Before you start

Residence registered with the comune, or a valid permesso and an address
Codice fiscale
Permesso di soggiorno or its receipt, for non-EU nationals
Proof of income, for voluntary registration

Step-by-step

1
Work out whether your registration is free or paid
Employees, the self-employed, their families and several permit categories register at no cost. Students, elective residents and others outside those categories pay the annual voluntary contribution — this classification is the whole cost question.
In personWho: YouWeek 2–4
2
Register at an AUSL Bologna counter and choose a GP
Take your documents to the AUSL office covering your address and select a medico di medicina generale from the local list. Much of the preparatory work can be done online with SPID first, which shortens the visit considerably.
In personWho: You
3
Pay the voluntary contribution if it applies
Since the 2024 budget law it is calculated on the previous year's worldwide income at 7.5% on a first band and 4% above it, with minimums of €700 for students, €1,200 for au pairs and €2,000 for most adults. It expires on 31 December whenever you pay it.
In personWho: You
4
Collect the tessera sanitaria
The health card carries your codice fiscale and doubles as the European Health Insurance Card. It is posted to your registered address and is what pharmacies and clinics ask for.
OnlineWho: You
5
Learn the regional booking system
Emilia-Romagna's CUP takes the prescription code from your GP by phone, online through the Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico, or at pharmacy counters. The region publishes waiting times, and asking for the earliest slot anywhere in the province rather than the nearest is normal practice.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know the out-of-hours and emergency routes
Between 20:00 and 08:00 and at weekends the continuità assistenziale service covers your GP. For anything urgent it is 112, which since the region-wide rollout completed in April 2025 reaches the unified answering centre. Sant'Orsola's pronto soccorso triages by colour code.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Codice fiscale
Permesso di soggiorno or filing receipt
Certificate of residence or self-declared address
Employment contract, proof of self-employment, or enrolment certificate
Proof of previous year's income, for the voluntary contribution

Things most newcomers don’t know

The voluntary SSN contribution changed on 1 January 2024, and the old €387.34 figure is still everywhere.

The 2024 budget law replaced the flat fee with an income-based charge — 7.5% on a first band, 4% above — and set minimums of €700 for students, €1,200 for au pairs and €2,000 for most other adults. With 90,000 students, Bologna has a very large population arriving each September having budgeted the pre-2024 numbers from a university welcome pack or a consulate page.

Source: Ministry of Health; 2024 budget law

The contribution expires on 31 December however late you pay, which does not match the academic year.

It is a calendar-year charge with no pro-rating. Registering in October for a course that runs to the following summer buys ten weeks. AUSL counters routinely advise non-EU students to pay two consecutive years at once so that a single academic year is actually covered. Anyone thinking in academic years rather than calendar years needs to do this arithmetic before paying.

Source: Ministry of Health

Emilia-Romagna's Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico is genuinely usable, which is rarer in Italy than it should be.

The regional electronic health record holds your prescriptions, test results, referrals and vaccination history, accessible with SPID, and it feeds the booking system directly. In a country where health digitisation is uneven, this region's works — you can be prescribed a test by your GP and book it from your phone twenty minutes later. Newcomers who do not activate it end up making phone calls and queueing for things the record would have handled.

Source: Regione Emilia-Romagna

The medico di base is a genuine gatekeeper and you can change them at any time.

No blood test, scan or specialist appointment happens in the Italian public system without a prescription from your assigned GP. The difference between a doctor with evening surgeries near your flat and one across the city with two hours of walk-in a week is enormous. Changing is a counter formality at the AUSL and takes minutes — most people endure a poorly chosen one for years because they assume the assignment is fixed.

Source: Regione Emilia-Romagna

Common mistakes to avoid

Budgeting the pre-2024 flat contribution of €387.34.
Paying the voluntary contribution in autumn and losing most of it at year end.
Not activating the Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico and queueing for things it handles.
Letting SSN registration lapse while the permesso is renewed.
Accepting the first CUP slot without asking for the earliest in the province.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.