Getting an Italian driving licence: the complete guide

Last updated: 30 September 2026 · ✓ Checked against its sources

Every figure on this page was checked against the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), the Portale dell’Automobilista and the Italian highway code. Last verified: 30 September 2026. This page is a map — each step is linked to its own detailed article.

If you came to Italy from Bangladesh and now need a driving licence (patente B), this page lays the whole road out in one place, so you know where it starts and what is waiting at the end.

I am A. Hossain. I moved to Italy three years ago, I live near Rome, and I am studying for this exam myself — I have not sat it yet. I built this site because people in our community pay money for answers that turn out to be wrong. Every number here is checked against an official source and linked.

First: your Bangladeshi licence cannot be converted

Italy converts a foreign licence without an exam only where it has a reciprocity agreement with the country that issued it, and Bangladesh has none — nor do India, Pakistan or Nepal. The Ministry’s list decides this, not an agency, a driving school or anyone in a group chat. Because there is no lawful route, nobody can sell you one: anyone who promises a conversion for a fee cannot deliver it.

In the Ministry’s words, for anyone whose licence cannot be converted:

“Se non è possibile la conversione occorre conseguire la patente italiana per esame” — if conversion is not possible, you must obtain the Italian licence by examination.

This guide is that route. It is also the route for anyone who has never held a licence at all. The full answer on conversion, with the sources: Can you convert a Bangladeshi driving licence in Italy?

Two rules to deal with today, while you still drive on your Bangladeshi licence

One year from residenza, not from arrival. You may drive in Italy on a Bangladeshi licence for up to one year from the day you declared your residenza at your comune. After that year it no longer lets you drive, even if it has not expired: if you are stopped, the fine is €158 to €638, the licence is taken on the spot, and because it cannot be converted it is sent back to the authority in Bangladesh. Find out your residenza date and write it down.

The licence alone is not enough, even inside that year. It has to be accompanied by an international driving permit or an official Italian translation of it. Driving without either carries a fine of €408 to €1.634 — on a licence that is perfectly valid. The international permit can only be issued by the country that issued the licence, which for us means Bangladesh.

The whole process — five steps

1. Application — form TT 2112, at the Motorizzazione directly or through an autoscuola
2. Medical certificate — certificato di idoneità psicofisica
3. Theory exam — 30 questions, 20 minutes, a maximum of 3 wrong answers
4. Foglio rosa — issued after you pass the theory, valid 12 months
5. Practical exam — up to 3 attempts while the foglio rosa is valid

Each step has its own page.

Steps 1–2: documents and the application

Which document is needed when, which ones you have to bring again on the day of the exam, and the mistake people most often make with the medical certificate’s expiry — the full checklist: Documents you need for the Patente B

You must be 18, resident in Italy, and show a valid permesso di soggiorno or the receipt for a first-issue or renewal application. That document is shown at the application and again at both exams.

Step 3: the theory exam

The exam is in Italian — there is no Bangla or English version. What audio support actually does, and what it does not do: How the Italian theory exam actually works

Whether to study at an autoscuola or on your own: Autoscuola or studying on your own

Step 4: foglio rosa

The pink sheet you get once you pass the theory, how long it lasts, and the rules for practising on it: What is the foglio rosa?

Step 5: the practical exam

What the examiner looks at, which manoeuvres you may be asked for, and the Italian instructions you will hear in the car: The practical exam — what the examiner wants

Knowing the road signs before you start helps in both exams: Italian road signs explained

If you fail a step

Failing here is ordinary and it is not something to be ashamed of. But knowing the rules saves both time and money — in particular the compulsory minimum gap of one month between a failed attempt and the next. Full detail: What happens if you fail

What it costs

The state fees are fixed and verified. Autoscuola prices are market prices and vary widely. Which is which, kept strictly separate: What a Patente B actually costs

The timeline, in short

There is no need to rush, but there is a reason not to drift: the whole process is bounded by time limits.

Last thing

I am studying for this exam too, and I have not passed it yet. If you find anything on this site that is wrong, write to [email protected] and I will fix it — corrections from readers are the most valuable thing this site receives.

The site is Bangla first. If you read Bangla, the free study tools are there: বাংলায় পাতেন্তে

Sources

• MIT — Conseguimento patente B
• MIT — Conversione patente estera — the one-year rule: “può guidare veicoli… fino ad un anno dall’acquisizione della residenza in Italia”
• Portale dell’Automobilista — Foglio rosa e prove d’esame
• Ministry of the Interior — list of states whose licences can be converted (PDF)
• Codice della Strada, art. 135 — the permit-or-translation rule (comma 1), its fine (comma 8), who issues the permit (comma 2), and what happens after the year (comma 14, with the fine in art. 126 comma 11): Normattiva — art. 135 · Normattiva — art. 126