Taking a UK Car to Italy: Plates, Customs Relief and VAT
Moving a UK car to Italy means Italian plates within three months of becoming resident, a customs claim for relief from duty and VAT, and registration at the Motorizzazione and the vehicle registry. Here is what the official pages say, and where they stop.
A few short questions. Nothing is sent until you check and confirm.
What does Italy ask of a UK car when you move there?
A UK-registered car may keep its British plates only for a short time after you become a resident of Italy. The Italian Highway Code gives three months from the day you acquire registered residence, and then the car must be registered in Italy. Before that, customs decides whether the car comes in free of duty and VAT, and the Motorizzazione and the vehicle registry handle the plates.
We’re an enquiry and introduction service, so we don’t ship vehicles ourselves. The request form at the end of this page takes the car’s details, and the Italian rules below are for you to check with the Italian offices.
The DVLA steps on the UK side and the questions to put to a shipper are in our guide to shipping a car when moving abroad. Customs relief for the household goods is in our guide to Italian customs and transfer of residence. This page covers the car: the registration deadline, the customs relief, the two registration offices, the inspection and the visitor rule.
How long can the car keep UK plates once you are resident?
Three months. Article 93-bis of the Highway Code lets a foreign-registered car owned by someone who has acquired registered residence in Italy circulate only if it is registered in Italy within three months of acquiring that residence. Normattiva (opens in a new window) shows the article in force from 1 February 2022, and the act as last updated on 24 April 2026.
The British Government’s Living in Italy guide (opens in a new window) (updated 28 October 2026) puts it as 90 days from becoming resident and warns that the car may be impounded. It adds that once you start registering the car you cannot drive it until the new documents and plates arrive. Three months and 90 days are not the same length, so plan to the shorter one and count from the date your residence is registered at the town hall.
The penalties sit in the same article. An owner who lets a car circulate outside the rule faces a fine of 400 to 1,600 euros, and the officer withdraws the registration document and has the car taken off the road. The owner can instead ask to leave Italy by the shortest route. If the car is neither registered nor taken over the border within thirty days of the finding, it can be confiscated.
Can a UK car come in without customs duty and VAT?
Possibly. The customs and monopolies agency, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM), says the relief for a transfer of residence from outside the EU covers private cars and their trailers and removes both duty and IVA, the Italian VAT. Vehicles used commercially are excluded. The customs office decides on your papers.
ADM’s customs FAQ (opens in a new window) sets three conditions: at least twelve consecutive months of residence outside the EU, possession and use of the goods in your old home for six months before the move, and the same use in the new one. For registered vehicles the FAQ says proof of when possession and use began must always be given. Each member of the household who moves is judged on their own car.
The goods must be declared for free circulation within twelve months of the day you established normal residence in the EU customs territory. The relief can be granted before you arrive if you undertake to move within six months and give security, in a form and amount the office sets. A shorter stay abroad can still count if you show you meant to stay twelve months, for example with a work contract that ended early.
ADM’s request form with security, Mod. F-01 B (opens in a new window), has a separate box for used registered vehicles. It asks for the vehicle’s value and a copy of the foreign registration document, or other proof that the car was used abroad for six months before the move. The ADM pages we read do not say what document customs gives you for the Motorizzazione, or what a UK-registered car needs for technical approval, so put both questions to the customs office and the Motorizzazione before the car travels.
How do you register the car with the Motorizzazione and the registry?
In two steps. The provincial office of the Motorizzazione Civile (UMC) first checks the technical papers and that the administrative and tax steps are in order, then registers the car. The Pubblico Registro Automobilistico (PRA), run by the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI), then enters it, and the single vehicle document, the Documento Unico, is issued.
ACI’s page on registering a used vehicle from abroad (opens in a new window) (updated 1 April 2026) describes the online counter, the Sportello Telematico dell’Automobilista, for vehicles from the EU and the EEA. It does not mention the UK, so treat a UK car as a case for the UMC and then the PRA and confirm with the UMC.
Requests that cannot go online are filed within sixty days of the date of the document that precedes the Documento Unico. The PRA counter cannot issue new plates, only enter vehicles that already have them. The Documento Unico can be issued from the working day after the PRA entry.
The same page lists what to bring:
- Form NP-2C, completed and signed.
- A photocopy of your valid identity document.
- Your health card or tax code card, unless you hold an electronic identity card.
- For a non-EU citizen living in Italy, a valid residence permit, or the renewal receipt, or the receipt for a first application.
- A copy of the foreign registration document.
The page gives the costs as an ACI fee of 27 euros, stamp duty of 16 euros for the filing and 16 euros for the Documento Unico, and a provincial transcription tax that varies with the type of vehicle and the province. Check the figures at the counter, as the page can change.
Before the car leaves, the DVLA wants the detached export section of the V5C, and the remainder of the log book is the document you will show in Italy. The GOV.UK page on taking a vehicle out of the UK (opens in a new window) has the steps.
Does the car need a revisione once it has Italian plates?
Yes, on a schedule. Article 80 of the Highway Code (opens in a new window) requires a passenger car to have its periodic inspection, the revisione, within four years of its first registration and every two years after that. The article does not say how a first registration abroad counts for a car registered in Italy later, so ask the UMC which date it will use for yours.
Entry to city-centre traffic zones and low-emission zones is set by each comune, and our guide to ZTLs, low-emission zones and street permits explains how they fit together.
What if the car is only visiting Italy?
A visitor’s car follows a different article. Under article 132 of the Highway Code (opens in a new window), a foreign-registered car outside the residents’ rule, with any required customs formalities done, may circulate in Italy for a maximum of one year on its home registration certificate. Not keeping to that limit means a ban on entering the country.
ADM’s FAQ on cars with non-EU plates describes a narrower case. Someone established in the EU may use a third-country car privately and occasionally if its owner is also in the EU at the time and allows it, and ADM suggests carrying the owner’s written authorisation and showing it to the customs office where the car is used.
Once your residence is registered, the visitor rule stops being an option, because article 132 applies only outside the cases covered by article 93-bis.
What to settle with your movers before the car travels
Settle the date of arrival, the customs request, the papers and the registration visits before the car leaves. Put these questions to the vehicle shipper, and to your removal company if the household goods travel separately, and keep the answers in writing, because the registration and customs periods count from your residence date:
- On what date will the car reach Italy, and will that be before or after your residence is registered? The three months run from the registration.
- Who lodges the customs request for the move-of-residence relief, and who pays any security the customs office asks for?
- What do they need from you, and by when? The lists above include the V5C, proof of six months’ ownership and use, and your identity and residence papers.
- Does the quotation cover delivery only, or also the visits to the UMC and the PRA?
- In which province will you live? The registration fee and the transcription tax depend on it.
Our cost guide explains what a written quotation should itemise, and the household side of the move is on our page for moving from the UK to Italy.
Questions about taking a UK car to Italy
How long can I drive my UK car in Italy after I move?
The Highway Code allows three months from the day you acquire registered residence, after which the car must be registered in Italy.
GOV.UK says 90 days and warns of impounding. Plan to the shorter figure, and expect no driving while the registration is under way.
Do I pay customs duty and VAT on my UK car when I move?
Not necessarily.
ADM says private cars are covered by the relief for a transfer of residence from outside the EU, if you lived abroad twelve months and owned and used the car six months. Commercial vehicles are excluded, and customs decides.
Where do I register a UK car in Italy?
ACI describes two steps: the provincial Motorizzazione office, then the vehicle registry.
The online counter is described for EU and EEA vehicles, and the page does not mention the UK, so confirm the route with the Motorizzazione.
What happens if I miss the registration deadline?
The owner faces a fine of 400 to 1,600 euros, the registration document is withdrawn and the car is taken off the road.
If it is neither registered nor taken over the border within thirty days, it can be confiscated.
When does the car need its first inspection in Italy?
The Highway Code sets the first revisione at four years from first registration, then every two years.
It does not say how a registration abroad counts for a car registered in Italy later, so ask the Motorizzazione.
Send the car’s details and your Italian address
Include the make, model and year, whether the car runs, whether it is on finance or a lease, the town in Italy it is going to and the date you need it there. If the household belongings are going too, send a separate removal enquiry for them. We’ll pass your request to a vehicle shipping company we work with, which contacts you, explains how the vehicle would travel and gives you a written quotation. No price or date can be given before that company has your details.
About International Removals Companies
International Removals Companies is an enquiry and introduction service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, in partnership with AGM Group. We don't move goods ourselves: the removal company quotes for your move and carries it out, so check its credentials and terms before you book. Our service is free. Discuss the quotation and booking terms directly with the removal company.
- Email[email protected]
- In partnership withAGM Group (agm.group)