Driving in Italy with your own car: rules, costs and help

Before you leave: documents and equipment

• Your licence

  A licence from a European Union country is valid in Italy as it is. With a licence from outside the EU you also need an international driving permit or an official translation.

• Registration and insurance

  Bring the original registration document and the insurance certificate. With an EU number plate you do not need the green card. If the car is not yours, bring a written authorisation from the owner.

• Vest and warning triangle

  The warning triangle is compulsory. The high-visibility vest must be worn when you get out of the car outside built-up areas at night or in poor visibility, and always on the hard shoulder: keep it inside the car, not in the boot.

• Lights on during the day

  Outside built-up areas, on country roads and on motorways, dipped headlights or daytime running lights must be on during the day too.

• Children

  Children under 1.50 metres need an approved child seat or booster suited to their weight. The compulsory anti-abandonment alarm for children under 4 applies to people living in Italy.

• Phone and alcohol

  At the wheel the phone may only be used hands-free: holding it costs a fine from 250 euro. The alcohol limit is 0.5 grams per litre, zero for those who have held their licence for less than three years and for professional drivers.

• Fines

  Fines reach you at home too, anywhere in the European Union, sometimes months later. If you pay within 5 days you get 30 % off. With a foreign plate the police may ask you to pay on the spot, or to leave a deposit.

• Fuel

  At the "Self" pump (self-service) fuel costs less than at the "Servito" one (attended). At night and on Sundays many stations work only with the automatic till, with banknotes or card. "Benzina" is unleaded petrol, "Gasolio" is diesel.

From 15 November to 15 April you need winter tyres or chains on board on almost every road of Romagna: Winter tyres

• Green: motorway

  Green signs lead to the motorway, where you pay a toll. Careful if you come from France or Germany: there motorways are blue. Switzerland is like Italy.

• Blue: main roads

  State and provincial roads and toll-free dual carriageways, like the E45 from Ravenna and Cesena towards Perugia and Rome. They are often the free, slower alternative to the motorway.

• White: in town

  Inside built-up areas the signs are white: centre, station, districts, local roads.

• Brown: tourism and culture

  Museums, castles, churches, parks, beaches, spas and places to visit. Handy so you miss nothing along the way.

• Yellow: roadworks

  Yellow signs and lines are temporary (roadworks, detour) and override the white ones: if you find yellow lines on the ground, follow those.

Motorway rules

• Take a ticket at the entrance

  Almost all Italian motorways are paid by distance: at the entrance you take a ticket from the machine, at the exit you pay. There is no vignette. If you lose the ticket you pay from the farthest toll gate.

• The toll lanes

  Yellow with the Telepass sign: only with an electronic toll device valid in Italy (Telepass, UnipolMove or an enabled European device). Blue "Carte": debit and credit cards. White: every payment, cash included.

• If you cannot pay

  If the barrier does not lift or you took the wrong lane, press the help button: you get a non-payment report to settle within 15 days on the operator's website or at a Punto Blu office. Never turn back or reverse.

• Speed and lanes

  130 km/h, 110 in the rain, and the Tutor measuring your average. Keep right and overtake only on the left. The hard shoulder is for real breakdowns only: using it in a queue or for a phone call costs a lot.

• If you break down

  Hazard lights, vest on before you get out, everybody behind the crash barrier, triangle 100 metres back. Call from the orange SOS post or dial 112. On the motorway only the authorised rescue services send a tow truck: you cannot call your own.

• Service areas

  Every 30-50 km there is a service area with fuel, a bar and toilets. On the motorway fuel usually costs a few cents more than outside: if you can, fill up before you get on.

• Toll-free roads

  Not everything is tolled: the E45 from Ravenna and Cesena towards Rome, the dual carriageway to San Marino, the ring roads and many dual carriageways are free, with a limit of 110 or 90 km/h.

• Car parks

  Multi-storey and park-and-ride car parks often cost less than the street for long stays, and some have a shuttle to the centre.

• Paying by smartphone

  With the apps you pay only the minutes you use and can extend your stay remotely. The meter says which apps that town accepts.

• Motorhomes

  A motorhome may park like a car where it is not forbidden, but not camp: no chairs, tables or open awning. For the night look for a motorhome stopover area.

• Never across a driveway

  The "Passo carrabile" sign marks a private entrance: never park there, not even for a minute. The tow truck comes fast.

ZTL & parking

• The fake flat tyre

  Someone signals that you have a flat tyre, or punctures it while you are parked. As soon as you get out to look, an accomplice opens the other door and grabs bags and phones. If someone points out a problem, drive on to a busy fuel station and lock the car before getting out.

• The mirror bump

  You hear a bang on the side, a car makes you pull over and shows you a broken mirror (broken before), asking for cash at once "to keep the insurance out of it". Do not pay: offer to fill in the accident report form or call 112. They usually vanish.

• The unofficial parking attendant

  A person without a uniform waves you into a space and asks for a tip "to watch the car". It is not a service: it is illegal and protects you from nothing. Prefer blue lines or car parks with a barrier.

• The window at the traffic light

  In a queue or at a traffic light someone smashes the window or opens the door and takes the bag on the seat. Keep the doors locked, the windows up and bags and phones out of sight.

• The "parcel": the street bargain

  In service areas or at traffic lights someone offers you a phone, a laptop or a designer perfume at an unbelievable price, already boxed. Inside you find a tile or a bar of soap. There is no such thing as a street bargain.

• The full boot in a car park

  Cars with foreign plates and luggage in sight are a target, especially at night and near ports and stations. Drop the suitcases at the hotel before visiting the town and at night use a guarded car park.

• The "return horse"

  If your car is stolen, someone sometimes gets in touch asking for money to help you "find" it. Do not negotiate: report the theft at once to the Carabinieri or the Police, you also need it for the insurance.

• The fake police officer

  People in plain clothes claiming to be police officers who ask to see your money or to pay a fine in cash. Real police wear a uniform or show an ID card and give a receipt. If in doubt, call 112.

The checklist for driving your own car

• A valid licence, plus the international permit if it is not from the EU
• Original registration document and insurance certificate
• The owner's authorisation, if the car is not yours
• High-visibility vest inside the car, ideally one per person
• Warning triangle, spare wheel or repair kit, jack
• Winter tyres or chains from 15 November to 15 April
• Child seats or boosters for children under 1.50 m
• Telepass or a European device valid in Italy, or a card for the toll gates
• Coins and a contactless card for parking meters and automatic fuel pumps
• A parking disc for time-limited parking
• The roadside assistance number of your make or your policy
• Your plate given to the hotel, if it is inside a ZTL
• 112 in your contacts

Sources

Autostrade per l'Italia UnipolMove toll calculator SITAF, Fréjus tunnel Mont Blanc tunnel ASFINAG, Austrian vignette Via, Swiss vignette Forlì airport parking Rimini airport Polizia di Stato

Data read on 24 October 2026 on the official and the operators' websites. Rates and hours change: before you leave, always check the operator's website and the sign on the spot.