Vehicles: templates and forms

For a private person selling or buying a used car or motorbike in Italy: the contract between the two parties, in Italian, setting out the vehicle, price, payment, handover, mileage, known defects and the choice on the warranty against defects (arts. 1490–1495 of the Italian Civil Code). It does not replace the transfer of ownership: the seller has the signature on the declaration of sale authenticated at an STA (vehicle registration desk), a notary or, for an old paper certificate, the Comune, and the buyer has it entered in the PRA register within 60 days.

For anyone who receives a notice or payment demand for Italian car tax (bollo auto) that is not owed: already paid, time-barred, vehicle not registered to them or exempt. The request, in Italian, asks the Region's tax office, or the body named on the notice, to cancel it on review; many Regions offer a free form or online service, to be preferred where it exists. In Friuli Venezia Giulia and Sardinia the tax is collected by the Agenzia delle Entrate, in Trentino-Alto Adige by the Province. No stamp duty; send by PEC, registered post or by hand. It does not stop the 60 days for an appeal.

For anyone whose vehicle was damaged in a road accident in Italy: a letter in Italian reporting the accident and claiming compensation, either from your own insurer (direct compensation, art. 149 of the Italian Private Insurance Code) or from the insurer of the driver at fault (art. 148), with the details the law requires: tax code, circumstances, and the place, days and hours for the damage assessment. Damage to property only, not injuries. Your own insurer must be told within three days (art. 1913 of the Civil Code); send it by registered post or PEC, with the CAI joint report if completed.

An appeal to the Prefetto is free, on plain paper and has no set form; many Prefetture and the consumer association Altroconsumo publish free models. This is a ready-made appeal in Italian for the driver or owner contesting a fine under the Italian Highway Code: the ticket's details, your own grounds, a request to be heard and to have the fine dismissed. It must be lodged within 60 days of service, by registered post, PEC or by hand, with the Prefettura of the place of the offence or the police body that issued it, and only if the fine is unpaid.

For an owner lending a car or motorbike free of charge to a relative, friend or colleague in Italy: an Italian contract covering the vehicle, duration, permitted use, costs, insurance, fines and return (arts. 1803–1812 of the Italian Civil Code). If the loan exceeds 30 consecutive days, the borrower must ask the Motorizzazione within 30 days to record the borrower's name on the Documento Unico (art. 94(4-bis) of the Highway Code), unless a cohabiting family member; the contract states this duty, but the entry is a separate step. Signed by both; a copy is best kept in the vehicle.

The ticket usually comes with the police body's own free form for naming the driver, which can be used instead. This is the same notice as a letter in Italian, for the owner, the legal representative of a company or the lessee: the ticket's details, the driver's details and driving licence, with the driver's signed confirmation. It must be sent within 60 days of service (art. 126-bis of the Italian Highway Code), by registered post, PEC or by hand, even if you appeal or the owner was driving.