Following Brexit, Italy has yet to announce an agreement regarding driving licences. There’s good news for Britons living in Italy who have yet to exchange their licence for an Italian one. Italy extends the use of the UK driving licence until the end of 2022.
Most other EU countries have already announced reciprocal agreements with the UK. These allow a UK driving licence to be exchanged without the need for a test; but there’s still no arrangement confirmed with Italy.
However, good news for British residents of Italy who haven’t converted their UK licence to an Italian is that Italy has confirmed that UK licences issued before January 1st, 2021 can now be used in Italy until the end of 2022.
Discussions on a potential long-term agreement between the UK and Italy are still ongoing. However, the British Embassy in Rome confirmed the 12-month extension. A UK government spokesperson told The Local news agency that negotiations were continuing with the Italian government.
Time of grace
Britain left the EU at the end of 2020. UK driving licence holders in Italy had a 12-month grace period during which they could continue to use their British licence.
If no long-term reciprocal agreement is reached before December 31st, 2022, residents in Italy will have to take a test to exchange their UK licence for an Italian patente di guida (driving licence).
Reciprocal driving licence agreements are already in place between Italy and around 20 non-EU countries, including Switzerland, Brazil, the Philippines and Turkey. The agreement means holders of these licences can swap to an Italian version without a test.
