Electric car, hybrid, motorbike: who can enter an Italian ZTL

What Italian law says

Article 7 of the Italian Highway Code (Codice della Strada) leaves it to each town to draw its ZTLs and decide who may enter. Paragraph 9-bis, added by the 2019 Budget Law, states that towns shall 'in any case allow free access' to vehicles with electric or hybrid propulsion.

At the varco, that sentence opens nothing: the camera checks your number plate against the city's list of authorised vehicles, and the city's own rules apply (prior registration, a paid permit or no exemption at all). Rome has charged electric cars 1,000 € a year since 1 July 2026, and most cities give hybrids nothing. For motorbikes and scooters, the law provides no exemption at all: each city decides. Quoting paragraph 9-bis after the event is no substitute for applying, because the fine (83 to 332 €) is issued automatically.

The rules city by city

The table shows the rule for a visitor in each of the site's 20 cities; excluded zones, deadlines and prices are on each city page.

Electric cars. Eight cities grant a free authorisation on request: Bergamo, Bologna, Florence, Modena, Padua, Palermo, Turin and Verona. Only Milan lets them into Area C without any formality, and in Treviso registering the number plate is enough. Three cities sell a permit: Parma (10 € a year plus 5 € for the badge), Pisa (101 €, conditions not set out in the published rules) and Rome (1,000 €). Como, Ferrara, Lecce and Siena have no exemption; in Siena, not even to go and charge. For Naples, Perugia and Reggio Emilia, no single cell sums up the rule (in Reggio, the 'Mi Muovo' permit costs 24 € in fees).

Hybrids. Twelve cities give visitors no exemption and two say nothing. The exceptions are narrow: in Milan, Area C is free for hybrids emitting no more than 100 g/km of CO2; in Parma, a plug-in hybrid gets the 'AAA plugin' permit for the price of the electric one; Bergamo (360 € for non-residents) and Reggio Emilia (24 € a year) sell a permit. In Bologna and Turin, the hybrid permit is for residents only (and, in Bologna, local businesses).

Two-wheelers. They ride in without a permit in five cities: Florence, Lecce, Milan, Padua and Pisa. In nine others it depends on the zone; in Bergamo, for instance, they are only free in the Città Alta e Colli ZTL. In Reggio Emilia only mopeds up to 50 cc go in freely, and in Ferrara a motorbike needs a permit just like a car.

Electric car: what to do before you drive in

The authorisation belongs to a number plate, not to a driver. Have it registered before your first entry, as Bologna, Florence and Verona require. A few cities accept notification after the event: within 48 hours in Modena, within 120 hours with ATB in Bergamo, and in Turin an occasional visitor can sort it out afterwards with GTT, 12 times a year. In Padua the by-law allows 48 hours but the form asks for prior notice: do it beforehand.

Three traps:

• 'Free' does not mean no charges: in Turin the permit costs two 16 € revenue stamps; in Palermo the badge itself is free, but stamp duty and processing fees still apply.
• Italian digital ID is often required (SPID or CIE), which foreign tourists rarely have: Verona's registration works this way and takes up to 9 days; Rome's permit is bought the same way.
• The authorisation does not cover every zone: Milan's Quadrilatero stays closed to electric cars, Parma's isole ambientali are off limits to them 24 hours a day, and Turin's permit excludes pedestrian streets and bus lanes.

Cities mean fully electric cars, as Verona and Modena spell out: a plug-in hybrid does not qualify unless a specific rule says so, as in Parma.

Hybrid: assume you will not get in

Outside the four exceptions above, plan your trip as you would with a petrol car: park outside the zone, or get access through your hotel or a disabled badge. In Palermo a hybrid only gets a cheaper day pass (2.50 € instead of 5 €). In Treviso the portal mentions hybrids, but the regulation only covers fully electric cars: do not rely on it.

Motorbikes and scooters: free, but not everywhere

Where an exemption for two-wheelers exists, it is a local decision, and it often stops at the most sensitive zones:

• Rome: two-wheelers free, except in the Tridente, which is reserved for authorised categories;
• Naples: on a scooter, only in the Centro Antico, Tarsia-Pignasecca-Dante (except Via Brombeis) and the Morelli ZTL;
• Bologna: free in the main ZTL and in Zona T on weekdays, but not in the Università, Pratello and Moline zones, nor in Zona T on car-free weekends (T-Days);
• Milan: most motorbikes can enter Area C, except two-strokes and Euro 0 and 1 diesels.

Where the city publishes nothing on motorbikes (Siena, Treviso), assume the car rules apply. In Como and Perugia, two-wheelers may only ride to the motorbike parking areas along set routes. Reserved lanes stay off limits: in Padua the tram lane at Prato della Valle is closed to everyone, two-wheelers included.

Car registered outside Italy

The camera only reads a number plate. With a British, Irish or other foreign registration, nothing tells the city that your car is electric until you register it. Submit it with the vehicle registration document, which shows the fuel type: Padua asks for it with the form, and Bologna's portal accepts foreign plates (just untick 'targa italiana'). With a hire car you only learn the number plate at the desk: register it as soon as you collect the keys, before heading for the centre.

In what order

• Find the exact zone of your hotel or car park on the city page and check that your type of vehicle is allowed in that very zone.
• Apply before you drive in and keep the confirmation.
• If a fine still arrives, contact the office named on the notice before paying: a late notification can sometimes still be accepted.