How long does it take to get an Italian driving licence?

What is the legal ceiling?

Eighteen months for a single process, adding the two windows together. The licence application is valid six months and the theory test has to be passed inside it (article 122, paragraph 1). The foglio rosa, issued after the theory, is valid twelve months and the practical test has to be passed inside that (article 122, paragraph 6). Someone who passes the theory on the last possible day and the practical on the last day of the foglio rosa reaches eighteen months.

The ceiling is not absolute. With the riporto of the theory result, provided for by the Ministry and available only once, someone who fails the practical can obtain a second foglio rosa without resitting the theory, and the process stretches by another twelve months.

What is the minimum time?

The law sets only one explicit minimum: one month between the issue of the foglio rosa and the first practical test. Before that, the compulsory driving school lessons must be completed, six hours under the 2012 ministerial decree or eight under decree no. 294 of 2025 for the fogli rosa it covers, with each lesson no longer than two hours a day. On top come the medical check, filing the application, studying for the theory and waiting for exam dates, none of which any rule fixes.

And how long does it really take?

It depends on the province, the route chosen and the office booking times. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport publishes exam outcomes, not waiting times, so there is no official national average to quote. What sets the wait, and which deadlines keep running meanwhile, is explained in the guide on waiting times for the test. Anyone wanting a realistic estimate for their own area has to ask the driving school or the Motorizzazione Civile counter.

What stretches the timeline?

Three factors, in order of weight. The availability of exam dates in the province, the variable outside the candidate's control. Fails, because every failed test forces at least a month of waiting (article 121, paragraph 10) and often more because of the calendar. Missed deadlines: an expired application or foglio rosa means starting again with a new application.

What happens when the process stalls?

The rules turn a delay into months. Two concrete cases.

A candidate in Milan files her application in January, passes the theory at the first attempt in February and receives the foglio rosa in March. She completes the compulsory driving school lessons in April, practises with her father and passes the practical in June. The process takes about six months, with one test of each kind.

If a candidate in Rome fails the practical in September and November, after receiving the foglio rosa in May, each new test comes at least one month after the last (article 121, paragraph 10, of the Codice della Strada). With the third test passed in February, after a failed theory test in March and a pass in April, the process takes almost a year: two practical fails, each with at least a month of waiting and dates set by the office, weigh more than any other stage.

Can the process be shortened?

Only partly. The month after the foglio rosa cannot be waived, the compulsory lessons have to be done and exam dates are not chosen by the candidate. What can be influenced is the number of attempts: passing first time saves months. In 2025, 60.27 per cent of the 919,868 theory tests and 83.82 per cent of the 734,553 practical tests for category B ended in a pass, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The figures count tests sat, not people.

Prepare for the theory with the category B quiz. For the practical, the page about test manoeuvres describes what is asked.

Legal source: Articoli 121 e 122 del Codice della Strada. The consolidated text of the Codice della Strada is on Normattiva.