Motor Vehicles and Driving Licences
General information on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Licences, vignettes, car paperwork: the ACI online guides
DRIVING LICENCE
- If you travel to Ireland for short periods of time, you can use your Italian driving licence as, according to EU Directive 2006/126/EC of 20 December 2006, Member States recognise driving licences issued by their respective authorities.
- If, on the other hand, you establish your residence in Ireland, it is advisable to convert your Italian driving licence, before its expiry date, into an Irish equivalent at the local NDLS / Motor Tax Office.
- In the event that you are no longer in possession of your Italian driving licence (e.g. due to theft or loss) or your licence has expired, to apply for conversion to an Irish licence you will also need to present a certificate of licence validity, which is issued by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport’s Motor Tax Offices and which you can also apply for online through the motorist portal.
- You can renew your Italian driving licence, before its expiry date, by contacting only the competent authorities in your place of residence.
If you are resident in Ireland, the competent local office is as follows:
National Driver Licence Service,
PO Box 858,
Southside Delivery Office,
Cork
https://www.ndls.ie/help/contact.html
If you are resident in Italy, you can find the necessary information on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport at http://www.mit.gov.it/come-fare-per/patenti-mezzi-e-abilitazioni/patenti-mezzi-stradali/rinnovo-patente .
WARNING: The Italian provisional driving permit does not authorise driving in Ireland.
THE REQUEST FOR RADIATION OF VEHICLES FROM THE P.R.A. FOR DEFINITIVE EXPORT TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY
If you want to permanently export a vehicle abroad, you must first carry out the cancellation for definitive export abroad’ from the National Vehicle Register and the Public Vehicle Register.
As from 1 January 2020, following the amendment to the text of Article 103, paragraph 1 of the Highway Code, anyone wishing to permanently export a vehicle from Italy to a foreign country must first cancel the vehicle from the Italian P.R.A., provided that the vehicle has been overhauled/technically inspected, with a positive outcome, on a date no more than six months prior to the date on which the cancellation is requested.
Moreover, it is no longer possible to transmit such requests through Consular Offices.