Italian driving licence points: checking, losing and recovering

What to do first

If you drive in Italy with an Italian licence, the first thing to do is find out how many points you have. The system works as the Portale dell’Automobilista explains: points rise over time and fall if you commit offences against the Highway Code (Codice della Strada). Every citizen can check the balance on their own licence, but the service is reserved for authenticated users.

In practice, before you set off:

• register on the Portale dell’Automobilista;
• add your licence number to your profile;
• download the iPatente app if you want to check your balance from your phone;
• switch on notifications so you know when your balance changes.

The Portale is the e-government service of the Department for Transport and Navigation of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in other words the Motorizzazione Civile. The data it shows is official.

How to check your points on the Portale dell’Automobilista

According to the page on services for registered users, 2 conditions must be met to view your driving licence points balance online: you must be registered on the Portale and you must have entered your licence number among your personal registration details.

You can enter the number when you register or later, using the Modifica dati function under Profilo. After that the procedure is simple:

• log in from the home page with your username and password;
• open Accesso ai servizi in the left-hand menu;
• select Verifica punti patente.

You will find the licence number on the document itself, at field 5 on the front of the card. The same service also appears in the Portale’s list of online services, under Saldo punti patente, again after logging in.

The iPatente app and notifications

If you prefer your smartphone, you can use iPatente, available in the Apple and Google stores. According to the Portale’s applications page, the app does not just show your up-to-date points balance: it also lets you check whether your licence can be duplicated, its expiry date and changes to your balance, with details of every penalty and every increase in points.

The data provided by iPatente is the same as on the Portale dell’Automobilista website, so there is no difference between the 2 sources. The new version of the app, with redesigned interfaces, also improves the procedure for accessing the Portale’s services.

The app lets you switch on a notification service that alerts you to your licence’s upcoming expiry, changes to your balance following offences and the due date of vehicle roadworthy tests. The history can be viewed in the Messaggi e Notifiche section. The Portale warns that other informational communications, still sent by post, will be gradually phased out: anyone who does not switch on digital notifications risks receiving no reminders at all.

You can also receive messages from the website by email or on your mobile reminding you of your licence expiry, the test due date of vehicles registered in your name and increases in your points. To do so you must be registered and have added your mobile number, as well as your email address, to your profile using Modifica dati under Il mio profilo.

How many points are lost for the main offences

The deduction depends on the type of offence against the Highway Code. The official list is the table of penalties published by the Polizia di Stato, which is the reference to consult to find out how many points each offence costs.

The Portale dell’Automobilista does not reproduce the table, but it records the effect of penalties on your balance. After an offence carrying a deduction, the change in your balance appears on the Portale and on iPatente together with the details of the penalty. This is the most reliable way to check that the deduction recorded matches the offence you were charged with.

How points are recovered

There are 2 routes.

The first is time. The Portale dell’Automobilista points out that points rise over time. Increases appear in your balance and, if you have switched on notifications, you receive a message when your balance goes up.

The second is a points recovery course. These courses exist both for the licence and for the Driver Qualification Card (CQC) and are run through driving schools. One example is the notice from the Motorizzazione Civile office in Foggia, published on Thursday 2 October 2025 for driving schools, containing implementing rules for points recovery courses for licences and CQC and a template certificate of attendance.

To find out how courses work in your area, contact a driving school or the relevant Motorizzazione Civile office, which you can find with the Portale’s Ricerca uffici della Motorizzazione Civile service.

Payments and costs

The Portale dell’Automobilista does not state any fees for checking your points balance or for recovery courses, so ask the driving school directly. For procedures that require payment, the Portale provides the Pagamenti PagoPA section, with information on the payments platform, and the Pagamento pratiche online PagoPA function in the private area.

Roadside checks

Since 2013 the Italian licence has abandoned the old pink 6-sided paper format in favour of the European card model. According to the Portale, the model is uniform and recognised in all European Union countries, and any officer of European police forces must be able to read it. The rules harmonised at EU level have applied since 19 January 2013.

During a check, officers read the numbered fields. The most useful ones to know:

• field 4b: expiry date;
• field 5: licence number;
• field 9: categories for which it was issued;
• column 10 on the back: date of first issue;
• column 11: expiry date for each category;
• column 12: codes, for example 78 for vehicles with automatic transmission.

At the bottom of the table there may be additional codes: 01 for the requirement to drive with lenses, 71 for a duplicate, 70 for a foreign conversion, 35 for vehicle adaptations.

Drivers with a foreign licence

The balance checking service only works if your own driving licence number is registered in your Portale profile, and the Portale dell’Automobilista does not explain how points are handled for those driving in Italy on a licence issued by another country. If you hold a Spanish, British, German or Dutch licence, do not rely on the Italian Portale to find out your balance: for information on penalties, refer to the Polizia di Stato.

The situation is different for anyone who has converted a foreign licence into an Italian one. In this case the document shows code 70, the foreign conversion code, and the holder can use the Portale’s services like any other driver, registering the new licence number in their profile.

Remember in any case that the European model can be read by all European Union police forces: a licence issued in an EU country is read without difficulty during a check in Italy too.

Exceptions and special cases

Newly qualified drivers

For the first 3 years after obtaining a category B licence, you may not exceed 100 km/h on motorways and 90 km/h on main extra-urban roads. In the first year of driving a vehicle power limit also applies.

Since 10 November 2021 this power limit does not apply if the person sitting next to the driver as an instructor is within the set age limit and has held a valid licence for the same category for at least 10 years, or one valid for a higher category.

To check whether a newly qualified driver may drive a particular vehicle, the Portale offers the Verifica guida per i neopatentati service: simply enter the registration number. The same check is available on iPatente, which from the registration number also shows the insurance status, the emissions class and the most recent roadworthy tests carried out since 2018.

CIG and CQC

Points do not only apply to the licence. The moped riding certificate (CIG) and the Driver Qualification Card (CQC) also have a balance, which can be checked in the same way: register on the Portale, add the document number to your profile, then use Verifica punti CIG, under Accesso ai servizi, or Verifica punti CQC in the left-hand menu.

Minimum ages

The Highway Code sets different minimum ages by category: 14 years for AM, 16 years for A1 and B1, 18 years for A2 and B, 20 years for A if you have held A2 for at least 2 years, otherwise 24 years.

Checklist before you travel

• Registration on the Portale dell’Automobilista completed.
• Licence number, and CIG or CQC number if applicable, added to your profile.
• Profile details complete, to avoid the tax code error.
• Balance checked with Verifica punti patente or with iPatente.
• Notifications switched on, with email and mobile number in your profile.
• Licence expiry date checked at field 4b.
• If you are newly qualified: limits of 100 km/h and 90 km/h firmly in mind and vehicle checked by registration number.
• If you drive on a foreign licence: Polizia di Stato table of penalties consulted before setting off.