From March 21, the Public Foreign Vehicle Register (REVE) becomes active, established within the Public Vehicle Register, and which was one of the innovations anticipated by the Law n. 238 of 23 December 2021.
In practice, all vehicles (cars, motorcycles and trailers) that have been registered abroad and that are registered in the name of persons residing in the Italian territory, for a period of 30 days, even if not continuous, must register with the REVE. This decision was taken to crack down on “license plate cunning” who use a vehicle with a non-Italian license plate which, in most cases, not being attributable to its owner, escaped the obligation to pay various fines and penalties. .
Who is obliged to report to the foreign vehicle register
To better understand who must necessarily register their vehicle with a foreign license plate at the REVE, the ACI website is available, which explains the legislation in detail. In practice this states:
- Obligation for citizens (Italian or foreign) residing in our country, who, for various reasons, have vehicles in the name of natural or legal persons with residence / headquarters in a foreign country for a period exceeding 30 days, even if not continuous, in the calendar year. The use must be proven by a document of certain date (rental contract, lease, loan or other) on which the duration of use must also be indicated. The obligation is borne by those who use the vehicle.
- Obligation for vehicles, registered abroad, owned by subordinate workers who carry out their work at a company based in a state bordering Italy or self-employed “frontier” workers who have their professional activity at a neighboring country. Registration must be made within 60 days from the date of purchase of the vehicle ownership and is the responsibility of the vehicle owner.
The rule specifies even if the vehicle is owned by a foreign citizen who obtains residence in Italy, he has three months to register it in Italy. Persons residing abroad can still come to Italy and move freely for a maximum of one year.
The following are excluded from the registration obligation:
- citizens residing in the municipality of Campione d’Italia
- Armed Forces and Police personnel serving abroad at international organizations or military bases and their families
- drivers, residing in Italy for over sixty days, who drive vehicles, registered in the Republic of San Marino, in the availability of companies based in that territory, with which the drivers are linked by an employment relationship or continuous collaboration
The obligation is also extended to people with a foreign passport who obtain residence in Italy and who have a vehicle registered abroad. These must comply with the legislation within a maximum of three months.
How to register the vehicle at the REVE and the costs to be incurred
As it is logical to expect, all this has a cost: registration costs 27 euros for the PRA rate, to which another 16 euros for stamp duty must be added. The law also obliges the owners of vehicles registered abroad to communicate any changes (for example change of residence) or cancellation from the register (for example an end of leasing). In these last two cases, the cost to be incurred is equal to 13.50 euros plus the usual 16 euros for stamp duty. If you entrust us to a car practice agency authorized as an Automatist’s Telematic Desk (Sta), you will also need to add the costs of this “intermediary” which does not have a fixed rate. To save money, you can register independently at the provincial office of the PRA, which can be accessed via a reservation. All must be done within 90 days.
At the end of the registration, a certificate is obtained which must be shown, in case of control, according to what provided for by article 93-bis of the Highway Code. This certificate, as stated on the ACI website, “will contain the foreign license plate and an identification code with which the vehicle will be recognized in Italy for administrative purposes, as well as a QR code that will allow the verification of the data”.