Carta di Identità Elettronica (CIE): Applying, Cost, and Travel Use

The Carta di Identità Elettronica, or CIE, is Italy’s polycarbonate electronic identity card with an embedded microchip, and starting August 3, 2026, it fully replaces the old paper Italian identity card for every purpose, including travel inside the European Union.¹ The printed expiration date on a paper card no longer matters after that date. If you still carry a paper card and plan to travel within Europe, you need to replace it before the deadline.

The card doubles as a physical ID and a digital key. It works as a travel document across the EU and a handful of bilateral countries, and it logs you into Italian public administration portals with government-grade authentication.

Who Can Apply

Every Italian citizen can get a CIE, whether resident in Italy or abroad. Citizens living outside Italy apply through the Italian consulate covering their area of residence, and they must be registered in AIRE (the Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all’Estero), have a birth certificate on file in Italy, and hold a valid codice fiscale.² Any pending changes to address, marital status, or family composition need to be settled with the consulate before you book the appointment.³

Foreign nationals with legal residency in an Italian municipality can also apply. Non-EU residents must show a valid permesso di soggiorno at the appointment. Once issued, the CIE becomes their main identification document within Italy.

How Much It Costs and How Long It Lasts

The state fee is €16.79. Some municipalities add their own administrative charges, so the total collected at the counter can be slightly higher.⁴ Payment is taken when the application is processed.

Validity depends on how old you are when the card is issued:

Under 3 years old: 3 years
Ages 3 to 18: 5 years
Over 18: 10 years

The shorter windows for children reflect how quickly a young person’s appearance changes on a biometric document.⁴ You can renew starting 180 days before expiration. Outside that window, early renewal is limited to emergencies. Renewal follows the same process as a first application: same documents, same appointment, same fee.

What to Bring

Have these ready before your appointment:

One recent passport-size photo meeting ICAO biometric standards (neutral expression, white background, face fully visible).
Your physical Codice Fiscale card or tessera sanitaria.
Your previous identity card for cancellation. If it was lost or stolen, bring the police report instead.
A valid residence permit, if you are a non-EU resident.

At the appointment you will also be asked whether you want to declare your intent regarding organ and tissue donation. It is optional, and the declaration can be changed or withdrawn later through your municipal office.⁵

How to Apply

Book through the “Prenotazioni CIE” platform at prenotazionicie.interno.gov.it. Not every municipality has activated online booking; if yours has not, contact the Comune directly.⁶ Italians abroad book through their consulate’s appointment system, usually the Prenot@Mi platform.³

At the appointment a municipal officer checks your documents, confirms your identity against the photo, and takes your fingerprints digitally. You sign the application, and the officer hands you a paper receipt containing the first half of your PIN and PUK codes. Hold onto that receipt. The second half of each code arrives inside the envelope with the finished card.⁷

The card is not produced at the municipal office. It is manufactured centrally by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome and mailed by registered post to the address you specified. Expect delivery within about six working days of the appointment.

Applying for a Minor

Children of any age can receive a CIE, with extra steps for parental consent. If you want the card marked “valido per l’espatrio” so it works for international travel, both parents must be physically present at the appointment. That applies even to separated or divorced parents.⁸

If one parent cannot attend, they must provide a signed atto di assenso. For consular applications, a non-EU parent who is not present can sign the declaration at the consular office on the day of the appointment or before a notary public.³

Fingerprints are collected only from children aged 12 and older, and at that age the minor also signs the card. Younger children are exempt from both.⁸

Using the Card to Travel

A CIE marked “valido per l’espatrio” works as a travel document throughout all EU member states. It is also accepted in several non-EU countries that have bilateral agreements with Italy, including Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.⁹ For the current list of countries that accept the CIE, check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ travel portal at viaggiaresicuri.it.¹⁰

The CIE does not replace a passport for travel outside the EU and bilateral-agreement countries. To fly to the United States, for example, you still need your passport. And the deadline bears repeating: from August 3, 2026, paper Italian identity cards are no longer accepted for travel between EU countries, regardless of the expiration date printed on the card.¹

Digital Authentication and Signing

The CIE logs you into Italian public administration portals through three security levels, each suited to a different type of transaction:¹¹

Level 1 is a username and password, enough for browsing public information portals.
Level 2 adds a one-time code sent to your phone, required for services involving personal data.
Level 3 requires the physical CIE held against an NFC-enabled smartphone running the CieID app, or a contactless smart card reader connected to your computer. This tier is used for sensitive operations like tax filings and digital signatures.

The CIE also qualifies as an Advanced Electronic Signature under the EU’s eIDAS regulation, so documents you sign digitally with it carry the same legal weight as a handwritten signature.¹² The Italian government has signaled that SPID, the parallel software-only digital identity system, will be phased out gradually, with the CIE becoming the single official digital identity for public services.

PIN and PUK Codes

The PIN authenticates you digitally. The PUK unlocks the card if something goes wrong. Both arrive in halves: the first half on the paper receipt at your appointment, the second half in the envelope with the card. Put both halves together and store the full codes somewhere secure.⁷

If you lose your PIN, you can reset it through the CieID app under “Gestione Carta,” or using the CIE Software on a computer. Losing the PUK is harder to recover from. If you provided an email address or mobile number when you applied, you can recover the PUK through the CieID app by selecting “Recupero PUK,” entering the card’s serial number, and confirming your contact details. The recovered PUK is only displayed after a 48-hour waiting period. If you never registered contact information, you have to visit any municipal office in person to have your codes reprinted.¹³

Be careful with wrong entries. Three consecutive wrong PIN attempts lock the card, and you’ll need the PUK to unlock it. Ten consecutive wrong PUK attempts permanently disable the card’s digital functions, with no way to reverse it. At that point you would need to apply for a new CIE.¹³

If Your Card Is Lost or Stolen

Block the card immediately by calling the toll-free number 800 098 558. That prevents anyone from using its digital functions.¹⁴

Then file a formal police report (denuncia). Bring that report to your municipal office along with another form of identification, and you can apply for a replacement. If you have no other ID, contact the municipality first to arrange an alternative way to prove who you are.¹⁴

If the loss or theft happens abroad, file the report at the nearest Italian consulate or embassy. A report to foreign police alone is not enough. Once you return to Italy, you have to repeat the report with Italian authorities and deliver it to your municipality.¹⁴

1
Consolato Generale d’Italia a Bruxelles. Cessation of Validity of Paper Identity Cards as of 03 August 2026
2
Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. Carta d’Identita Elettronica (C.I.E.) Italian Electronic ID Cards
3
Ambasciata d’Italia a Washington. Electronic Identity Cards (C.I.E.)
4
Ministero dell’Interno. The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
5
Ministero dell’Interno. Organ and Tissue Donation – The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
6
Ministero dell’Interno. CIE Online Booking – The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
7
Ministero dell’Interno. PIN/PUK Security Codes – The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
8
Ministero dell’Interno. Release and Renew Minors – The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
9
Consolato Generale d’Italia a San Francisco. Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
10
Ministero dell’Interno. Travel – The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
11
Ministero dell’Interno. About CIE – The Electronic Identity Card
12
Ministero dell’Interno. Signing with CIE – CieSign – The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
13
Ministero dell’Interno. How to Recover the PUK of the Electronic Identity Card (CIE)
14
Ministero dell’Interno. Loss or Theft – The Electronic Identity Card (CIE)