Italy on a Brazilian Licence 2026: PID or Translation, ZTLs

Does a Brazilian licence work in Italy? Yes, with one condition. Italy’s Highway Code accepts a licence from outside the EU only when it comes with an international driving permit or an official Italian translation. For a Brazilian, the permit is the Permissão Internacional para Dirigir (PID), and it qualifies because both countries signed the 1968 Vienna convention. Get it in Brazil before departure. If police stop you with the CNH alone, the fine is EUR 408-1,634. You keep driving on the right, as at home.

Has it always been like this?

The rule in article 135 is not new, and it has a precise detail: the permit must be issued by the same country that issued your licence, under a convention Italy has joined. Brazil ratified the Vienna convention in 1980 and Italy in 1996. That is why a PID from a Brazilian Detran works, while holders from countries outside those treaties have to use a sworn translation. Keep the PID, the CNH and your passport together in the car.

Brazil and Italy, side by side

Italian motorways are faster than Brazilian ones; everything else is slower. The ordinary rural road at 90 is where Brazilians tend to drift over the limit.

Lei Seca habits are your friend

At home, any alcohol at the wheel is punished. Italy allows up to 0.5 g/l for experienced drivers, and from 0.8 g/l the case becomes criminal. Do not treat the gap as permission. A glass of wine in Italy and a glass in Brazil have the same effect, and new drivers and anyone under 21 are held to zero anyway. Keep the Brazilian rule.

The ZTL: no barrier, just a camera

Florence, Rome and many smaller towns protect their historic centres with a Zona a Traffico Limitato. You see a sign, you pass under a camera, and nothing seems to happen. Months later the rental company forwards a fine of EUR 83-332 under article 7, with its own processing fee added. Since 14 December 2024, repeated entries into the same zone in a single day count as one violation; another day or another town is a separate fine. Staying at a hotel within the restricted area? Send it your plate number in advance so it can be authorised. Otherwise, park at the edge and walk. The Italy ZTL fines guide and the guide to who pays driving fines abroad explain what happens after the camera.

Italian fines are higher than at home

For comparison, a phone at the wheel in Brazil costs BRL 293. Paying an Italian fine within five days cuts it by 30%, but only for the two lowest speeding bands.

Collecting the car

Check that the car carries a reflective vest and a warning triangle; both are compulsory in Italy, and the vest is not something Brazilian drivers usually carry. Ask the desk whether the car has a toll transponder, since the autostrade are tolled. Before leaving the lot, mark your hotel and the nearest car park outside any ZTL on the map. The Italy driving guide covers tolls, parking and low-emission zones, and the Driving Permit Checker handles France or Switzerland if the trip continues.

Sources

• Codice della Strada art. 135 (foreign licences: international permit or official translation; EUR 408-1,634): normattiva.it
• Italian Highway Code, article 7 paragraph 14 (unauthorised ZTL entry, EUR 83-332) and article 198 paragraph 2-bis (repeat entries the same day count once, under Law 177/2024): normattiva.it
• Italian Highway Code, article 142 (50, 90 and 130 km/h limits and the speeding fine bands): normattiva.it
• Codice della Strada art. 186 and 186-bis (0.5 g/l; criminal from 0.8 g/l; zero for under-21 and new drivers): normattiva.it
• UN Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic 1968 (Brazil 1980, Italy 1996): treaties.un.org
• Código de Trânsito Brasileiro, art. 61 (110 km/h on dual carriageways) and art. 276 (any alcohol concentration penalised): planalto.gov.br