Renewing the Italian licence: deadlines, costs, procedure 🔄

Updated 30 August 2026 · Sources: Italian Highway Code (L. 177/2024), Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, official portals cited in the text. Leggi in italiano 🇮🇹

Renewal frequency by age (table)

Handy detail: since the alignment reform, validity runs to your birthday — renewing a few months early doesn't shorten the cycle unfairly.

The procedure, step by step

1. Book the medical visit: authorized doctor at a driving school, agency, ASL or medical centre. Bring ID, the expiring licence and a passport photo (often taken on site).

2. Pay the PagoPA fees (typically €16 stamp + €10.20 fee, plus the visit: €30–50 depending on the venue).

3. The doctor transmits everything electronically: you leave with a provisional driving receipt.

4. The new licence arrives at home by registered post within about a week (courier costs on delivery).

Renewal can be done up to 4 months before expiry.

Expired licence: what happens (and the grace myth)

Driving with an expired licence costs a fine of roughly €160+ and the licence is withdrawn until renewal. There's no «grace period» for driving — expired means stop. Only the paperwork is forgiving: you can renew after expiry without exams, whenever you want; after very long inactivity a revision may be ordered. Note for converted-licence holders: your Italian card follows Italian renewal cycles regardless of your original country's rules. Renewal questions live in the exam database too — a classic among the figure-based traps.