Outside the bigger towns, daily life in Puglia usually runs on a car, and most newcomers arrive with a license from home. How long that license keeps working, and what replaces it, depends almost entirely on where it was issued: a UK license can be swapped for an Italian one without a test, while a US license cannot be swapped at all.
This guide sets out the one-year rule, the UK exchange, the full Italian test for US license holders, what it costs and where the Motorizzazione offices are in Puglia. It is a practical summary, not legal advice; the rules are linked to the official pages throughout.
The short answer, by license
| US license | UK license | |
|---|---|---|
| Valid in Italy after you become resident | 12 months | 12 months |
| Carry with it | An International Driving Permit or an official Italian translation | Nothing extra for a photocard license |
| Can it be exchanged for an Italian one? | No (diplomatic staff and their families only) | Yes, without a test, within six years of residence |
| What you do next | Theory and practical tests in Italy | Book an exchange at the Motorizzazione |
The Italian word you will hear most is patente (driving license). The office that issues it is the Motorizzazione Civile (the state motor vehicles office, often shortened to UMC), and every form you fill in starts on the Portale dell’Automobilista, the ministry’s drivers’ portal.
The one-year rule and when the clock starts
Article 135 of the Codice della Strada (Italy’s highway code) lets holders of a non-EU license drive in Italy as long as they have not been resident for more than a year. The year runs from your residenza anagrafica, the date you are entered in the town hall’s population register, not from the day you land. If you are still in the early paperwork stage, our step-by-step guide to moving to Puglia shows where registering residence fits.
The same article says a non-EU license must travel with an International Driving Permit issued by the country that issued the license, or with an official Italian translation. Driving without one costs €408 to €1,634 under article 135 (the amounts are updated periodically). The US Embassy and Consulates in Italy say the same for visitors from the US: bring an International Driving Permit, which AAA issues, or an official translation.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, whose guidance we checked in October 2026, accepts three kinds of official translation: one made by an official at the embassy or consulate in Italy of the country that issued the license (with the signature legalized by the local prefecture), one made by an official at the Italian embassy or consulate in that country, or a sworn translation (traduzione asseverata) made before a court clerk, a notary or a justice of the peace.
Readers from the UK are in a different position. GOV.UK says you do not need an International Driving Permit in the EU with a UK photocard license; holders of an old paper license or one issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man may, and should check before driving.
Once the 12 months are up, an unconverted foreign license stops being valid for a resident. If you are stopped, article 135 provides a fine and the immediate withdrawal of the license, which is then sent to the Motorizzazione for conversion or, if it cannot be converted, back to the country that issued it. For a US license, which cannot be converted, that means it goes back to the US and you are left without one.
Readers from the UK: exchanging your license
Since 2023 a UK-Italy agreement lets UK license holders who take up residence in Italy exchange a full license for an Italian one without theory or practical tests. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport lists it as valid until 30 March 2028 and renewable; the text provides for automatic five-year extensions unless either side ends it. It also covers licenses from Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
The details, as set out by GOV.UK’s Living in Italy guide and the ministry’s foreign license conversion page (updated 9 October 2026):
- If you became resident on or after 1 January 2023, you can drive on your UK license for up to 12 months, then you must exchange it.
- You must apply within six years of becoming resident. After six years the application is refused and you have to take the Italian tests from scratch.
- If you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement (resident in Italy before 1 January 2021), the six-year limit does not apply and you can exchange at any time.
- An expired UK, Gibraltar, Jersey or Guernsey license can still be exchanged if it expired less than five years before you apply. An expired Isle of Man license cannot.
- Provisional licenses cannot be exchanged. A lost or stolen license needs a copy of the police report filed in Italy.
- You cannot renew or replace a UK license while living in Italy, so an expiry date that falls in the next year or two is another reason to exchange early.
For the appointment you take form TT2112, proof of a PagoPA payment for tariff N003 (€10.20 in fees plus €32 in stamp duty), a medical certificate dated within the last three months, and your license with a full photocopy of both sides. As a non-EU citizen you also add your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) or the receipt for it, as listed on the ministry’s page for non-EU applicants. Some offices ask for an official translation of the license as well, and the ministry refers applicants to their own office for the full document list.
One quiet benefit: the agreement counts the years you have already held your UK license, so a driver with decades behind the wheel does not become a neopatentato (new driver) again. Check the issue date on the new Italian card, and see our guide to the new-driver power and speed limits for what applies if it is wrong.
Readers from the US: the Italian test
There is no exchange agreement between the United States and Italy. The ministry lists US licenses as convertible only for diplomatic staff and their families, and the US Embassy confirms that everyone else follows the normal route for an Italian license: a medical exam, a written test and a driving test. The same applies to most other non-EU licenses, including Canadian and Australian ones.
The process for a patente B (the ordinary car license) runs in this order.
1. Medical certificate
You see a medico abilitato, a doctor authorized to certify fitness to drive. Many work through the local health authority, and some hold sessions inside driving schools. You bring a recent passport photo, proof of a €16 PagoPA stamp-duty payment (tariff N019) and, for a first license, a certificate of past illnesses from your own doctor. The doctor’s own fee varies by provider. The certificate is sent electronically and is valid for three months, according to the ministry’s medical certificate page.
2. Application and theory test
The application goes to the Motorizzazione on form TT2112 with a PagoPA payment for tariff N067 (€26.40 in fees plus €16 in stamp duty), your ID, a copy of your codice fiscale (tax code) and your permesso di soggiorno. You must be resident in Italy to apply. The ministry’s patente B page gives you two attempts at the theory test within six months of applying.
The test is 30 true-or-false statements in 20 minutes on a computer at the Motorizzazione, and you pass with three mistakes or fewer, according to the Portale dell’Automobilista. It is set in Italian. French and German versions exist, though official pages differ on where they are offered, and there is no English version, as the Australian Embassy in Rome also tells its own citizens. Our advice is to study in Italian from the start, because the statements hinge on precise road-code wording.
3. The foglio rosa
Pass the theory test and you receive the foglio rosa (literally “pink sheet”, the learner’s permit). It is valid for 12 months and allows up to three attempts at the practical test, the first no earlier than the month after it is issued. Under article 122, you may practice only with someone beside you aged 65 or under who has held a license for the same category for at least 10 years, in a car marked with a “P”.
4. Six hours at a driving school
Before you can practice privately, and before you can take the driving test, you need a certificate of at least six hours of compulsory lessons with an autoscuola (driving school): motorway, main roads outside towns and night driving. The ministry lists the certificate among the documents for the practical test.
5. The practical test
You book it with a further €16 stamp-duty payment (tariff N019). The test car must reach at least 100 km/h and have dual controls, which in practice usually means a driving-school car, with an examiner from the Motorizzazione on board. Pass, and you are a neopatentato for three years, with lower speed limits, a zero alcohol limit and caps on engine power, all set out in the new-driver guide linked above.
What it costs
The state fees the ministry lists for a first patente B add up to €74.40: €16 for the medical certificate stamp, €42.40 for the theory application and €16 for the practical test. On top of that come the doctor’s fee and the driving school.
Driving-school prices are not regulated and vary widely. In a survey by the consumer group Altroconsumo of 146 schools in nine cities (carried out in October and November 2023, published 27 March 2024), the average basic package of enrollment, exams, medical visit and the six compulsory hours ranged from €695 in Rome to €1,061 in Bologna, and choosing the cheapest school in the same city could save €240 to €615. Bari was in the survey but dropped from the results because too few schools replied, so treat those figures as a national guide, not a Puglia price list. Extra lessons and resits come on top.
For comparison, a UK exchange costs €42.40 in state fees plus the medical certificate (its own €16 stamp and the doctor’s fee), and no driving school is needed.
How autoscuole work in Puglia
Most candidates enroll with an autoscuola rather than dealing with the Motorizzazione alone, because the school usually handles the paperwork and exam bookings and provides the dual-control car. Many also arrange the medical visit on site. Theory classes are usually in Italian; whether any instructor speaks English varies from school to school, so ask before you sign.
When you collect quotes, ask the same questions every time: how long each lesson lasts (six sessions of 30 minutes are not six hours), what the administrative fee covers, whether the medical visit and study material are included, and what a resit costs. Altroconsumo found lessons of 20, 30, 45 and 55 minutes sold as single lessons, which is the most common way two quotes that look equal turn out not to be.
Italian word of the day: bollo. The €16 stamp duty on every step is still called the marca da bollo, after the revenue stamp sold at the tabaccheria (tobacconist) and stuck onto paper forms. For Motorizzazione payments it now goes through PagoPA, the state payment system, but the word is everywhere on the tariff lists, which show the bolli (stamp duty) separately from the diritti (fees).
Motorizzazione offices in Puglia
The ministry’s transparency pages list these four offices for central and southern Puglia. Lecce coordinates the Brindisi and Taranto sections; Bari coordinates Foggia and Matera. Check the office page on the Portale dell’Automobilista for opening hours and how to book before you go, since arrangements differ between offices.
| Office | Address | |
|---|---|---|
| Lecce | Via Ugo La Malfa, 73100 Lecce (by the church of Sant’Oronzo fuori le Mura, ring road east exit 3) | direzione.uple@mit.gov.it |
| Bari | Via delle Magnolie 1, 70026 Modugno (BA) | direzione.upba@mit.gov.it |
| Brindisi | Via Orso Mario Corbino, Pedagne, 72100 Brindisi | direzione.upbr@mit.gov.it |
| Taranto | Viale 2 Giugno 16, 74123 Taranto | direzione.upta@mit.gov.it |
The Bari office is not in the city itself but in Modugno, on the industrial edge to the west, so allow for the drive or the bus out.
A timeline that works
Our suggestion, if you are coming from the US: register residence, then start the Italian process within the first few months rather than in month 11. The theory window is six months, the foglio rosa lasts a year, and exam dates depend on availability at your office. If your foreign license expires under the one-year rule while you are still on a foglio rosa, you can only drive with a qualified driver beside you.
From the UK, book the exchange well before the 12-month mark and long before year six. The paperwork is lighter, but GOV.UK warns that applications may take time to process and that you need the Italian license to keep driving legally.
Whichever license you hold, the car comes with its own paperwork. Our guides cover whether you need residency to buy a car in Italy, and, if you settle in a city such as Lecce, the camera-enforced limited-traffic zone hours and resident parking permits. More relocation guides sit in our The Move section.
FAQ
Can I drive in Italy on a US license?
Yes, as a visitor, with an International Driving Permit or an official Italian translation. Once you are registered as a resident, the US license works for 12 months and then you need an Italian one, which means passing the theory and practical tests.
Can I take the Italian driving test in English?
No. The theory test is in Italian, with French and German versions in some cases, and there is no English option.
Do UK license holders need to take a test in Italy?
Not if they exchange within six years of becoming resident, under the UK-Italy agreement. People covered by the Withdrawal Agreement can exchange at any time. After six years, everyone else has to take the full test.
How much does an Italian driving license cost for a US citizen?
The state fees come to €74.40 before the doctor’s fee. A driving-school package averaged between €695 and €1,061 across the cities in Altroconsumo’s survey, with extra lessons and resits on top.
What happens if I keep driving on my foreign license after a year?
Under article 135 of the highway code you face a fine, and the license is withdrawn on the spot and passed to the Motorizzazione, or returned to the issuing country if it cannot be converted. Until you have an Italian license, you are not legally driving.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Living in Italy, driving section (“Exchanging your valid UK, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man licence”); GOV.UK: International Driving Permits
- Agreement between Italy and the United Kingdom on the mutual recognition of driving licences for exchange (signed 23 December 2022; articles 1, 3, 6 and 19)
- Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport: foreign license conversion (convertible countries, six-year limit, tariff N003); patente B (attempts, tariffs N067 and N019, six compulsory hours); medical certificate; extra documents for non-EU applicants
- Portale dell’Automobilista: foglio rosa and exams (12-month validity, three practical attempts, 30 questions in 20 minutes)
- Codice della Strada, article 135 and article 122 (Normattiva, current text)
- US Embassy and Consulates in Italy: transportation and driving; Australian Embassy in Rome: driving license information (exam languages)
- Ministry transparency pages for the Motorizzazione offices of Lecce, Bari, Brindisi and Taranto
- Altroconsumo: driving school costs survey (27 March 2024)
Rules and fees checked on 20 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, ask the Motorizzazione or a qualified agency.
