Identifying the driver after a traffic fine is the easiest deadline to miss of all those concerning a company vehicle in Italy. Not because it is complicated — it comes down to one form — but because it has three features that make it invisible to the systems companies use to manage the others.
It is not recurring: there is no anniversary to mark. It cannot be planned: it starts when an envelope arrives, on a day nobody chose. And it does not look like a deadline: it arrives as a fine, it is filed as a fine, and the deadline it carries goes unnoticed until it has passed.
The deadline, counted properly
Sixty days. The point is from when.
They run from the date the fine notice (verbale di contestazione) was served, not from the date of the offence. Months can pass between the speed camera and the notice being served — service has its own time limits — and anyone counting from the first of the two moments gives themselves a margin that does not exist.
The obligation comes from article 126-bis, paragraph 2 of the Italian Highway Code, and applies under two joint conditions: the offence carries a licence points deduction and was not contested on the spot. A parking ticket served by post does not trigger it; speeding caught by a camera does.
So the date that matters is not the “date of the offence” on the notice: it is the date on the return receipt or the PEC delivery receipt. That is the date to record on the very day the envelope is opened.
How to reply
There is no single national channel, which is why the answer to “how do I do it” sounds evasive but is the only correct one: as the notice says.
Local police (Polizia Locale), traffic police (Polizia Stradale), Carabinieri and prefectures use their own procedures, and in recent years many municipalities have opened dedicated online portals. The notice you receive always contains the form or a reference to it, the address to send it to and the accepted channel — typically one of:
- the online portal of the enforcing authority,
- certified email (PEC) to the office indicated,
- registered letter with return receipt, which remains the channel that always works.
Whatever the channel, keep proof of sending. In a dispute about failure to reply, the issue is almost never whether the company knew who was driving: it is whether and when it replied.
What to have ready
The communication requires:
| Data | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Driver’s personal details | To serve the notice on them |
| Driving licence number | To deduct the licence points |
| Issuing authority and date | To identify the document unambiguously |
| Notice references | To link the reply to the proceedings |
The row that makes you miss the deadline is the second. The licence details of everyone authorised to drive a company vehicle are either collected beforehand, in peacetime, or chased while the clock is running — from someone who may be on holiday, or who has since left the company.
Collecting them when the vehicle is assigned takes five minutes. Collecting them with the deadline running risks €291 in the best case.
Rental and leasing: two different chains
This is where companies with a mixed fleet get lost, because the two contracts behave in opposite ways.
Long-term rental (noleggio a lungo termine). The vehicle is registered to the rental company, so the notice goes to it. The rental company gives the authority the details of the lessee company. The authority then serves the notice on the company — and a new 60-day period starts from that second service within which the company must name the person who was driving. The intermediate step uses up calendar time but not the deadline: that restarts. Many rental companies also charge an admin fee for each notice handled.
Financial leasing. The lessee is already jointly liable under article 196 of the Italian Highway Code. There is no intermediate step: the notice goes straight to the company, and the deadline starts from there.
In practice, in a mixed fleet the very same event — a speed camera — produces two different timelines depending on the vehicle’s contract. Keeping both in mind is possible; keeping both in mind across thirty vehicles is not.
When the driver cannot be identified
It happens, and the right answer is not silence.
Always reply, within the deadline, giving a documented reason. A reply setting out a concrete reason is a position you can defend; no reply is simply an omission.
But it must be said without softening it: “we do not remember who was driving” does not work. The settled case law of the Italian Supreme Court (Cassazione) places on the owner a duty of diligence to know, and keep a record of, who uses its vehicles. Being unable to identify the driver counts as a valid reason only if the owner shows it took the steps needed to keep control and faced an objective obstacle.
In operational terms: the vehicle assignment register is not there to answer. It is there so you can prove you are in a position to answer.
Who pays the fine, who loses the points and how responsibility is split between company and employee is the subject of the guide on who pays fines incurred with a company car.
Treat it as a deadline
Everything above comes down to one action, on the day the envelope arrives: record the date of service and the deadline date, on the vehicle it refers to, alongside inspection, insurance and car tax.
Not because it is of the same kind — the others recur and this does not — but because it is the only place someone will look. A fine filed among fines expires along with the other paperwork; a fine recorded as a vehicle deadline has a date that sends a reminder.
The recurring deadlines of a company vehicle, with the calculation rule for each, are in the complete overview. The one most often missed, and the one that takes the vehicle off the road, is the roadworthiness inspection.
Note
Deadlines, amounts and legal references on this page were checked on 31 August 2026 against article 126-bis of the Italian Highway Code in the text published by ACI. Communication procedures vary by enforcing authority: the source to follow is always the notice received. References to case law describe settled approaches, not automatic rules, and this guide is not a substitute for legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
From when do the 60 days to name the driver run?
From the date the fine notice (verbale) was served, not from the date of the offence. Months can pass between the two: anyone counting from the day of the speed camera gives themselves a margin they do not have, and usually notices when it has already run out.
How do you communicate who was driving?
With the form indicated in the notice itself, sent to the enforcing authority through the channel the notice specifies: the authority’s online portal, certified email (PEC) or registered letter with return receipt. There is no single national channel — local police, traffic police and prefectures use their own procedures, and the source to follow is always the notice you received.
What data must be provided?
The driver’s personal details and driving licence details: number, issuing authority and date. They allow the authority to serve the notice on the person and deduct licence points. A communication without the licence details is generally not considered compliance.
What happens if you do not reply within 60 days?
A separate penalty of €291 to €1,166 applies (art. 126-bis, paragraph 2 of the Italian Highway Code), on top of the original fine and payable by the company. It does not replace the fine: it is added to it.
How does it work with rented or leased vehicles?
With long-term rental the chain has an extra step: the notice goes to the rental company, which provides the lessee company’s details. The authority then serves the notice on the company, and a new 60-day period starts from that service within which the company must name the driver. With financial leasing the lessee is already jointly liable under art. 196 and there is no intermediate step.
What if the driver cannot be identified?
Reply anyway, within the deadline, giving a documented reason: a reasoned reply is a defensible position, silence never is. But be clear that "we do not remember who was driving" is not accepted as a valid reason — the owner has a duty of diligence to know who uses its vehicles.
Written and fact-checked by The Busy People. How we check our sources