Italy: 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 cannot attend and asks a trusted person to carry out one act in their name: signing a contract, collecting a sum, representing them at a condominium meeting or before an office. The Italian power describes the act, its limits and its end date. If the act needs a special form – selling a house or a car, an act to be registered – a notarial power or a notarised signature is required. For a simple errand a delegation (delega) is enough.

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.

Under Italian law a cohabitation contract is void unless made as a public deed or with signatures authenticated by a notary or a lawyer (article 1, paragraph 51, Law no. 76 of 20 May 2016): this is a draft to take to that professional, who checks it, authenticates the signatures and sends it to the Comune within ten days. For unmarried partners living together who want to settle their common residence, how they share the costs of life together and their property regime, with or without community of property.

For two businesses or professionals in Italy exchanging confidential information before working together, selling or investing: an Italian mutual NDA setting out the purpose of the exchange, what is and is not confidential, permitted use, the staff and advisers allowed to see it, return of the information, how long it lasts after the talks and a penalty with its specific approval (arts. 1341–1342 of the Italian Civil Code). It refers to the protection of trade secrets (arts. 98–99 of the Italian Industrial Property Code). Signed in two copies or digitally.

For anyone who wants a trusted person to handle their everyday affairs: paying bills and taxes, collecting money, picking up documents, dealing with the building’s condominium and with offices. Under Italian law a private power covers only ordinary administration and the acts expressly listed; selling or buying property, a gift or any act to be registered needs a notarial power. Banks and Poste Italiane may ask for their own forms. Signed by the principal and accepted by the agent.

For an employee of an Italian ministry, region, municipality, health authority or other public body who is resigning. Public administrations are excluded from Italy's online resignation procedure: the employee writes to the administration, giving the notice set by the sector's collective agreement. School staff instead use the free application on the Istanze online portal. Sent by PEC, registered post or through the body's registry office. In the province of Bolzano the body must also accept German, in Valle d'Aosta French. In Italian.

For a domestic helper, carer or nanny leaving a job with a family in Italy. Domestic work is excluded from Italy's online resignation procedure: here resignation is given in writing, and this letter gives it, with the notice set by the collective agreement for domestic work and the last working day, and asks for unused holiday, the accrued thirteenth-month pay, severance pay (TFR), the last payslip and the end-of-job report to INPS. Hand it over and have the copy signed, or send it by registered post with proof of receipt. In Italian.

For a landlord in Italy who does not want to renew a 4+4 lease after its first four years: the notice to the tenant refusing renewal on one of the grounds of art. 3(1) of Italian Law no. 431 of 9 December 1998 — residential or professional use by the landlord or close family, another free home available to the tenant, or a sale — with the facts that make it precise, because a notice without its ground is void. Sent by registered post with proof of receipt to every tenant at least six months before expiry. In Italian.