a little harsh.

The result was in stark contrast to other major European cities: Zurich in Switzerland took the number 1 spot, while Oslo, Geneva, Copenhagen, London and Helsinki all featured in the top ten.

READ ALSO: Milan and Rome ranked ‘worst’ cities for foreigners to move to – again

Madrid was ranked 35th, while Paris came in 49th place. Athens however scored less well, in 120th place, and the Bulgarian capital Sofia came 113th.

Italian cities rank poorly overall, as Milan – seen as Italy’s technological and business hub – came in at a lacklustre 91st, and the university city of Bologna came 78th.

What is this ranking?

The 2024 Smart Cities Index (SCI) is produced by the Smart Cities Observatory – part of the IMD’s Global Competitiveness Center – in partnership with the World Organization for Smart and Sustainable Cities (WeGO). 

Researchers combined real-world data and survey responses from residents of 142 cities around the world to show how technology allows cities to improve the quality of life of their population.

However, as the study’s authors point out, it is not just (or strictly) about the cities’ technological aspects.

The survey’s “balanced focus’” was also on “humane dimensions” of smart cities.

They include the overall quality of life, infrastructure, environment, health and safety, public transport, services available to the population, as well as governance.

READ ALSO: Why Milan is a much better city to live in than Rome

The ‘winners’ — cities that ranked the highest — are all “located in areas where social and economic environments are relatively predictable, even against the overall climate of global uncertainties,” the report states.

“They are also cities in which visible initiatives have been taken to facilitate the lives of citizens (e.g., by developing public transport networks or ‘eco compatible’ transport solutions), and to improve the overall ‘quality of life’.”

In that case, this survey seems similar to the many other ‘quality of life’ rankings in which Rome (and Milan) also fares badly every year.

The ranking ranges from ‘AAA’ for ‘smartest’ cities to ‘D’ — the lowest. Rome had a ‘CCC’ rating while Milan was awarded a ‘B’.

Interestingly, included in the survey are not only the best aspects of each city, but also the areas that its residents have designated as ‘priorities’ — that is, the ones that need improvement.

In Rome, the major concerns for residents were recycling, which was a priority for 64 percent according to the study, and public transport, for 62 percent.

Priorities highlighted also included road congestion and air pollution, which were factors bringing down the overall score for Milan, too.

Health services, school education and green spaces were not seen as issues for most Rome residents, meanwhile.

What do you think? Is this criticism justified and, if you live in Rome, do you find the positives outweigh the negatives? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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