In Italy, depending on where you decide to live, it may be necessary to own a car. Often those who live in a large city decide to do without one, however, in this way they also preclude themselves from taking trips out of town and visiting the many wonders this country has to offer.
Those who live outside large urban centers have different travel needs than those who live in the city and consequently often choose to buy a car.
Foreigners living in Italy who already hold a driver's license face two main scenarios.
The first scenario sees citizens of the European community or citizens of non-EU countries, where there is a reciprocity agreement between the nation of origin (foreigner) and Italy.
Citizens of the European community can drive in Italy with their original license within one year from the time they took up residence. After this period it is necessary to convert the foreign license into an Italian license.
Citizens from non-EU countries must check whether or not their driver's license is convertible into an Italian one, and this varies depending on the bilateral agreements that individual countries enter into.
The second scenario sees citizens from countries that have not made bilateral agreements with Italy must retake the B driver's license exam in Italy when the validity period of their license expires.
You can check here the list of countries that have made bilateral agreements with Italy.
Those who are preparing again to take the B license exam can find here useful information on exam arrangements.
It should be remembered, however, that once the newly licensed driver has passed the driving test for the first 3 years, he or she will be subject to the legal restrictions related to vehicle power and maximum driving speed on highways and major suburban roads.
Before purchasing a vehicle, the newly licensed driver will have to check whether or not he or she can drive the car in question. You can do this by entering the license plate of the vehicle you wish to purchase at this link: https://www.ilportaledellautomobilista.it/web/portale-automobilista/neopatentati
Italian driving test online
The biggest obstacle for those preparing to take the driving test for the B license in Italy is the theoretical exam.
In fact, in our country it is possible to take the written test in the following languages: Italian, French, German.
The main difficulty is the very technical language of the written tests, and those who are not proficient with one of these languages may not understand the meaning of the questions well and consequently get the answer wrong.
Foreigners preparing for the theory exam should do a lot of practice with mock exams. Since no B license tests in English are commercially available, it is possible to practice by following the links we provide on this page.
The websites we link to on this page are in Italian but by following this guide and using Google Chrome's translation system you will be able to instantly translate the text on the page.
This guide is for users accessing from a PC.
- Install and open google Chrome
- Open this link in Chrome: https://www.google.com/preferences?lang=1&prev=https://www.google.com/preferences
- Set your preferred language on Google
Open one of the following links:
Once the page is open right-click on the page and select the translation option in the desired language indicated on the image in the red box, the page will be automatically translated.
Where to take the driving test for the B license
In Italy there are two options: the civil DMV or driving schools.
Civil motorizations are offices scattered throughout the country responsible for technical and administrative control related to civil transportation. In these offices it is also possible to take driving tests. Taking a driving test at the DMV on the one hand is cheaper, you spend on average 300 euros on the other hand it is more difficult because you have to prepare the whole exam completely independently.
By clicking on this link you can find all the DMV offices in the country: https://www.ilportaledellautomobilista.it/gms/ricerca/$N/$N
Driving schools, on the other hand, offer a more comprehensive service; they provide theory and practice lessons. It is a very comprehensive service but also more expensive; the price ranges from 700 to 1,000 euros.
After passing the theoretical exam, a pink slip is given, which allows one to drive a car together with a person who has had a license for at least 10 years and has not exceeded 60 years of age.
After one month has passed since the theoretical exam was taken, one can take the practical one.
As soon as the road driving test is passed, the license will be issued immediately.
