Getting your license plates

This should be a simple step if nothing goes wrong. You take the carbon copy of your application to the DMV, and they will ask you what type of license plate you need and give to you along with your permanent registration paper. The most common European license plate is wide and short, which will not fit on standard American car’s plate holder. You will need to get new plate holders. The classic car or off-road license plate is a square shape, and may fit on some American car’s frame or bumper without a frame. With your new plates and registration card, now your car is finally nationalized and legal to drive in Italy!

My experience has not exactly been smooth. First I came to inquire about the readiness of my plates. The normal office said they are not ready, and I thought it is taking too long. So I inquired at the office where I did my registration. They checked my documents and finally said that for some reason when they entered my fiscal code in the system it does not return the right result and they need a copy of my fiscal code. I asked if I could email them, and to my surprise they said I can.

So after I went back home and emailed them the documents. The same day I got a response that my plates and registration paper will be ready next week. After I picked them up the next week, I went back to the office where I did the registration and the employee explained to me that the reason it took so long was that someone made a mistake copying down my fiscal code so they could not find it in the system! I wondered how much longer it would have taken had I not asked them about it.