Codice Fiscale in English: How to Apply and What to Bring

The codice fiscale, translated into English as Italy’s tax code or tax identification number, is a 16-character alphanumeric identifier assigned to every person who deals with Italian institutions. It was established by Presidential Decree no. 605 on September 29, 1973.¹ The code is free, it never expires, and it stays with you for life. For an English speaker moving to Italy, buying property there, or handling any Italian paperwork from abroad, it is almost always the first document you need.

What You Use It For

Nearly every formal interaction with Italian institutions requires the code. Administrative procedures, contracts with public or private entities, inheritances, financing applications, and real estate transactions all require you to provide it.² In practice, you will need one before you can:

Open a bank account with any Italian bank.
Sign an employment contract, so your employer can process payroll and report earnings.
Buy or rent property and register the contract with the Agenzia delle Entrate.
Activate utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and internet.
Buy a SIM card or set up a mobile phone plan.
Enroll in the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, Italy’s national health system. A provisional code is enough to get started.³

Even short-term visitors who only need to sign a rental agreement for a few months will be asked for one. Without it, you are effectively locked out of formal life in Italy.

How the 16 Characters Are Built

The code is not random. It is generated from your personal data by a fixed algorithm, so anyone with your full name, birth date, gender, and birthplace can calculate what your code should be. The 16 characters break down like this:

Characters 1–3: consonants from your surname. If the surname has fewer than three consonants, vowels fill the remaining slots.
Characters 4–6: consonants from your first name, using the same rule.
Characters 7–8: the last two digits of your birth year.
Character 9: a letter for your birth month. The mapping is not alphabetical: A for January, B for February, C for March, D for April, E for May, H for June, L for July, M for August, P for September, R for October, S for November, and T for December.
Characters 10–11: your day of birth. For women, 40 is added to the day, so a woman born on the 5th shows 45.
Characters 12–15: a four-character code for your birthplace. Italian municipalities use their codice catastale. People born outside Italy get a Z followed by a three-digit country code. Someone born in the United States, for example, has Z404 in these positions.
Character 16: a check character calculated from the previous 15 to catch data-entry errors.

Because the formula is public, it is easy to check your issued code against what it should be. Small transcription mistakes, especially with foreign names, are the most common cause of a code that will not match up with a bank or an employer later.

Documents to Bring

The application form is the Modello AA4/8. Its official English title is “Application for a Tax Code, Notification of Change of Details and Request for Tax Code Card,” available as a fillable PDF on the Agenzia delle Entrate website.⁴ Along with the completed form, bring identification:

EU citizens: a valid passport or national identity card.
Non-EU citizens: a valid passport, plus a visa or residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) if you have one.

The Agenzia delle Entrate’s guidance states you can obtain the code by presenting “a valid identity document, passport or residence permit at any Local Revenue Agency Office.”⁵ Make sure the name on your form exactly matches your identification. A missing middle name or a differently rendered accented letter can cause rejection or produce a code with errors that are tedious to fix later.

For a Minor Child

Parents or legal guardians can apply on behalf of a minor using the same form. Check the “Third Party Request” box and select code 10 in the request type field. You’ll need the child’s valid passport and your own identification.² For newborns, a birth certificate or a parent’s self-declaration is accepted at Revenue Agency offices.⁵

Where to Apply

Where you apply depends on whether you are already in Italy or applying from abroad. There is no online application for a new codice fiscale; the Agenzia delle Entrate’s online services only handle duplicate requests for codes already issued.⁶

At an Agenzia delle Entrate Office in Italy

If you’re in Italy, walk into any local Agenzia delle Entrate office with the completed form and identification. The code is usually generated on the spot, and the office network is dense enough that most mid-sized cities have one.⁶ This is the fastest route.

Through an Italian Consulate or Embassy

If you’re outside Italy, apply through the Italian consulate or embassy for your area.⁶ Some consulates accept email submissions with scanned PDF documents; others require in-person visits. Processing times vary. The Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C., says its process can take up to 30 days once all documentation is received.⁷ Same-day turnaround is not typical.

Through a Proxy in Italy

If you can’t visit in person and the consulate timeline doesn’t fit yours, you can delegate someone in Italy to apply for you. Your delegate submits the Modello AA4/8 and your identification at any Agenzia delle Entrate office. Italian consulates generally prefer this route for foreign citizens when possible, reserving consular applications for people who cannot arrange a representative in Italy.²

The Card You Receive

Once your application is processed, you’ll get a paper certificate showing your code and personal details. If you later register with the national health system, you’ll be issued a Tessera Sanitaria, a plastic card that works as both your health card and your tax code card. The Agenzia delle Entrate confirms it “can be used when going to a doctor, when buying medicines at the pharmacy, when undergoing specialist examinations…or as proof of tax code for all the cases provided for by law.”⁸ Non-residents who don’t enroll in the health system typically keep only the paper certificate or a basic plastic card without health features.

Lost or stolen cards can be replaced online through the Agenzia delle Entrate website or at any office. There is no fee for the original or for replacements. And because the code never expires, there is nothing to renew. The 16 characters stay the same for the rest of your life.

Fixing Errors

Errors are common, particularly with foreign names that Italian systems don’t handle cleanly. If your codice fiscale has a mistake in your name, birth date, birthplace, or gender, the correction path depends on your status. Italian residents registered with a municipality should go to that municipality’s records office. Everyone else, including foreigners not in the municipal registry, can bring a valid identity document to any Agenzia delle Entrate office and request the correction there.⁹

Holders of SPID (Italy’s public digital identity), an electronic identity card, or a national service card can also submit correction requests online through the Italian Ministry of Interior’s civil registry portal.⁹ Most foreigners don’t yet have SPID, so the in-person route is the practical option. Catch errors early. A mismatch between your codice fiscale and your passport cascades into problems with bank accounts, employment records, and property registrations.

A Note for US Citizens

Getting a codice fiscale and opening an Italian bank account can trigger US reporting obligations that are separate from anything Italy asks of you. If the combined value of all your foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point in the calendar year, you must file the FBAR (FinCEN Report 114) by April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15.¹⁰ Under FATCA, US taxpayers abroad must file Form 8938 with their tax return if foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 at year-end or $300,000 at any point during the year for single filers, and $400,000 or $600,000 for joint filers.¹¹ The United States and Italy also have a bilateral tax treaty to prevent double taxation on the same income.¹² If you’ll be earning income in Italy or holding significant Italian assets, a tax professional familiar with both systems is worth the cost.

1
Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze. Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica del 29/09/1973 n. 605
2
Consolato Generale d’Italia a New York. Codice Fiscale (Italian Tax Code)
3
Agenzia delle Entrate. Italian Health Insurance Card and Foreign Citizens
4
Agenzia delle Entrate. Application for a Tax Code – Form AA4/8
5
Agenzia delle Entrate. Services for Foreign Citizens
6
Agenzia delle Entrate. Tax Identification Number for Foreign Citizens
7
Ambasciata d’Italia a Washington. Tax Code (Codice Fiscale)
8
Agenzia delle Entrate. The Italian Health Insurance Card
9
Agenzia delle Entrate. What to Do
10
Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
11
Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets
12
U.S. Department of the Treasury. United States and Italy Sign New Income Tax Treaty