Guide
Importing a car to Italy: two articles decide everything
By Covered Abroad Research Desk · Last verified July 2026
Article 132: the non-resident's year
Article 132 of the Codice della Strada is titled for exactly this case — circulation of vehicles registered in a foreign state driven by people not resident in Italy. It provides that cars, motorcycles and trailers registered abroad, for which customs formalities have already been completed, are ammessi a circolare in Italia per la durata massima di un anno, in base al certificato di immatricolazione dello Stato di origine, in conformity with the international conventions Italy has ratified. One year, on the strength of the foreign registration document — and the clock is not reset by leaving and returning.
Source: normattiva.it — Codice della Strada, art. 132, read 14 September 2026.
Article 93-bis: sixty days once you are resident
Take residence and a different article applies. Article 93-bis sets the formalities for foreign-registered vehicles driven by residents in Italy, covering vehicles owned by a person who has acquired residenza anagrafica in Italy, and states an obligation to register entro sessanta giorni dall'acquisizione della proprietà del veicolo — within sixty days of acquiring ownership. Registered vehicles may then also be driven by cohabiting family members resident in Italy. The article also requires plates to be clearly legible, and penalises the owner who lets the vehicle circulate in breach of these rules, so the exposure sits with the owner rather than the driver.
Source: normattiva.it — Codice della Strada, art. 93-bis, read 14 September 2026.
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Check my policyWhat this means when you actually move
The trigger is the registry, not the road: registering your residence starts the clock, which is why the vehicle question belongs in the same week as the codice fiscale and residency paperwork rather than months later. Once the car is Italian, it joins the revisione calendar. The neighbours run the same exercise on their own rules — see France, where the quitus fiscal comes first, and Spain. Because the articles above are the legal frame rather than the counter procedure, confirm the document list with the Motorizzazione or a practice agency before booking anything.
Source: normattiva.it — Codice della Strada, art. 93-bis, read 14 September 2026.
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