Explained: Do foreigners in Italy have to carry ID at all times?
You may have heard that you need to carry ID with you at all times in Italy. We look at whether this is actually true - and what happens if you don’t.
There are some questions about life in Italy which even Italians themselves ask frequently, and which don’t always seem to have a clear answer.
A prime example of this type of query is whether or not it's compulsory to carry an identity card with you at all times. There’s a lot of confusion surrounding this question due to the fact that Italian law doesn’t make the rules especially clear.
Italy does not have a specific law that explicitly states a requirement for ID cards to be carried at all times by either foreign or Italian nationals, as explained by Italian legal consultancy website La Legge per Tutti (‘The Law for Everyone’).
This effectively means that if you go out for a walk and don’t have your ID card with you, you haven’t committed any sort of offence.
However, in practice, you do need to carry ID with you whenever you go out in Italy, since a different law states that police officers have the right to ask for identification at any time, and failure to show it could result in a lot of wasted time and potentially even a fine.
“If a public official, usually, but not only, an officer from the Carabinieri, State Police, Guardia di Finanza (financial police), or the Vigili Urbani (city police), requests it, you are required to provide them with your complete personal details,” explains law firm Merlino on its website.
According to Italian law, not being able to give these details when required by police can lead to a fine of up to €280, and police can take you to the station for questioning, where you can be detained for up to 12 hours, if they suspect your ID is invalid or otherwise feel it's important to identify you for any reason.
READ ALSO: How to get an Italian identity card
And if you refuse to hand over your ID, this could result in criminal charges which theoretically carry a prison sentence: Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, recently confirmed that refusal to identify yourself to the police when requested is considered a criminal offence.
These rules apply equally to both Italian citizens and foreign nationals who are legally resident in Italy.
There’s no mention of carrying identification documents being a legal requirement for visitors to Italy, but it’s likely that anyone who refuses or is unable to identify themselves when asked could face an unpleasant interruption to their trip if police feel it’s necessary.
READ ALSO: How to use your Italian ID card to access official services online
Whatever your residency status, it’s advisable to keep some form of ID on you at all times in Italy.
Documents that are considered valid forms of ID in Italy are the Italian identity card (Carta d'Identità Elettronica, or CIE), passport, driving license, or your residency permit (permesso di soggiorno).
Your Italian health insurance card (tessera sanitaria) is not technically supposed to be accepted as a valid identity document for these purposes.
If you live in Italy, chances are you’ll already have plenty of reasons to carry various forms of ID with you most of the time: you’ll need ID when dealing with government offices, banks, post offices, and other institutions.
You’ll also need it when checking in at a hotel in Italy, as well as for certain types of transactions. ID checks when buying alcohol tend to be less stringent in Italy than in some countries, but younger adults will need it for this purpose, too.
You may find that the police never stop you and ask for identification, but it’s always a good idea to carry your ID with you to avoid any potential hassle.
Several readers have asked whether you need to carry around the original copies of documents, or if a photo or copy of your passport or ID would suffice.
This has long been a point of contention in Italy as the law doesn't make this expressly clear, meaning different people will tell you different things.
All of the legal sources The Local has consulted point out that the law states police can ask you to identify yourself, i.e. to provide your personal details (name, surname, address, etc.), but that it doesn't specify that they can require you to hand over a physical copy of a document.
So, theoretically, you may be able to give the information verbally or show them a photo of your passport or ID. However, as with most such rules in Italy, some police officers may decide to interpret the law differently.
And this doesn't apply if police stop you when driving, as Italian law states that drivers must have their licence available for inspection.
Otherwise, realistically, you're unlikely to end up in trouble if asked for identification unless you point-blank refuse to identify yourself.
From the anecdotal experiences of The Local's members and writers, it seems the worst thing that's likely to happen if you don't have your documents with you (and encounter a particularly strict police officer) is that you may have to go back to your home or accommodation to retrieve the original copy of your ID.
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There are some questions about life in Italy which even Italians themselves ask frequently, and which don’t always seem to have a clear answer.
A prime example of this type of query is whether or not it's compulsory to carry an identity card with you at all times. There’s a lot of confusion surrounding this question due to the fact that Italian law doesn’t make the rules especially clear.
Italy does not have a specific law that explicitly states a requirement for ID cards to be carried at all times by either foreign or Italian nationals, as explained by Italian legal consultancy website La Legge per Tutti (‘The Law for Everyone’).
This effectively means that if you go out for a walk and don’t have your ID card with you, you haven’t committed any sort of offence.
However, in practice, you do need to carry ID with you whenever you go out in Italy, since a different law states that police officers have the right to ask for identification at any time, and failure to show it could result in a lot of wasted time and potentially even a fine.
“If a public official, usually, but not only, an officer from the Carabinieri, State Police, Guardia di Finanza (financial police), or the Vigili Urbani (city police), requests it, you are required to provide them with your complete personal details,” explains law firm Merlino on its website.
According to Italian law, not being able to give these details when required by police can lead to a fine of up to €280, and police can take you to the station for questioning, where you can be detained for up to 12 hours, if they suspect your ID is invalid or otherwise feel it's important to identify you for any reason.
READ ALSO: How to get an Italian identity card
And if you refuse to hand over your ID, this could result in criminal charges which theoretically carry a prison sentence: Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, recently confirmed that refusal to identify yourself to the police when requested is considered a criminal offence.
These rules apply equally to both Italian citizens and foreign nationals who are legally resident in Italy.
There’s no mention of carrying identification documents being a legal requirement for visitors to Italy, but it’s likely that anyone who refuses or is unable to identify themselves when asked could face an unpleasant interruption to their trip if police feel it’s necessary.
READ ALSO: How to use your Italian ID card to access official services online
Whatever your residency status, it’s advisable to keep some form of ID on you at all times in Italy.
Documents that are considered valid forms of ID in Italy are the Italian identity card (Carta d'Identità Elettronica, or CIE), passport, driving license, or your residency permit (permesso di soggiorno).
Your Italian health insurance card (tessera sanitaria) is not technically supposed to be accepted as a valid identity document for these purposes.
If you live in Italy, chances are you’ll already have plenty of reasons to carry various forms of ID with you most of the time: you’ll need ID when dealing with government offices, banks, post offices, and other institutions.
You’ll also need it when checking in at a hotel in Italy, as well as for certain types of transactions. ID checks when buying alcohol tend to be less stringent in Italy than in some countries, but younger adults will need it for this purpose, too.
You may find that the police never stop you and ask for identification, but it’s always a good idea to carry your ID with you to avoid any potential hassle.
Several readers have asked whether you need to carry around the original copies of documents, or if a photo or copy of your passport or ID would suffice.
This has long been a point of contention in Italy as the law doesn't make this expressly clear, meaning different people will tell you different things.
All of the legal sources The Local has consulted point out that the law states police can ask you to identify yourself, i.e. to provide your personal details (name, surname, address, etc.), but that it doesn't specify that they can require you to hand over a physical copy of a document.
So, theoretically, you may be able to give the information verbally or show them a photo of your passport or ID. However, as with most such rules in Italy, some police officers may decide to interpret the law differently.
And this doesn't apply if police stop you when driving, as Italian law states that drivers must have their licence available for inspection.
Otherwise, realistically, you're unlikely to end up in trouble if asked for identification unless you point-blank refuse to identify yourself.
From the anecdotal experiences of The Local's members and writers, it seems the worst thing that's likely to happen if you don't have your documents with you (and encounter a particularly strict police officer) is that you may have to go back to your home or accommodation to retrieve the original copy of your ID.
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