Italian electronic identity card

The Italian identity card is an optional identity document that may be issued to anyone resident in Italy and to Italian citizens living abroad.

A card issued to an Italian citizen is accepted in lieu of a passport to exercise the right of free movement in the European Economic Area and Switzerland or to travel to those countries with which Italy has signed specific agreements.[5][6]

Despite any government-issued document (such as the passport, the driving licence, etc...) can be shown for identification,[7] the identity card is very widespread in Italy; so much so that it is the first document asked and the most accepted in both the public and private sectors.

It is not compulsory to carry the card itself, as the authorities may ask for only the identity of a person, not a specific document. However, if public-security officers are not convinced of the claimed identity, such as a verbal claim of identity, they may hold the claimant in custody until the identity is ascertained.[8][9]

All foreigners in Italy are required by law to have identification with them at all times. Citizens of the European Economic Area and Switzerland must be ready to display an identity document that is legally government-issued in their country. Non-EEA citizens must have their passport with customs entrance stamp or a residence permit issued by Italian authorities. While all the resident/immigrant aliens must have a residence permit (otherwise they are illegal and face deportation), foreigners from certain non-EEA countries staying in Italy for a limited amount of time (typically for tourism) may be required only to have their passport with proper customs stamp.[10]

Permanent resident aliens with a valid permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) may request an identity card, but in this case it is valid only and exclusively in Italy for identification purposes.[11]

The CIE may be requested at the Italian municipality of residence[12] by Italian citizens and resident aliens. The request is digitally processed and transmitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs which issues the card in collaboration with the IPZS in Rome. Finally, the card is sent to an address chosen by the applicant (or else to the municipality) and it should arrive within 6 business days.[13] The costs are: €16.79 for the card issuing and €5.42 for fees charged by the municipality, which may vary (usually doubled) if the previous card was lost, stolen or deteriorated.[12]

Starting from 20 September 2019 the request may be submitted even at the Italian embassies/consulates just by Italian citizens residing abroad. After a test time at the consular offices in Vienna, Athens and Nice, the service is extended to all the European Union and to some countries where Italians have the right of free movement (Norway, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican City).[14] The issuing process is the same as in Italy and the card should arrive within 15 days.[14] The costs are: €21.95 in case of renewal or first issue, otherwise €27.11 if the previous card was lost or stolen.[14]

According to the Law 106/2011 the card lasts:[12]

• 10 years for adults aged 18 and above
• 5 years for minors aged 3–18
• 3 years for children aged up to 3

and, according to the Law 35/2012, the validity is extended or shortened in order to expire on the birthday.[15]

The biometric symbol on the front of the CIE 3.0

Like European biometric passports, the CIE has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip that stores the following items:[16]

• Name
• Surname
• Place and date of birth
• Residency
• Holder's picture
• Two fingerprints (one of each hand), only if the applicant is aged 12 or over[17]

The information can be read by means of NFC tools, but anyway fingerprints are accessible just by police forces.[16]

The card has an ID-1 standard size and it is made of polycarbonate with many security features (such as holograms, security backgrounds, micro-texts, guilloches, etc...), over which the information is printed by using the laser engraving technology.[1][18]

The front side bears the emblem of the Italian Republic and the background of the reverse side is derived from the geometric design of the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome created by Renaissance artist and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti.[18]

The descriptions of the fields are printed in Italian and English.

Front

Front of the CIE 3.0

1. Card number (for example CA00000AA)
2. Issuing municipality (or, if living abroad, issuing embassy/consulate)
3. Surname
4. Name
5. Place and date of birth
6. Sex
7. Height
8. Nationality
9. Date of issue
10. Date of expiry
11. Holder's signature
12. Card Access Number – CAN
13. This field is located under the CAN and it doesn't exist if the document is valid to travel abroad. On the contrary, the sentence "NON VALIDA PER L'ESPATRIO" is printed if it's not valid to travel abroad.

Reverse

Back of the CIE 3.0

1. Surname and name of parents or legal guardian (this field is filled in only for applicants aged 0–18)
2. Italian fiscal code
3. Italian birth code
4. Residence address
5. This field is located under the residence and it usually doesn't exist. However, in case of an Italian applicant living abroad, the sentence "COMUNE DI ISCRIZIONE AIRE" is printed and followed by the name of the municipality where the applicant was resident before moving abroad
6. Italian fiscal code in the form of barcode
7. Machine Readable Zone – MRZ

Trilingual versions

Front of a CIE issued in South Tyrol (Italian/German/English)

Front of a CIE issued in the Aosta Valley (Italian/English/French)

In some parts of Italy where a minority language is recognized as official, the identity card could be issued with an additional language:

• in South Tyrol with German
• in the Aosta Valley with French
• in Friuli Venezia Giulia with Slovene

• National identity cards in the European Economic Area
• Identity document
• List of national identity card policies by country

• Italian Identity Card Official Site – Ministry of Internal Affairs
• CNSD – Ministry of Internal Affairs
• Identity Card abroad – Ministry of Foreign Affairs