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READER QUESTIONS

Reader question: Can I buy a car in Italy if I’m not a resident?

If you spend extended periods of time in Italy, can you buy a car to use while in the country? It all depends on your residency status.

Published: 16 May 2022 15:58 CEST
Updated: 27 March 2024 09:56 CET
Reader question: Can I buy a car in Italy if I'm not a resident?
Cars in Austria can be sold privately or through a dealer. Photo: Cristian Macovei on Unsplash

Question: ‘We own a second home in Italy and we’d like to purchase a car to use there during our visits. But we’re not registered as residents. Are we allowed to buy a car in Italy?’

It’s a common question from people who spend extended periods of time in Italy but are, for one reason or another, not registered as Italian residents.

The short answer is: if you’re a legal resident in Italy, then you can buy a vehicle in Italy.

As a general rule, if you don’t have residency in Italy – even if you own property in Italy or have business interests in the country – you are not legally allowed to buy a vehicle in Italy.

READ ALSO: Can second-home owners get an Italian residence permit?

According to the Italian highway code, you need to have registered your residency with an Italian municipality to be able to buy a new or used vehicle of any type in Italy.

While you might find a friendly neighbour willing to sell you their old motor regardless, you would also need to register the change of ownership with the Motor Vehicles Office (Ufficio Motorizzazione Civile) and the Public Vehicle Registry (Pubblico Registro Automobilistico or PRA).

This is where you’d run into trouble without the right paperwork, which includes a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno), or if you’re an EU citizen, your proof of residence (certificato di residenza). You’ll also need your Italian tax code (codice fiscale) and other documents, some of which you may not be able to obtain without residency.

The Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) has complete information about these requirements here.

If you’re not a resident and don’t have the right paperwork, could you instead borrow an Italian friend or family member’s car during your stay?

The highway code (art. 94, paragraph 4) states that you can drive a car belonging to a spouse, family member, or another person that lives with you with no restrictions. You’ll need to be able to prove the person’s relationship to you in the event of a police check, and you’ll need to check their insurance coverage.

You can also borrow a car belonging to someone else, such as a neighbour, for up to 30 days before you’d need to be added to the registration.

What about bringing your own car to Italy from abroad? For short periods, there’s no issue with doing this – assuming that you’re willing and able to drive between Italy and your home country.

But for the longer term, importing a car to Italy and registering it here would again require you to be able to show proof of Italian residency, according to ACI.

Please note that bureaucratic processes and requirements often vary from one part of Italy to another. This article is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to purchasing or registering a car in Italy.

For further information and advice please contact your local Motorizzazione Civile office or consult the Automobile Club d’Italia.

See more in The Local’s Driving in Italy section.

Member comments

  1. This article is extremely misleading and actually in error. It is very important to note that it is a requirement to have a Carta d’Identità to register a car in Italy. You cannot legally drive the car without having it registered. And you cannot register it without having the Carta d’Identita (not just a permesso). AND further, if you have a registered car in Italy (by having a Carta d’Identità, then you also cannot legally drive and be covered by car insurance (even if they sell it to you) unless you have obtained an Italian driver’s license within 1 year of receiving a Carta d’Identità. So there is a very big can of worms opened here once someone buys a car (which can be sold to you without having a Carta d’Identità), or receives a Carta d’Identità. And of course, there are also tax implications once someone stays in the country more than a certain number of days per year OR receives a Carta d’Identità. 🤪

    1. Hi,
      As you can see, this article is focused on the question of how residency status affects your right to buy a car in Italy – rather than on the car purchase process, the paperwork required to register a car after you’ve bought it, insurance, residency rights, etc – though these are important points, they are beyond the scope of this particular article. We have linked to further information about the registration process for those who want to know more.
      If you could let us know exactly which points you believe are misleading and in error we’ll be pleased to check them.
      Thanks,
      – Clare

  2. The fundamental question of the article focuses on the ability to purchase and use (drive) a car in Italy, as is clearly stated directly under the title of the article as follows: “If you spend extended periods of time in Italy, can you buy a car to use while in the country?”
    The short answer is that an individual must have a Carta d’Identità to be able to successfully purchase a car and then legally drive that car on the road. A car cannot be used (legally driven) on the road without being first registered and insured by its owner, who must present his/her Carta d’Identita at registration. A permesso di soggiorno (referred to as a residence permit in the article) is NOT enough.

  3. Hello, I found the following information on a message board which leads me to believe that a non resident Italian with a second home in Italy can register a car. If anyone has any experiences on this matter please share.

    Art. 134.
    Circolazione di autoveicoli e motoveicoli appartenenti a cittadini italiani residenti all’estero o a stranieri (1) (2)

    1. Agli autoveicoli, motoveicoli e rimorchi importati temporaneamente o nuovi di fabbrica acquistati per l’esportazione, che abbiano già adempiuto alle formalità doganali, se prescritte, e appartengano a cittadini italiani residenti all’estero o a stranieri che sono di passaggio, sono rilasciate una carta di circolazione della durata massima di un anno, salvo eventuale proroga, e una speciale targa di riconoscimento, come stabilito nel regolamento.

    1-bis. Al di fuori dei casi previsti dal comma 1, gli autoveicoli, motoveicoli e rimorchi immatricolati in uno Stato estero o acquistati in Italia ed appartenenti a cittadini italiani residenti all’estero ed iscritti all’Anagrafe italiani residenti all’estero (A.I.R.E.) e gli autoveicoli, motoveicoli e rimorchi immatricolati in uno Stato dell’Unione europea o acquistati in Italia ed appartenenti a cittadini comunitari o persone giuridiche costituite in uno dei Paesi dell’Unione europea che abbiano, comunque, un rapporto stabile con il territorio italiano, sono immatricolati, a richiesta, secondo le norme previste dall’articolo 93, a condizione che al momento dell’immatricolazione l’intestatario dichiari un domicilio legale presso una persona fisica residente in Italia o presso uno dei soggetti di cui alla legge 8 agosto 1991, n. 264.

    2. Chiunque circola con la carta di circolazione di cui al comma 1 scaduta di validità è soggetto alla sanzione amministrativa del pagamento di una somma da euro 80 a euro 318. Dalla violazione consegue la sanzione amministrativa accessoria della confisca del veicolo, secondo le norme del capo I, sezione II, del titolo VI. La sanzione accessoria non si applica qualora al veicolo, successivamente all’accertamento, venga rilasciata la carta di circolazione, ai sensi dell’articolo 93. (3)

    (1) Articolo così modificato dalla Legge 25 gennaio 2006, n. 29 e dal D.L. 27 giugno 2003, n. 151.
    (2) Vedi art. 340 reg. cod. strada.
    (3) Comma così modificato dal D.M. 22 dicembre 2010, in G.U. n. 305 del 31-12-2010

  4. You omitted one important thing: I believe if you own a car in Italy, you are supposed to obtain your Italian driver’s license within a year of obtaining residency. If that has changed Iwould love to know! There is another odd way to have a car: there is something called “Tax Free Cars” in Zurich whereby you can own a car and register it in Switzerland – but you then have to go to Zurich every two years for inspection.

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For members

ENVIRONMENT

Reader question: Is tap water safe to drink in Italy?

Italians are famously reluctant to drink tap water, with some questioning its safety. But are these concerns justified?

Published: 2 April 2024 16:22 CEST
Updated: 6 April 2024 10:58 CEST
Reader question: Is tap water safe to drink in Italy?

If you’ve spent much time in Italy, chances are you’ve noticed Italians’ reluctance to consume tap water. Most households seem to prefer bottled water (acqua in bottiglia), and requests for tap water at a restaurant are often frowned upon – or, at times, even denied.

According to a survey from market research firm CSA Research, only 29.2 percent of people in Italy drink tap water every day, while nearly half (43.3 percent) drink exclusively bottled water. 

Each Italian consumes an average of 208 litres of bottled water every year, the survey says, making Italy the biggest consumer of bottled water in Europe and the second-biggest worldwide after Mexico, with 244 litres per capita per year. 

READ ALSO: What is it with Italians and bottled water?

Nearly 29 percent of those who only drink bottled water say they do so because they don’t like the taste of tap water, while nearly four in ten claim they don’t ‘trust’ tap water and around three in ten consider bottled water to be safer.

But are these concerns justified? According to Italy’s Water Research Institute, IRSA, water around Italy is not only perfectly safe to drink but also the fifth-best in Europe for overall quality after water in Austria, Sweden, Ireland and Hungary. 

One of the main reasons for this is that some 85 percent of the water in the national supply network comes from groundwater sources, which are largely considered safer than surface sources.

Tap water, Italy 2

Only 29.2 percent of people in Italy drink tap water every day. Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP

Further, according to Alessandro Russo, CEO of Milan’s water network operator CAP Group, tap water in Italy is subject to a series of “constant controls” which abide by “parameters regulated by very stringent national and European laws and standards”. 

Italian network operators must comply with the World Health Organisations’ Water Safety Plans (WSP) and, as of March of last year, a 2020 EU directive setting tougher limits on contaminants than previous regulation.

But while official sources tend to agree on the safety and quality of tap water in Italy, there are occasional incidents involving its water network (see cases of contamination in Matera and Brescia).

More recent reports from environmental activist group Greenpeace have raised new safety concerns.

Last October, a Greenpeace report revealed the presence of human-made chemicals known as PFAS – which have been linked to thyroid disease, immune system and fertility problems as well as some types of cancer – in ten different municipalities (comuni) in Lombardy. 

PFAS concentrations were found to have exceeded EU limits in four comuni: Caravaggio and Mozzanica, in the Bergamo province, and Corte Palasio and Crespiatica, in the Lodi province.

Another Greenpeace report published in February found PFAS in the water supply of over 70 comuni in Piedmont, with higher concentrations registered in the Alessandria province. 

READ ALSO: The most polluted towns in Italy in 2024

Experts have said there’s no cause for alarm: Stefano Polesello, a researcher with IRSA in Monza, told Il Corriere della Sera that “PFAS are present in all types of water nowadays, and have been measured even in rainfall in remote areas”. 

As such, the public can “continue drinking tap water because it’s generally controlled” and the only way to avoid PFAS “would be to stop drinking and eating altogether, which is an impracticable solution.”

The issue is not unique to Italy. Last November, PFAS chemicals were detected in drinking water sources at 17 of 18 water companies in England.

In early 2023, the Forever Pollution Project – a cross-border investigation by 16 European newsrooms – revealed that nearly 23,000 sites all over Europe are contaminated by PFAS chemicals.

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