Italy Driving Permit Requirements 2026: IDP Rules, Rental Desk Checks, and Official Sources

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Italy at a glance

What the E-ITA booklet is, and what it isn't

The E-ITA International Driver's License is a private translation booklet. It translates your valid home license so police officers and rental staff can read it. It isn't an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna conventions. It isn't an official Italian translation either, and no government issues it.

Article 135 of the Italian traffic code asks drivers with a non-EU license to carry either an International Driving Permit or an official Italian translation, unless an international agreement covers their license. The booklet is neither, so on its own it does not meet that requirement. Carry it as a reading aid next to the documents the law asks for.

Which documents do you need? Work it out in three questions

1. Where was your license issued? If it's from an EU or EEA country, Article 135 doesn't apply and your home license is the document. If it's a UK photocard license, the UK government says you don't need an IDP for Italy; a UK paper license needs replacing with a photocard, or an IDP. Article 135 opens by deferring to international agreements, so if your country has one with Italy, your own government's travel guidance is the place to confirm it. Everyone else, including US license holders, keep going.

2. Have you lived in Italy for more than a year? If yes, a foreign license no longer lets you drive here, with or without a permit. You need an Italian license. If you're visiting, keep going.

3. What will you carry next to the license? One of two things: an International Driving Permit from the authority that issued your license, or an official Italian translation of the license. Both the license and the permit must be valid.

The E-ITA booklet can travel with you as a reading aid, but it doesn't answer question 3. Sort out the permit or the translation before you fly.

Where to get an official IDP

Italy's traffic code says the international permit is issued by the authority that issued your license, in line with the conventions Italy has joined. You apply to that authority, not to an Italian office.

The Federal Trade Commission tells US travelers: “Don’t believe a website that says you can apply online through a different company. It’s a scam.”

The other route: an official Italian translation

Article 135 accepts an official Italian translation of your license in place of a permit. Italy's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport lists three ways to get one:

1. From an official at your own country's embassy or consulate in Italy. The translator's signature is then legalized by the local Prefecture.
2. From an official at the Italian embassy or consulate in the country that issued your license. No legalization is needed.
3. From an authorized official translator, or by anyone who swears the translation before an Italian public official: a court clerk, a notary, or a justice of the peace.

A translation you or a website produced yourself is none of these. Like the permit, the translation travels with the license, never instead of it.

What the rental desk will ask for

Rental companies check documents at pickup, and their rules can be stricter than the law. Europcar's own guidance: “Your IDP should always be accompanied by your valid local driving licence.” It describes the IDP as “an officially recognised translation of your local driving licence in over 150 participating members of the United Nations.”

So bring your home license and the IDP or official Italian translation that art. 135 requires. Rental terms change by company and by branch, so read the Italy terms in your booking confirmation before you fly.

Road rules that catch visitors

Each town sets its own ZTL boundaries and hours. If your hotel sits inside one, ask the hotel how vehicle access works before you arrive.

If you've held your license for less than 3 years

For the first 3 years after you get a category B license, Italy's rules are tighter. They apply to foreign licenses too, since art. 135 holds foreign license holders to every rule in the code. Check the issue date on your license before you book a car.

• Lower speed limits: no more than 100 km/h on motorways and 90 km/h on main extra-urban roads.
• A power cap: no car above 75 kW per tonne, and never above 105 kW for a passenger car.
• Zero alcohol, the same as for drivers under 21.

The minimum age to drive a car in Italy is 18. Rental companies set their own age rules; check yours at booking.

What to keep in the car

The traffic code requires two items for a breakdown outside town. Look for both in the rental car before you leave the lot.

• Warning triangle. A reflective triangle on its own stand. You set it out when the car is stopped on the carriageway outside a built-up area at night without working rear lights, or in daylight when drivers coming up behind can't see the car in time.
• High-visibility vest. In those same situations, and also when you stop in an emergency lane or a rest area, you may not get out and walk on the road without a reflective vest or braces on.

Stopped by the police

Italy's traffic code lists what every driver carries: a license valid for the vehicle, the vehicle's registration document, and the compulsory insurance certificate. In a rental car, ask where the registration and insurance papers are before you drive off. With a non-EU license, the IDP or official Italian translation sits alongside the license. If officers let you bring a missing document to a police office later, go: failing to present it without a good reason carries its own fine, on top of the first.

After an accident

Call 112. It's free from landlines and mobiles, even from a phone with no SIM card, no credit, or that is blocked, and the operator passes the call to the police, the fire brigade, or medical services, depending on what you need. Then have the documents from the section above ready: the license, the permit or official translation, the registration, and the insurance certificate.

Motorway tolls

On the Autostrade per l'Italia network you take a ticket at the entry and pay at the exit. Autostrade per l'Italia accepts five payment methods: electronic toll collection, credit cards, the prepaid Viacard, rechargeable Telepass, and cash. If you leave a toll station without paying, the operator lets you settle the unpaid toll online afterwards. Keep the entry ticket until you've paid.

Winter driving: 15 November to 15 April

From 15 November to 15 April, roads with the matching sign require winter tires or snow chains on board, even when there's no snow on the ground. Winter tires carry an M+S, MS, M-S, or M&S marking. Local road authorities can move the dates for their climate, so watch the signs. If you rent between those dates, ask the desk whether the car has winter tires or chains in the trunk.

Penalties

These are the amounts the traffic code sets, in euros. They apply to foreign license holders the same way they apply to Italian ones.

Where this booklet is not the right document

• It never replaces your home driving license. Carry the license every time you drive.
• It does not meet the art. 135 requirement in Italy on its own. Non-EU license holders need an IDP or an official Italian translation, unless an agreement covers their license, as it does for UK photocard licenses.
• If you live in Italy for more than one year, a foreign license stops being enough.
• US license holders who need an IDP get it from AAA or AATA, before travel.
• The booklet is not accepted in Japan, South Korea, or mainland China. This list is the same on every E-ITA page and in every language.

A week in Italy, step by step

Take a US license holder flying into Rome to drive to Tuscany. Here's the order that keeps them inside the rules.

1. Before the flight. Apply to AAA or AATA for an International Driving Permit. No other body can issue one to go with a US license.
2. At booking. Read the Italy rental terms for age rules and the documents the branch wants. If the trip falls between 15 November and 15 April and heads into the hills, ask for winter tires or chains.
3. At the counter. Show the US license and the IDP together. The permit alone isn't enough; Europcar, like the law, expects it with the license.
4. Before driving off. Find the triangle and the vest. Set the navigation, because hands-free is the only phone use allowed while moving.
5. On the road. Headlights on outside towns, 130 km/h at most on the motorway, 110 if it rains, and nothing to drink: the limit is 0.5 g/l for most drivers, zero for new ones.
6. Arriving in a town. Stop before the ZTL sign, not after it. Park outside the zone or ask the hotel how access works.

Questions drivers ask about Italy

Do I need an International Driving Permit to drive in Italy?
Yes if your license comes from outside the EU and EEA. Italy's traffic code asks for an IDP or an official Italian translation, carried with your license. With an EU or EEA license, no.

I have a UK license. Do I need an IDP for Italy?
Not with a photocard license, according to the UK government. With an old paper license, you need a photocard or an IDP.

Where do I get an official Italian translation?
From your country's consulate in Italy, from the Italian consulate in your country, or from an authorized or sworn translator, per Italy's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.

Is the E-ITA booklet enough on its own in Italy?
No. It's a private translation, and art. 135 asks for an IDP or an official translation. Use it as a reading aid next to those documents.

I have a US license. Where do I get the IDP?
From AAA or AATA. They're the only two organizations the US Department of State authorizes, and no other country can issue one to go with a US license.

How long is an IDP valid?
For a US-issued IDP, one year, and it can't be renewed. Italy also stops accepting a foreign license once you've been resident for more than a year.

What's the drink-drive limit?
0.5 g/l for most drivers. Zero if you're under 21 or have held your license less than 3 years.

Can I use my phone with a hands-free kit?
Yes, if it needs no hands to work and you can hear with both ears. Holding or handling the phone while driving is banned.

What is a ZTL?
A restricted traffic zone that a town sets, often around its historic center. You need authorization to drive in.

I passed my test two years ago. Do different rules apply?
Yes. For your first 3 years: 100 km/h on motorways, 90 on main extra-urban roads, a cap on engine power, and zero alcohol.

How old do I have to be to drive?
18. Rental companies may ask for more; check your booking terms.

Do I need winter tires?
Between 15 November and 15 April, on roads with the sign, you need winter tires or chains on board, snow or no snow.

When do I have to wear the reflective vest?
When you get out of a car stopped on the carriageway outside a built-up area at night without working rear lights, or in daylight when it can't be seen in time, and whenever you stop in an emergency lane or a rest area.

Which papers must be in the car?
Your license (with the IDP or official translation if it's non-EU), the registration document, and the insurance certificate.

How do I pay motorway tolls?
Take a ticket at the entry and pay at the exit by card, Viacard, Telepass, or cash. A missed toll can be paid online.

What number do I call in an emergency?
112. It's free from landlines and mobiles, even without a SIM card.

Will the rental desk accept a digital copy?
Rental companies set their own document rules. Europcar says the IDP must be accompanied by your valid local license. Bring the paper originals and check your booking terms.

Sources

All accessed 2026-09-26.

• Codice della Strada, art. 135 (ACI-hosted text)
• Codice della Strada, art. 142 (speed limits)
• Codice della Strada, art. 143 (driving side)
• Codice della Strada, art. 186 and art. 186-bis (alcohol)
• Codice della Strada, art. 173 (phones)
• Codice della Strada, art. 172 (seatbelts and child restraints)
• Codice della Strada, art. 152 (headlights)
• Codice della Strada, art. 7 (restricted traffic zones)
• Codice della Strada, art. 115 (minimum age), art. 117 (new drivers), and art. 162 (triangle and vest)
• Polizia di Stato, winter tire obligation (updated 2023-11-08)
• Codice della Strada, art. 180 (documents to carry)
• Autostrade per l'Italia, toll payment methods
• GOV.UK, International Driving Permit (IDP)
• Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti, official translation of a driving license (updated 2025-10-27)
• UN Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic, Vienna 1968
• U.S. Department of State, 7 FAM 1430
• FTC consumer alert, 2024-06-24
• USA.gov, International driver's license (updated 2026-04-14)
• AAA, International Driving Permit
• AATA, International Driving Permit
• Europcar, International Driving Permits
• Ministero dell'Interno, single European emergency number 112

Driving nearby

Planning more than one country? See the requirements for driving in France, driving in Spain, and driving in Greece, or browse every country.

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