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.
In personWho: YouWeek 2–4
2
Register at the ASL Napoli 1 Centro district office
Take your documents to the district counter covering your address and choose a medico di medicina generale from the local list. Ask about practices with fixed appointment systems rather than open surgeries, which vary a great deal here.
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.
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, which is another reason the registered lease matters.
OnlineWho: You
5
Learn the booking system and be willing to travel
Campania's CUP takes the prescription code from your GP by phone, online or at pharmacy counters. Waits vary sharply between facilities and asking for the earliest slot anywhere in the region, rather than the nearest, is often the difference between weeks and months.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know the emergency numbers for a region without a NUE centre
Until Campania's unified answering centre is operational, 113 reaches the Polizia di Stato, 115 the fire brigade and 118 an ambulance directly, while 112 reaches the Carabinieri. Cardarelli and the Ospedale del Mare are the main emergency departments and triage 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 or proof of self-employment
Proof of previous year's income, for the voluntary contribution

Things most newcomers don’t know

Campania has no unified NUE 112 answering centre yet, which changes which number you dial.

Italy's single emergency number is delivered through regional answering centres, and as of mid-2026 Campania and the Veneto are the last two regions without one — Campania's is scheduled to start from the Sarno centre in October 2026 with the Naples facility at Agnano following. Until then, 112 reaches the Carabinieri rather than a unified dispatcher, and 113, 115 and 118 remain the direct lines to police, fire and ambulance. Anyone arriving from a region where 112 does everything should learn the distinction before they need it.

Source: Dipartimento della Protezione Civile; Regione Campania

The regional health service's recovery-plan history still shows up as waiting times and travel.

Campania spent years under a national financial recovery plan for its health service and continues to sit below the northern regions on the national performance measures. The practical consequence is not that care is unavailable but that the same examination can be months away at one facility and weeks at another, and that a meaningful number of Campanians travel north for elective procedures. Asking the CUP for the earliest slot anywhere in the region, rather than accepting the nearest, is the single most useful habit.

Source: Ministry of Health; Regione Campania

The Campi Flegrei bradyseism plan covers five Naples districts and belongs in your housing decision.

The Dipartimento della Protezione Civile's bradyseism plan, made under Decree-Law 140/2023, defines a red zone of roughly 85,000 people — about 44,600 in Pozzuoli, 9,900 in Bacoli and 30,400 across the Naples districts of Bagnoli, Fuorigrotta, Soccavo, Pianura and Posillipo — with three operational scenarios up to controlled evacuation. It is a live plan with published assembly points, not a hypothetical. Knowing whether an address is inside it is a two-minute check the comune publishes, and it is worth doing before signing rather than after.

Source: Dipartimento della Protezione Civile; Comune di Napoli

The voluntary SSN contribution stopped being a flat €387.34 on 1 January 2024.

The 2024 budget law replaced the flat fee with an income-based charge — 7.5% on a first band, 4% above — with minimums of €2,000 for most adults, €700 for students and €1,200 for au pairs. Naples attracts students and lower-cost elective residents in particular, and both groups routinely budget from pre-2024 pages that are still online.

Source: Ministry of Health; 2024 budget law

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming 112 works as a unified emergency number here — it does not yet in Campania.
Accepting the first CUP appointment without asking for the earliest in the region.
Signing a lease in the western districts without checking the bradyseism plan.
Budgeting the pre-2024 flat contribution of €387.34.
Letting SSN registration lapse while the permesso is renewed.

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