Registering a UK car in Italy

Hi, if you enter the words "register UK car" where the "Search" button is (top, right hand side), you will find lots of information. Someone may help with your specific questions.

ok thanks.

Hi Pags, I am guessing it is you who sent me a message. Unfortunately it doesn;t include any way to contact you. In order to register a car in Italy yo will need to be resident. If you're not then it will need to stay on UK plates. If it is a modern-ish car then it is very simple and costs around €600 (I think this has now gone up so be prepared). Go to a driving school - most will do the paperwork for you - or go to the ACI (Italian automobile club) to get it done. You will need your id, certificate of residency, V5 for the car, up to date MOT. When mine was inspected they were not interested in which way the lights pointed at all but it is likely to depend on who does the inspection. They will soon tell you if it needs changing. Be warned - Italian car insurance is expensive.

I just have to correct Penny here, Italian car Insurance is HORRENDOUSLY expensive. Think of what you pay in the UK then multiply that by 5 to give you some idea. If you can I'd keep it on UK plates and insure with some one like Saga, or Stuart Collins (details can be got by using the 'Search site' facility on the right. Lots and lots of UK expats keep their car on UK plates over here, and no one seems to have a problem (well round here they don't) as long as you tax it and have a valid MOT you should be OK then tootle back to the UK one a year to get it renewed.

As said lots of info this subject, but be aware insurance copmanies like saga will cover you for the full 12 months european use, only if you are staying the full 12 months. If you return to UK the insurance would be invalid.  You might ask how will they know if you return. poss not unless you try to make a calaim.We  use Stuart Collins and as far as we know he is the only one who offers an insurnace for the use of taking your car abroad with the option of leaving it for the 12months when you travel back to UK.

Ciao e tutti, I would not even make a special trip back to MOT. see discussions elswhere: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/trip-paperwork/sorn-mot-registrati... As long as you have an MOT booked when you get back then if you get picked up by the ANPR cameras at Dover you are legal. YMMV. 

Tony P Registered Users Veteran HUBBer Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Moscow Posts: 1,119

Here we go again! As in many previous threads -

UK Road Tax is only payable for UK registered vehicles when using public roads in UK. ie within the jurisdiction of UK Road Traffic Acts etc. If not on UK public roads not payable.

You can even apply for a part refund as you leave.

If a UK vehicle registered vehicle is not to be taxed (or a refund is requested because it is not going to be used on UK public roads) a SORN declaration must be made (free) that it is not going to be used on UK public roads. This must be done again annually. It can be done 'on-line' (ie from anywhere in the World) during the month before and after the Road Tax or SORN expires.

MOT is similarly only necessary if the vehicle is going to be used within the jurisdiction of the UK Road Traffic Acts (ie UK public roads).

On returning to UK it is permitted to use the vehicle without MOT and Road Tax to get to and from a MOT Test Station for a pre-arranged test appointment. The station can be anywhere in the land, not near the point of entry or your home - if stopped you be able to show you are reasonably en-route and give details of the appoiment time/date/place so they can check up.

So, book the test as you disembark, or while you are still away.

Insurance is a necessity throughout the EU and most of the rest of the World, so it is assumed you will have that anyway.

Never NEVER NEVER ask the DVLA. The only people you get to speak to generally know nothing! Share  

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You cant drive a foreign registered car in Italy for 12 months, it must be registered after 6, if Im not mistaken - so that complicates things with Saga.

Or........that stuff about Saga could be a load of b.......cks as I can't find anything in my Saga policy that even suggests such a thing. As far as they are concerned, it's a UK car but with unrestricted use in EU countries 12 months a year. Not a problem for me as I spend 6 months in UK anyway. As to whether you need an MoT - I would be guessing that a valid MoT would be one of the first things an insurance company would look for in the event of a claim, no matter what the legal requirements of the UK authorities. Further, I'm pretty sure that if I got pulled (again!) in a random police roadside check they would have an issue with the car not being taxed - even if I had a current revisione. And you can't get your UK tax disc without an MoT - the system won't allow it.

Why not ring Saga then you have it from the horses mouth. Can you come back with the reply.

Practically speaking, no one actually knows the exact legal requirements, niether DVLA or Police here in Italy. The only way you will find out is to get caught by the Police or get involved in an accident and see what happens in your given situation. The only info I assume is correct is this : Vienna Convention summary; "The vehicle must meet all technical requirements to be legal for road use in the country of registration. The driver must carry the vehicle's registration certificate, and if the vehicle is not registered in the name of an occupant of the vehicle, proof of the driver's right to be in possession of the vehicle." In my opinion this should hold true, but if you want to risk not having Road Tax displayed, then on your head be it; it just makes you more visibly a target.

I got stopped on a random check some months ago and was asked for the car's safety certificate.  MOT was acceptible, although I didn't have the new one in the car.  They told me not to worry - they could check the car was 'safe' by sending through the tax disc details.  I think we take it for granted that there's no communication these days between British & Italian authorities.  I'd hazard a guess to say that it's way more advanced that we probably realise.

  Why not ring Saga then you have it from the horses mouth. Can you come back with the reply. PM sent. TK  

Yeh, would be interesting to see SAGAs opinion on this, though I would have thought it would be dependent on the individual circumstances.

Mine is the standard UK policy for a UK car, which allows 12 months a year of use in all EU countries. They don't care that it is lhd, nor that I bought it in Belgium and imported it on to UK plates. I can't even find reference to the popularly held belief that I have to be in the same country as the car at all times, though I would be happy if they took that view. Incidentally, it's really no use ringing Saga on any issue as the call centre people generally don't know squat! Suits me.

When you say 'which allows 12 months a year of use in all EU countries' is that with the full cover you paid for in the UK i.e. Fully Comp, or is that EU minimun cover of 3rd Party only?

  It's for the level of cover you took out in UK, as per the Policy Schedule.

I got stopped on a random check some months ago and was asked for the car's safety certificate. MOT was acceptible, although I didn't have the new one in the car. They told me not to worry - they could check the car was 'safe' by sending through the tax disc details. I think we take it for granted that there's no communication these days between British & Italian authorities. I'd hazard a guess to say that it's way more advanced that we probably realise. I'd hazard a guess that they haven't actually tried to do it.

I would check your policy wording carefully:  most UK policies for comprehensive cover eg Allianz, Direct Line etc do allow journeys abroad BUT the cover automatically defaults to the minimum level of cover required locally - typically third party only unless you pay extra one-off premiums. The situation was different a few years ago but almost all insurance now is sold on a price comparison basis and so cover is cut down wherever possible.

to register a car in Italy you will need to be resident. you should have a drive rights. you want to risk not having Road Tax displayed, then on your head be it; it just makes you more visibly a target. https://car-gears.com/