Covid-19: Expiration of driving licenses and payment of penalties

With the Circular of 25 March 2020, the Ministry of the Interior gave an operational address to the rules contained in the Decree-Law of 17 March 2020, no. 18, dealing with the following topics:

1. movement of the vehicle to be inspected;

2. expiry of the validity of the driving license;

3. extension of validity of expiring authorizations or administrative documents;

4. discounted payment of the financial penalties provided for by the highway code;

5. extension of the terms of the Motor TPL coverage.

The rule applies to Italian driving licenses and those issued by a European Union state whose owner has acquired residence in Italy.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport also spoke on the issue of driving licenses with Circular no. 9487.

in the Decree-Law of 17 March 2020, n. 18 it was provided, in an entirely exceptional and transitory way, that, in the time span between 17 March and 31 May 2020, it is possible to pay the penalties of the highway code with a discounted amount of 30% within thirty days from date of notification or notification of the violation. In practice, it is possible to make the payment in a discounted form for all the violations disputed or notified as of February 16, 2020.

The provisions that prevent payment in a discounted form remain in force when the ancillary sanctions of the confiscation of the vehicle or the suspension of the driving license are foreseen.

The most important novelty included in the decree is undoubtedly the one-month extension of the Motor TPLs. The grace period that insurance companies must now apply when car and motorbike policies expire is 30 days. Even if the insurance has expired, the activated insurance coverage remains valid.

Current legislation normally establishes a 15-day grace period for car and motorbike insurance. During this period, it is possible to continue to circulate even if the insurance has expired and, in the event of an accident, the car or motorbike will still be protected by the protections guaranteed by the contract signed.

Furthermore, the obligation for insurance companies to notify their customer of the expiration of the policy with at least 30 days in advance of the contract expiry date remains confirmed. After this date, thanks to the grace period, you can count on another month of coverage instead of the canonical 15 days of tolerance.

The extension of the extension of the insurance coverage is valid only until July 31, 2020. Starting from the month of August, therefore, unless further extensions in subsequent decrees, we will return to the first 15 days.