When a driving licence is issued, the driver receives twenty points. This score is recorded in the national register of licensed drivers and may be reduced when the driver commits certain road traffic violations. Not every offence causes loss of points, but only those for which the law expressly provides it. The number of points to be deducted must also be indicated in the notice of violation, so that the driver clearly knows the consequence of the offence.
If several violations are established at the same time in the same event, the total deduction cannot exceed fifteen points. However, this limit does not apply where the violations include cases for which the law provides suspension or revocation of the licence. In these more serious situations, the special legal consequences apply.
After the violation has become final, the police authority must notify the national register of the point loss within thirty days. A violation is considered final when the fine has been paid, when administrative or judicial appeals have been concluded, or when the time limit for filing appeals has expired. This means that points are not deducted immediately when the report is issued, but only when the case is definitively settled.
The communication of the deduction must concern the actual driver responsible for the violation. If the driver was not identified at the time of the offence, the vehicle owner, or another jointly liable person, must provide the police authority, within sixty days from the notification of the report, with the personal details and driving licence data of the person who was driving at the time. If the vehicle belongs to a legal entity, this obligation falls on the legal representative or a delegate. If these details are not provided without a justified and documented reason, an administrative fine from 291 to 1,166 euros applies. This means that even if points cannot be deducted without identifying the driver, the vehicle owner still has a precise legal duty to cooperate.
Every change in the points balance is communicated through the Portale dell’Automobilista according to the official procedures. Drivers therefore need to check their score through the official channels, because every increase or decrease is recorded in the national register.
If the score has not been completely exhausted, lost points may be recovered by attending refresher courses organized by driving schools or by authorized public or private bodies. In general, these courses allow the recovery of six points. For some holders of professional driving qualifications together with certain licence categories, specific refresher courses allow recovery of nine points. The recovery of points does not happen automatically by merely attending the course, but only after passing a final test. The attendance certificate must then be sent to the competent office to update the national register.
There is also a reward mechanism for drivers who behave correctly over time. If for two years no violations are committed that involve point deductions, the driver regains the full initial score, up to the limit of twenty points. If the driver already has at least twenty points and for two years commits no violation causing point loss, they receive a bonus of two points, up to a maximum of ten additional points. In practice, careful driving without offences can lead to a total of up to thirty points.
When the driver loses all points, they must undergo the technical fitness examination provided by law. The same applies to a driver who, after a first violation causing a loss of at least five points, commits two more separate violations within twelve months from the first, each of which also causes a deduction of at least five points. In these cases, the competent office orders a review of the driving licence. If the driver does not undergo the required checks within thirty days from notification of the review order, the licence is suspended for an indefinite period. The suspension remains until the driver complies with the requirement.
The rules also apply to criminal offences that involve point deductions. In such cases, when the judgment or decree becomes final, the court clerk sends a copy to the authority that established the violation, and that authority then communicates the deduction to the national register within the prescribed time. This means that the points-based licence system concerns not only administrative road offences, but also certain criminal offences connected with road traffic.
In summary, the points-based licence is a system that rewards correct driving and punishes dangerous or irregular behaviour. Every driver starts with twenty points, may lose them because of certain offences, recover them through specific courses, or increase them through a long period without violations. But if all points are lost, or if serious repeated deductions are accumulated in a short time, the driver must prove again that they are fit to drive.
🔗 Read the official text of Art. 126 bis on the ACI portal (Italian)
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