A person who holds a valid driving licence issued by a country outside the European Union or the European Economic Area and acquires official residence in Italy may, in some cases, request the conversion of that licence into an Italian driving licence without taking the theory and practical driving tests. However, this is not always possible. Conversion without an exam is allowed only if there are specific bilateral agreements between Italy and the country that issued the licence, and only on the basis of reciprocity. In practice, the rule depends not only on the validity of the licence, but also on the existence of an official agreement between the two States.
Even when conversion is allowed, the Italian licence is not issued automatically. Before the licence is issued, the applicant must prove that they meet the physical and mental fitness requirements for driving under Italian law. This means that the person must still pass the medical check required by law, even if they do not need to take the technical driving examination.
When the foreign licence is converted, the original document is withdrawn by the motorization office that carried out the conversion and is returned to the authority of the State that issued it, with an explanation of the reason for the withdrawal. This avoids the situation in which the driver remains the holder of two valid licences for the same purpose. A similar rule applies to any professional driving qualifications, although in that case a separate professional document is not necessarily withdrawn.
The Italian licence obtained by conversion always contains a note stating that it derives from a conversion. This note remains not only at the time of first issue, but also in the event of renewal or duplication. In addition, if necessary, the converted licence may be made subject to a review order, meaning a later check of the driver’s fitness according to the legal rules.
It is not possible to convert an EU licence if that EU licence itself derives from a licence originally issued by a country outside the European Union or the European Economic Area with which Italy has not concluded bilateral agreements. This means that the system cannot be bypassed simply by first converting a non-EU licence into a licence of another European country and then asking for conversion in Italy. The law also considers the original source of the licence.
If the requested conversion concerns a licence issued by a country outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, but that licence originally derives from a previous Italian licence, the new Italian licence that is issued cannot be of a higher category than the original Italian one. In other words, a driver cannot obtain, through intermediate foreign steps, a higher driving category in Italy than the one they previously had there.
In summary, conversion of a non-EU licence into an Italian licence without an exam is possible only when there is a specific agreement between States and when the driver meets the required medical conditions. The foreign licence is withdrawn, the conversion is recorded on the new Italian document, and indirect steps that would allow broader driving rights in Italy than those lawfully recognized are not permitted.
🔗 Read the official text of Art. 136 on the ACI portal (Italian)
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