Hire with driver for passenger transport is a service regulated by specific laws. It is not a free or ordinary use of a vehicle, but a professional activity subject to precise rules. In this type of service, the vehicle is made available to passengers together with the driver, in exchange for payment. Because this is a professional passenger transport activity, the law establishes which vehicles may be used and which authorizations are required.
Different types of vehicles may be used for this service. These include motorcycles, with or without sidecar, tricycles, bicycles, quadricycles, passenger cars, buses, vehicles for mixed transport or for specific passenger transport, and even animal-drawn vehicles. This means that hire with driver does not concern only cars, but may also be carried out with other means, provided that the law allows it and the necessary authorization has been granted.
In order to carry out the service, the vehicle registration document must be issued on the basis of a municipal operating authorization. In practice, it is not enough to own a suitable vehicle; it is also necessary to hold the authorization required by the municipality. Without this authorization, the vehicle cannot be legally used for hire with driver.
Anyone who uses for hire with driver a vehicle not intended for that purpose, or provides the service without the required authorization, commits a very serious violation. The law provides very high administrative fines. In addition, important accessory consequences apply, such as confiscation of the vehicle and suspension of the driving licence for a period that may range from four to twelve months. If the same violation is committed more than once within a given period, it may even lead to revocation of the driving licence. The same consequences also apply to those who continue to operate the service after their authorization has been suspended or revoked.
The law also punishes the use of a vehicle intended for hire with driver in violation of certain essential rules laid down by the specific legislation governing the sector. In these cases, the penalties increase progressively according to the number of violations committed with the same vehicle over a period of five years. For the first violation, a fine and a one-month suspension of the registration document apply. For the second violation involving the same vehicle, the fine is higher and the suspension of the registration document lasts from one to two months. For the third violation, the financial penalty increases again and the suspension may last from two to four months. For any violation after the third, the fine becomes even higher and the suspension of the registration document may last from four to eight months. This system is meant to discourage repeated breaches of the rules.
Apart from the most serious cases, it is still forbidden to use a vehicle intended for hire with driver in a way that does not comply with the conditions set by the relevant authorization. These violations also lead to an administrative fine, even if they are considered less serious than operating without authorization or with a non-authorized vehicle.
For the theory exam, it is important to remember that hire with driver is a professional activity different from private use of a vehicle. It may be carried out only with certain types of vehicles and only if the required municipal authorization exists. Using a vehicle not intended for this service or carrying out the service without authorization leads to very serious penalties, which may include not only a fine but also confiscation of the vehicle, suspension of the driving licence, and, in more serious or repeated cases, revocation of the driving licence.
🔗 Read the official text of Art. 85 on the ACI portal (Italian)
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