The one-time password, or OTP, is the small gatekeeper of Italian life. It stands between you and a new Italian bank account, a travel app, or keeping in touch with family in Martina Franca, and more often than not it arrives by text message to an Italian mobile number. This guide explains how to get one and, just as important, how to keep it working once you are back home.
A few myths
Forget virtual numbers. Italian banks and public services are strict about them, and they often will not accept one. Google Voice, popular in the United States, does not offer personal Italian numbers.
You will need an identity document
Since the security decree of April 2025 (Decree-Law 48/2025), Italian law requires anyone buying a SIM card to show a valid identity document; for visitors, a passport is the usual choice. In practice, most operators, including TIM, Vodafone and Wind, also ask for a codice fiscale, the Italian tax code, to register the line. Having one opens up the full range of offers, rather than just the short-term tourist SIMs.
Prepaid: easy to buy, easy to lose
Most Italian mobile plans are prepaid (ricaricabile), and buying one in a phone shop takes a few minutes. The difficulty comes later. A prepaid line has to be kept alive: operators deactivate numbers that go too long without a top-up, commonly after about a year, so check the terms. If you lose the number, you lose your OTPs, and changing the number registered with an Italian bank from abroad is a slow business.
Roaming matters too. Within the EU, the roaming rules let you use an Italian SIM at domestic prices, so texts arrive as they would in Italy. Outside the EU, roaming may need to be switched on and usually requires credit, so ask the shop before you leave.
The better option: pay automatically
The most reliable way to keep an Italian number working from abroad is a plan paid automatically, either a postpaid contract (abbonamento) or a prepaid offer with automatic monthly payment by card. Residency is not normally required, but the codice fiscale is.
Getting a codice fiscale from abroad
The rules changed in 2025. A foreign citizen living abroad now normally asks someone in Italy to apply on their behalf: a friend, a commercialista or the real estate notary handling a purchase can take the form (model AA4/8), a copy of your passport and a signed proxy to any office of the Agenzia delle Entrate. Italian consulates now process requests from foreign citizens only in limited cases, for example when the code is needed for an online procedure and there is nobody to delegate. Check your consulate’s website for its current rules.
What to bring to the shop
With your passport and codice fiscale in hand, you are ready. Take these as well.
A credit card
Debit cards are often refused for automatic payments, so bring a credit card that works internationally. Most major foreign credit cards should be accepted, but it is worth asking.
An Italian address
Bills usually arrive by email, but shops may ask for an address when registering the line. Your holiday address will do.
Patience
Be ready to explain your situation, and to push back politely if the shop insists on an Italian IBAN (bank account number). Many Italians pay their phone bills by credit card, so ask for that option.
Using your Italian number
Once the line is active, you can receive OTPs for apps, bookings and banking, and stay in touch with friends and family in Italy. Keep an eye on the payment card linked to the line: if it expires, the payment fails and the number can be suspended.
Before you sign
Monthly fees add up, so if you only need the number for OTPs, choose the smallest plan with minimal data and minutes.
Check the contract length and any exit charges. If your stay is short, look for an offer you can cancel easily.
If the offer includes a phone, find out whether it is locked to the network and what it takes to free it, in case you want to use another SIM later.
Over to you
Getting an Italian number for OTPs takes more effort than in many countries, but it is entirely achievable. Get your codice fiscale first, choose a plan that pays itself automatically, and your OTPs will keep arriving long after you have flown home.
We also have guides on turning on utilities.
