Glossary
The terms you'll meet constantly while settling in Italy, defined in plain English. Each links to the guide that covers it in full.
- Codice fiscale
- Your Italian tax identification code — 16 characters derived from your name, birth date/place and sex. Free, issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate, and required for almost everything (contracts, bank, lease, health service). Read the guide →
- Anagrafe
- The population registry kept by each comune. "Iscrizione anagrafica" — registering there — is how an EU citizen establishes legal residency for stays over three months. Read the guide →
- Attestazione di iscrizione anagrafica
- The certificate confirming an EU citizen is registered as a resident. It is the EU citizen’s equivalent of a residence document — no permesso di soggiorno is needed. Read the guide →
- Residenza vs. domicilio
- Residenza is where you habitually live and are registered at the anagrafe (a legal status with checks). Domicilio is merely where you can be reached — declaring a domicilio does not make you a resident. Read the guide →
- Comune
- The municipality — Italy’s basic administrative unit (~7,900 of them). Residency, ID cards (CIE) and civil records are handled by your comune, so office, forms and booking systems are local. Read the guide →
- ANPR
- Anagrafe Nazionale della Popolazione Residente — the national resident-population database. Its portal (with SPID/CIE) lets you file residence declarations and download registry certificates online. Read the guide →
- SSN (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale)
- Italy’s national health service, delivered regionally. Workers enrol free; economically inactive residents enrol voluntarily (minimum €2,000/year since 2024) or hold private insurance. Read the guide →
- ASL / AUSL / ASP / ATS / ASST
- The local health authority that runs SSN services for your address. The name varies by region (ASL in most, AUSL in Emilia-Romagna, ASP in Sicilia, ATS/ASST in Lombardia…) — the role is the same: it is where you enrol and choose a doctor. Read the guide →
- Tessera sanitaria
- The plastic health card issued once you are enrolled in the SSN. It carries your codice fiscale and is asked for constantly — at the doctor, the pharmacy, and many counters. Read the guide →
- Medico di base
- Your general practitioner within the SSN (also "medico di medicina generale"). You choose one from your health authority’s list when you enrol; visits are free at the point of care. Read the guide →
- TEAM / EHIC
- The European Health Insurance Card (Tessera Europea di Assicurazione Malattia). Covers necessary care during temporary stays — it is not a substitute for SSN enrolment once you are a resident. Read the guide →
- SPID
- Sistema Pubblico di Identità Digitale — Italy’s digital-identity login, issued by accredited providers. Free, but it requires an Italian-issued ID document, so newcomers usually get the CIE first. Read the guide →
- CIE (Carta d’Identità Elettronica)
- The Italian electronic ID card, issued by your comune (~€22, mailed in ~6 working days). It is both your physical ID and a top-level digital identity ("Entra con CIE"). Read the guide →
- CNS
- Carta Nazionale dei Servizi — a smart card (often your tessera sanitaria) that can authenticate you to public services with a reader and PIN. Largely superseded by SPID/CIE for everyday use. Read the guide →
- PEC
- Posta Elettronica Certificata — certified email with legal value, the standard way to file documents with Italian public offices remotely (many comuni accept residence declarations only by PEC or online portal). Read the guide →
- Autocertificazione
- A self-declaration that replaces many certificates when dealing with public offices — you declare a fact (residence, birth, family status) under your own responsibility instead of producing the document.
- Marca da bollo
- A €16 revenue stamp (bought at a tabaccheria) required on many certificates and applications — e.g. some comuni require one on the attestazione di iscrizione anagrafica.
- Modello F24
- The standard form for paying taxes and public contributions (including the voluntary SSN contribution). Paid via bank/home banking; the receipt is your proof of payment. Read the guide →
- Permesso di soggiorno / Carta di soggiorno
- Residence permits for non-EU citizens. EU citizens do NOT need one — they register at the anagrafe instead. The "carta di soggiorno" concerns non-EU family members of EU citizens. Read the guide →
- Allegato B
- The attachment to the ministerial residence-declaration form listing the documents EU citizens must provide (work, study or resources + health cover). Comuni reference it constantly. Read the guide →
- Partita IVA
- The VAT number identifying a self-employed person or business. For a self-employed EU citizen it is also the basis for anagrafe registration and free SSN enrolment. Read the guide →
- Questura / Prefettura
- Provincial police headquarters (questura) and the state’s provincial office (prefettura). Central to non-EU immigration procedures; EU citizens rarely need them for residency itself.
- Conto di base
- The statutory basic payment account every consumer legally residing in the EU is entitled to — capped annual fee, debit card included, no overdraft. Free with an ISEE up to €11,600. Read the guide →
- IBAN
- Your account’s international number, used for all transfers. Salary, rent and utility direct debits in Italy revolve around an Italian IBAN. Read the guide →
- Imposta di bollo (conto corrente)
- The €34.20/year government stamp duty on an individual’s bank account — due only when the average balance at that bank exceeds €5,000. Read the guide →
- ISEE
- Indicatore della Situazione Economica Equivalente — the household means-test indicator used across Italian welfare, from the free conto di base to reduced fees and benefits. Read the guide →
- Conversione della patente
- Swapping a foreign licence for an Italian one at the Motorizzazione Civile — no exam for EU/EEA licences. Required once your licence expires as an Italian resident; irreversible. Read the guide →
- Motorizzazione Civile (UMC)
- The transport ministry’s provincial office handling licences and vehicles — where licence conversion and vehicle matters happen. Read the guide →
- PagoPA
- The national payment platform for public administration — licence fees, school meals, local taxes and most government payments go through it. Read the guide →
- Residenza fiscale
- Tax residency — the status (art. 2 TUIR) that makes your worldwide income taxable in Italy. Arises automatically when residence, domicile, presence or anagrafe registration covers most of the year. Read the guide →
- IRPEF
- Imposta sul Reddito delle Persone Fisiche — the progressive personal income tax (23%, 35%, 43% by bracket), withheld at source for employees. Read the guide →
- Dichiarazione dei redditi (730 / Redditi PF)
- The annual income-tax return: form 730 (employees and pensioners, pre-filled online, due 30 September) or modello Redditi PF (everyone else, due 31 October). Self-assessed — no one bills you. Read the guide →
- Modello S1
- The EU form certifying healthcare entitlement when you live outside the country that insures you — pensioners get it from the state paying their pension and register it at the ASL for full, free SSN coverage. Read the guide →
- Obbligo di istruzione
- Compulsory education: 10 years, ages 6 to 16 (L. 296/2006). Applies to all minors in Italy, foreign or Italian, regardless of residence-permit status. Read the guide →
- Iscrizione con riserva
- Provisional school enrolment when a child’s documents are missing, irregular or incomplete — schools must enrol anyway, and it never blocks final qualifications (DPR 394/1999, art. 45). Read the guide →
- Conversione della patente
- Swapping a foreign driving licence for an Italian one without exams — possible for EU/EEA licences and for non-EU countries with a reciprocity agreement (art. 136/136-bis CdS), at the Motorizzazione Civile. Read the guide →
- Foglio rosa
- The learner’s permit issued after passing the driving theory test — valid 12 months, with up to 3 practical-test attempts (art. 122 CdS). Read the guide →
- Legalizzazione / Apostille
- Consular legalisation, or the Hague apostille, that makes a foreign civil-status certificate (marriage, birth) valid for Italian files — the most common cause of rejected applications when missing. Read the guide →