Personalised number plates: applications from 1 March 2027. Here are all the costs
Part of the funding will be allocated to a fund for road maintenance in municipalities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants
From 1 March 2027, car and motorbike drivers will be able to choose the letters and numbers on their number plates. This new measure, announced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the press conference presenting the Budget Bill, is confirmed in the text submitted to the Chamber of Deputies on the evening of 30 October, where its parliamentary process will begin. The personalised number plate will follow the owner, who will be able to keep it and transfer it to another vehicle in the event of sale or deregistration.
The cost
How much will you have to pay to get a ‘vanity number plate’? The fees vary for companies and private individuals. Legal entities, companies and businesses will have to pay 10,000 euros for applications submitted up to 31 May 2027, with the fee reduced to 5,000 euros for applications from 1 June 2027. The same two-stage system applies to private individuals, but with different fees: €1,000 until 31 May 2027 and €500 from 1 June 2027.
However, this is not the final price, as the text states that the production costs payable to the State Printing Works and Mint and a ‘surcharge’ payable to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport must be added to these figures. The amounts for these items will be determined by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport within sixty days of the Budget Law coming into force.
The format
‘You’ll be able to more or less do as you please,’ the Prime Minister had said. Indeed, the text of the budget bill states that, for number plates, it will be possible to request ‘a specific numerical, alphabetic or alphanumeric combination’. This wording suggests a move away from the fixed format in force since 1994, consisting of 7 characters (AA 000 AA) with central digits ranging from 0 to 9.
Combination and verification
Once a combination has been requested, the Vehicle Registration Authority will check that it has not already used and will proceed to register the vehicle by issuing the single vehicle registration document and a traditional temporary number plate. Upon delivery of the personalised number plates, the State Printing Office shall arrange for the delivery of the personalised number plates within 30 days.
