Irish Licence in Italy 2026: No IDP, but ZTLs Run EUR 83-332

What do you need to drive in Italy with an Irish licence? Less than most visitors. The card itself is an EU licence, so Italy accepts it with no international driving permit and no translation; bring your passport with it. Beyond that, the car must carry a reflective vest and a warning triangle, you switch to the right, and you learn to read one sign that costs Irish drivers more than any speed camera: the ZTL.

Your licence, and nothing to add

Article 135 of the Codice della Strada, the rule that makes Americans and Canadians carry an IDP or translation, applies only to licences from outside the EU. Yours is not one of them. The rental desk will want the licence and a passport or national ID; that is the whole of the paperwork. No need to visit a motoring club before you fly.

The ZTL sign is the expensive one

A ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) has no barrier. It has a sign with a red circle, a camera, and a list of plates that are allowed in. Florence, Rome, Bologna, Milan and many smaller towns use them to protect their old centres. Drive past the camera without authorisation and the fine is EUR 83-332 under article 7 comma 14.

Since 14 December 2024, entering the same zone several times on one day counts as a single offence (article 198 comma 2-bis). That helps when a sat-nav loops you round the block. It does not help across two towns, or across two days. The notice usually reaches Ireland through the hire company months later, with an admin charge of its own. If your hotel sits inside a zone, ask it to register your plate before you arrive. The Italy ZTL fines guide goes city by city.

Keeping right after a lifetime on the left

Irish roads train you to look right first and keep left. In Italy, every roundabout, junction and overtake works the other way. Collect the car somewhere calm, and practise on quieter roads for the first hour. Left turns are the slow ones to relearn: you now cross the oncoming lane to make them.

Irish limits against Italian ones

Italy is quicker on every open road. The fines scale steeply, though:

• up to 10 km/h over: EUR 42-173
• 10-40 km/h over: EUR 173-694
• 40-60 km/h over: EUR 543-2,170 and a 1-3 month suspension
• more than 60 km/h over: EUR 845-3,382

Pay within 5 days and the two lowest bands are cut by 30%. Where at home a handheld phone means a EUR 60 fixed charge, in Italy it costs EUR 250-1,000 plus a suspension of 15 days to 2 months. A red light is EUR 167-665 (Ireland: EUR 80) and no seatbelt EUR 83-333 (Ireland: EUR 60).

Alcohol: same figure, one exception

Italy’s general limit is 0.05, which matches Ireland’s. The exception catches young drivers: it is zero under 21 and during the first three years of holding a licence. If you passed your test recently, assume one drink is too many.

Kit and emergency numbers

In Ireland a vest and triangle are recommended. In Italy both are compulsory. Check the rental car has them before leaving the lot.

112 works in Italy just as it does at home. Italy also keeps direct lines: 113 for police, 118 for an ambulance, 115 for the fire service.

The Italy driving guide has more, and the Speeding Fine Calculator prices other cases.

Sources

• Codice della Strada, article 7 c.14 (ZTL fine EUR 83-332): normattiva.it
• Codice della Strada, article 198 c.2-bis, added by Law 177/2024 (one violation per zone per day): normattiva.it
• Codice della Strada, article 142 (speed limits and fines): normattiva.it
• Codice della Strada, article 135 (foreign licences; IDP or translation only for non-EU licences): normattiva.it
• Codice della Strada, article 202 (30% discount for payment within 5 days): normattiva.it