10360 UK Driving licences in Italy

I have only found good ones, Nicola. You have more points to start with, as well - not that I would ever, ever think* of speeding, of course! But, keep an eye open for cameras - and yes, they do work and yes you do get fined and, worse still, I have the proof of it as well. Still, 3 points from 20 didn't hurt too much, especially as I got my "free" 3 point bonus that year at exactly the same time! So, a €500 fine, but no other "inconvenience" at all.

*I never THINK of speeding, no.

I passed my driving test here in Italy and unfortunately I only got category B. Don't know what the standard British licence gives you. Ask if they would give you the same categories you have in UK! I have opened this discussion before on this forum which I think is very imp: "MAKE SURE ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS SHOW YOUR MAIDEN NAME" which includes DL. Italian women don't change to husband's name. For example: My mother was on a waiting list for an imp operation and when she was admitted to the hosp they noticed that all her blood tests etc were in her married name (UK health card has no place for maiden name): she had to re do all her tests, ultrasound etc!!! ID in Italy MUST be correct!

[quote=Nicola;96296]I
Fortunately it turned up so I am now thinking of swapping it for an Italian one. If anyone knows of any good reasons why it's not good to have an Italian DL rather than a UK one I'd love to know.[/quote]

If you ever have to hire a car in the UK I have noticed with some car hire companies that if you hold an Italian licence the mininum driver age is 30 and often the rental fee is higher if you give an Italian address or show an Italian licence.

I got my licence "convalidated" at the Motorizazione Civile" in Ascoli. Cost about €35 and means I have a pretty pink sticker on my licence but also means they have all my licence details in case I lose it (or that's what I was told!!!). Incidentally it's worth knowing that not all carabinieri seem to be aware that a UK photo licenec does not need to be changed into an Italian one, so if you get spot checked & get told you have to change it, just say ok then carry on your way

Hi y'all - best wishes for 2009 for everyone.
About the driving licence: can I confirm that I do not need to convert it to an Italian version? I don't mind doing this but am just curious.
Subsidiary question: do I need to re-take my driving test here? I passed my UK test in 1983 !!
Cheers
Tony

I've wondered about this on several occasions but remember reading on the AA or DVLA website that a UK licence is valid in Italy so I never did anything about it. About names and ID - my DL has my married name as does my passport (British) but my debit and credit cards (Italian) have my maiden name as does my ID card - I've never had any problems though. The only occasion was the first time we took our baby to the UK - he has an Italian ID card, and on the back it has the names of the parents who can take him out of the country - my maiden name is on that and my married name is on my passport. The woman at the desk gave me a hard time about that (even though in the back of my passport it says what I was formerly known as) - but the other times we have travelled with him nobody has said anything.
So confusing, all these different names!

[quote=katier;107001]I've wondered about this on several occasions but remember reading on the AA or DVLA website that a UK licence is valid in Italy so I never did anything about it. About names and ID - my DL has my married name as does my passport (British) but my debit and credit cards (Italian) have my maiden name as does my ID card - I've never had any problems though. The only occasion was the first time we took our baby to the UK - he has an Italian ID card, and on the back it has the names of the parents who can take him out of the country - my maiden name is on that and my married name is on my passport. The woman at the desk gave me a hard time about that (even though in the back of my passport it says what I was formerly known as) - but the other times we have travelled with him nobody has said anything.
So confusing, all these different names![/quote]

Thanks for your reply. Luckily I don't have the same issues with surnames being a man. I feel the need to have a form of ID that is specifically Italian. It would be convenient, although my codice fiscale card seems to open many doors!
Tony

I was stopped for the first time by the carabinieri the other day, driving my wife's Italian registered car. They carefully checked both our licences, and said if I were resident, there would need to be documentation of that with my licence. Fortunately, I'm not.

They tried to phone someone to check out my licence (I wonder who?), but could get no answer, perhaps because it was 1st Jan. I've never been stopped when driving my Brit-registered car here.

[quote=Nicola;96296]I know that this has been discussed before but thought I would tell what happened to me the other day in case it's of help to anyone.

I am resident in Italy but have never changed from a UK driving licence - I admit partly laziness and partly because we've always been on the point of moving house so didn't want to do it until I was more settled.

According to the ACI website you can either swap it for an Italian one, or you can have it recognised by ACI within 90 days of taking up residency or you can just keep your current licence (but only if it's an EU licence) - so strictly speaking I wasn't actually doing anything wrong.

However, I had a rather frustrating 3 hours the other day when I thought I'd lost it. I started to look into how to replace it and realised I was in a bit of a sticky situation. DVLA will not release a UK licence to a non-resident so I essentially would have had to apply for a replacement and have it sent to my old address in the UK - fortunately I can still get mail at that address but if you've given up that address then it'd be a bit more problematic. Also it puts you in the rather uncomfortable position of having to lie on official government documentation.

The additional problem in Italy is that you are expected to carry your licence with you at all times - I know you'd be pretty unlucky to be stopped in the 3 or 4 weeks it could take to sort out a new licence but I don't know what the consequences of that would be.

Fortunately it turned up so I am now thinking of swapping it for an Italian one. If anyone knows of any good reasons why it's not good to have an Italian DL rather than a UK one I'd love to know.[/quote]
I think a British EU licence is only valid for 10 years I don't know if that makes any difference to you.

Tony - do you have a carta d'identità? Some shops require a form of ID when you pay by credit card, and that needs a photo. I've used my uk dl for this purpose and that's fine though - it looks just like the italian one at first glance anyway.

I've got round this (driving in Italy for decades on an old paper UK licence) by persuading the police here in Italy that the burocrazia in the UK is so impossibly difficult that if I changed to an Italian licence my life would be completely impossible on the occasions I am obliged to depart il bel paese.

Funny thing is, they completely understand, and don't argue any further!! It is all about finding the convincing argument...(you should hear me at the Avis desk in the UK - though the sh!tty little 'Sharon-have-a-nice-day-rottweillers' they employ usually invoke 'the supervisor' to sign me off with one of their heaps)

Not related to Italian driving licences, but came back from Saudi Arabia in the mid 80s and gave my Saudi licence to the car hire desk. Expiry date was 1409 ....... caused a little confusion I must admit!!!

If you have a European licence, you do not have to change it to an itlaina one after one year. However you should have your exisiting licence convalidated at the motorizzazione - if the motorizzazione know about it, or do nothing, if like here they dont. Advantages of retaining your UK licence - valid till you are 70 and free, unlike Italian licences which have to be renewed, entailing days in queues and cost alot.

[quote=ram;107192]If you have a European licence, you do not have to change it to an itlaina one after one year. However you should have your exisiting licence convalidated at the motorizzazione - if the motorizzazione know about it, or do nothing, if like here they dont. Advantages of retaining your UK licence - valid till you are 70 and free, unlike Italian licences which have to be renewed, entailing days in queues and cost alot.[/quote]

The UK photo card type driving licence has to be renewed every 10 years look at section 4b on your card:policeman:

Thanks - I didn't realise and mine runs out next year:wideeyed:

[quote=ram;107192]If you have a European licence, you do not have to change it to an itlaina one after one year. However you should have your exisiting licence convalidated at the motorizzazione - if the motorizzazione know about it, or do nothing, if like here they dont. Advantages of retaining your UK licence - valid till you are 70 and free, unlike Italian licences which have to be renewed, entailing days in queues and cost alot.[/quote]
Thank you Ram for the information. is it a legal requirement to have your licence convalidated ? And do you know exactly what they do. ie. do they enter your details on a computer, give you a document or stick something on it. Like you I live in Sicily and I don't expect they know about it here. Normally when I get stopped by the police and they see my UK driving licence just wave me on.:winki:

[FONT=Arial]They give you an Italian driving licence number and a pink sticker with your Italian address on it and you stick it to your photo card. It costs about €50-60.[/FONT]

In Sicily, the process is this - stop the car, ask to see your documents - complain about UK licence not being in Italian, tell you to get Italian licence, you explain no longer necessary under European law, younger carabinieri suspects you may be right, spend 10 mintues poring over the black book, older carabinieri gets fed up at having his authority questioned and tries to find a way to give you a fine, younger carabinieri find clause and agrees wiith you, tell you to go to motorizzazzione for sticker, older carabinieir complains again about UK licence not being in English, they drive off. You go home because you have already tried the motorizazzione, polizia stradale and sbriga pratica and noone knows anything about convalidating licences and give ou the forms for an Italian licence telling you it is the law. You explain that UK licences dont require medical exams and are 'free' and they tell you how civilised Britain is and you should just carry on driving until the next time the carabinieri stop you. You go home.

When renewing my husband's Italian licence last week, I mentioned to the assistant that I was pleased that since the law change, my UK licence was legal in Italy until its expiry date. She said yes, BUT you should go to the motorizzazione and have the expiry date changed if necessary in accordance with Italian validity periods i.e ten years up to age 50, 5 years up to age 70, 3 years thereafter (if I remember correctly).

Yes, validity dates are taken into consideration and the Ufficio Motorizzazione Civile is the place to go.

BUT

Did you know that if you are resident here and you 'lose' your original driving licence or it is destryed, then they must issue you with an Italian driving licence of the same 'value' WITHOUT the need for a driving test. Proof of the validity of the lostlicence is required, so it may be a good idea to keep a photocopy of your licence. I have one on file for mine.

Here are the relevant directives - hope they're useful:

[quote]INFORMATION ON COMMUNITY LAW
If holders of driving licences changed residence or place of work from one Member State to another they used to have to exchange their licence within one year (Directive 80/1263/EEC). This obligation was abolished on 1 July 1996 and exchanging of driving licences has been voluntary since then.

In the event of voluntary exchange, loss or theft, the Member State in which holders have taken up their normal residence will issue the person concerned with a Community model driving licence for the corresponding category or categories without requiring that person to take a theoretical or practical test.

APPLICATIONS BY HOLDERS
Applications for exchange must be made to the competent authorities in the normal country of residence, at the request of holders and on surrender of their current licence.

Before the exchange is made, applicants must submit a statement to the effect that their driving licence is currently valid. It is up to the Member State responsible for making the exchange to check the truth of the statement, if necessary.

REFUSAL OF EXCHANGE
Exchange may be refused:

* if the driving licence was issued by a non-Community country; Member States are free to recognise such driving licences if they wish, and recognition by one Member State is not binding on the others.
[/quote]

And finally - two links you may also find useful:

[URL="http://ec.europa.eu/transport/home/drivinglicence/faq/002_en.htm"][B]>FAQ'S on EU Driving Licences<[/B][/URL]

[URL="http://europa.eu/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2000/l_091/l_09120000412en00010050.pdf"][B]>EU Directives<[/B][/URL]
[B][I]NB: See Italy pages 22 -25[/I][/B]

[quote=katier;107026]Tony - do you have a carta d'identità? Some shops require a form of ID when you pay by credit card, and that needs a photo. I've used my uk dl for this purpose and that's fine though - it looks just like the italian one at first glance anyway.[/quote]

Hi,. so far a combination of my codice fiscale and my driving license has been enough to do most things. I am in my third month so I am going to need to get my registration, which is fine because I love it here and want to stay !
Tony

Thanks for this Carole, we have been putting off getting our UK licences converted for years but much happier now we can keep our UK ones. Didn't realise the directive was so long ago, why then is there still such confusion over such a Yes/No situation. Yes, good idea about the photocopy, also keep copies of id card,pds etc. Although we are in the throws of getting our permanent residency (after 5 years) for the grand sum of 46 euros for two. This means automatic health cover, under italian conditions, for my under 60 years old toy boy. I got mine as an extra gift from HRH on my last birthday!!

[quote=Carole B;107284]Yes, validity dates are taken into consideration and the Ufficio Motorizzazione Civile is the place to go.

BUT

Did you know that if you are resident here and you 'lose' your original driving licence or it is destryed, then they must issue you with an Italian driving licence of the same 'value' WITHOUT the need for a driving test. Proof of the validity of the lostlicence is required, so it may be a good idea to keep a photocopy of your licence. I have one on file for mine.

Here are the relevant directives - hope they're useful:

And finally - two links you may also find useful:

[URL="http://ec.europa.eu/transport/home/drivinglicence/faq/002_en.htm"][B]>FAQ'S on EU Driving Licences<[/B][/URL]

[URL="http://europa.eu/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2000/l_091/l_09120000412en00010050.pdf"][B]>EU Directives<[/B][/URL]
[B][I]NB: See Italy pages 22 -25[/I][/B][/quote]

this is really useful - thanks!

Tony

Further question on expiry of British licences- my photo one runs out in April of this year but I've had it convalidated at the MC and they've given me an expiry date of 2015- should I go on the British or Italian date?

Right- I've just spoken to the DVLA and have been informed that once your photo licence expires you are no longer entitled to a UK licence and have to go to your local place & checke what they say. I am hoping that this means my licence will be valid until 2015. However does this mean that anyone who is resident here but has not had their licence convalidated is driving unlicenced?