Before you start

Residence registered with the comune, which starts the twelve-month clock
Your original licence plus a sworn translation, unless it is an EU one
Codice fiscale
Medical certificate from an authorised doctor

Step-by-step

1
Check the reciprocity list before assuming conversion is possible
Italy converts EU and EEA licences and those from a defined list including Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Argentina and Morocco. The US, UK, Australia, India and China are not on it, and for those the Italian exams are the only route.
OnlineWho: You
2
Treat the twelve-month grace period as a deadline
A foreign licence remains valid for one year from the date residence is registered, alongside an International Driving Permit or a sworn translation. After that it has no legal effect in Italy regardless of its own expiry date.
In personWho: You12 months from residence registration
3
Convert at the Motorizzazione or enrol at an autoscuola
Conversion is a booked appointment with licence, translation, medical certificate and fees. For the exam route an autoscuola handles the foglio rosa and the scheduling.
In personWho: You
4
Prepare for a theory exam in Italian
The quiz is offered in Italian, German and French only. Thirty literal true/false statements with a low error tolerance and technical vocabulary where a single word flips the answer.
In personWho: You
5
Price a posto auto before you price a car
A garage space or box is a separate transaction from the flat, often with a different owner, and in central districts the monthly cost is a meaningful fraction of the rent. Assume a listing that does not mention one does not have one.
In personWho: You
6
Learn the lift and funicular network instead
AMT's public lifts and funiculars carry the ordinary €2.00 ticket, valid 110 minutes with changes across bus, metro, lifts and funiculars. For a hillside address they are the commute, not a novelty.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Original driving licence
Sworn translation or International Driving Permit
Passport and permesso di soggiorno or receipt
Certificate of residence
Medical certificate from an authorised doctor
Codice fiscale and passport photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

The parking space is a separate market from the flat, and it is the hidden line in a Genoa budget.

In a city where many streets predate wheeled vehicles and the rest are cut into a hillside, off-street parking is scarce and priced accordingly. A posto auto or box is bought and rented independently of the dwelling, frequently from a different owner and on a different contract, and in the central and hill districts the monthly figure is a serious fraction of the rent. Anyone comparing Genoa's low rents against a northern city should add the garage before concluding it is cheap.

Source: community-reported

Public lifts and funiculars are the substitute for the roads that were never built.

Genoa's hill districts are connected to the centre by lifts and funicular railways operated as ordinary public transport on the ordinary AMT ticket — a network no other Italian city has at this scale. For a hillside flat, the question is not how far it is from the centre in kilometres but which lift serves it and what hours that lift runs. Check the last departure before you sign; it is the local equivalent of checking the last train.

Source: AMT; community-reported

The theory exam is not offered in English, which rules out self-study for most Anglophone arrivals.

Britons, Americans, Australians and Indians cannot convert their licences, so all of them must sit the Italian exams — and English was withdrawn from the available languages. The questions are literal true/false statements phrased so that one word changes the correct answer, and an autoscuola course is about the phrasing rather than the driving.

Source: Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport

Motorway journeys out of Genoa need checking before you set off, and that is not a normal Italian caveat.

The city's motorway network is a lattice of viaducts and tunnels through steep terrain, and it has been under sustained reconstruction and inspection since the Morandi viaduct collapsed on 14 August 2018. Lane closures and long single-carriageway stretches on the A7, A10 and A12 are routine and can add an hour or more without warning. Locals check before driving to Milan or Nice as a matter of course.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Budgeting a Genoa rent without adding a posto auto.
Taking a hillside flat without checking which lift or funicular serves it and when it stops.
Preparing for the theory exam in English, which is no longer offered.
Driving into the centro storico ZTL, where much of the fabric is not drivable at all.
Setting off on the A7 or A10 without checking for works and closures.

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