Car registration it is one of the fundamental requisites that every car must have in order to circulate. But do you know all about it? What is it, how does it work, the procedures, times and costs? If not, this is the place to find out more. Welcome to Auto for Dummies, the original Tech Princess column that explains the world of automobiles in a clear and simple way. And after the presentations, let's start immediately to discover the enrollment.
- Car registration: what it is and when it was born in Italy
- What does car registration consist of?
- Which cars can be registered?
- New car registration: costs and procedures
- Foreign car registration: requirements, costs and procedures
- How much does the enrollment cost?
- How to understand the age of a car from the license plate
- Car registration, simple but irreplaceable
- More on engines
Car registration: what it is and when it was born in Italy
Car registration is the procedure underlying motoring, as it is the requirement that is required of all machines in the world to circulate. Enrollment mainly consists ofassign an identification code to each vehicle model, Or the targa. In fact, not only cars are registered, but also motorcycles, scooters, trucks, vans, trailers, tractors and earthmoving machinery. In conclusion, everything that has road access must be recognizable.
Why? The reason is obvious: recognition. Without a license plate or a unique type of marking for each vehicle, road users are not uniquely distinguishable, and therefore are prone to behave without great attention. The presence of such a simple device allows law enforcement to identify and possibly fine offenders in an instant.
Then there is another practical advantage: it is easier to recognize your car from all the others. Imagine it wasn't there and you were in a parking lot full of cars all the same! Finally, registration is the indisputable sign of the ability of a vehicle to circulate on the roads. If a car has a (real) license plate, it can undoubtedly be driven on the road.
These problems certainly do not arise with mass motorization and with the development of modern society. In fact, they find their beginning since the dawn of the automobile. In the first years of life of the first "autonomous" there were no Highway Codes nor fines or penalties. The automobile was a totally new technology, and pioneering cars were often built by hand by craftsmen and "visionaries", without regulation or state approval. With the spread of the first cars in European and North American countries, however, the problem of regulating and recognizing individual specimens became topical.
After the First World War, which temporarily put a stop to the spread of the car, the demand for regulations and recognition is increasingly strong. This desire then materialized on April 24, 1926 in Paris, where an international conference was held which led to the birth of two international agreements, the International Convention relating to Road Traffic and the International Convention relating to Automobile Traffic.
It was on this occasion that we spoke for the first time about innovative concepts such as driving licenses, road signs as well as vehicle registration at the central government of the various countries. Precisely in this context it became mandatory la plate, a device "designed to make each motor vehicle recognizable". Therefore, to identify the vehicle from 1926, gods were required fondamentali requisiti: a unique plate, an identification mark, the name of the authorized and verified manufacturer, the chassis number and the engine number.
The birth of car registration in Italy
Despite the international convention "only" arrived in 1926, in Italy the problem of recognition of cars (called in the male at the dawn of motorization) had already been partially resolved. From 1897 in fact the cars were equipped with a plate bearing the owner's name and license number to drive. From 1901 then, through a Royal Decree, the construction of a plaque was ordered, at the owner's expense, bearing the full name of the province and the license number issued by the prefecture. The shape of the first plates was therefore "TORINO - 427". It is no coincidence that this is the plate on the FIAT 3 1/2 HP present at the Turin Automobile Museum, one of the 4 cars left in the world with an Italian “twentieth-century” plate.
From 1905 then the full name of the province was replaced, replaced by a identification number in red, unique for each province (the province of Ancona, for example, was represented by the number 2). A "modern" numbering was seen only in 1927, immediately after the Paris International Convention. The provinces were now represented by one literal code, preceded by a progressive number from 1 to 999 999. This system went as far as 1951, when the classic numbering system with province abbreviation and alphanumeric code was introduced.
The revolution came in 1994, with the debut of the now classic alphanumeric numbering AA 000 AA which continues today. There is a little curiosity about it. This numbering system he removed the indication of the province: a blow to the heart for Italian motorists. At the time, even the white plates introduced in 1985 were not very popular, considered ugly and easily ruined.
In addition, the removal of the indication of the province was a severe blow to everyone, accustomed to that part for 100 years to recognize the province of origin in the plates. How to solve the problem? But in the Italian way, what questions: in a few months a lot of side blue bands to glue on the plate, which also included the province of residence.
This fact, combined with the poor quality of the plates themselves, led the DMV to review the plates for the 1999. From the numbering BB 000 HH, in fact, a new format, what we are used to today. The white became cleaner, the letters thicker and appeared two blue bands on the sides of the plate. On the one hand we find the wording "I" (Italy) surmounted by the circle with the stars of the European Union. On the other hand, the initials of the province reappeared, now required by law. Above this there is a golden circle, inside which it is possible to enter the last two digits of the year of construction of the car (2020 for example becomes 20).
For today's license plates, they come all Arabic numerals and 22 letters of the English alphabet used. In fact, I, O, Q and U are excluded, because they can get confused with other letters or numbers. Plus, over the years there have been “Skip” letter combinations such as EE, already identifying the Foreign hikers, while other combinations have already been "Dedicated" to particular uses. Combinations with the letter Z (ZA, ZB,…) are dedicated to car with square license plate, combinations with the Y (YA, YB, ...) dedicated to Local Police cars while the combinations with the X (XA, XB,…) are dedicated to trailers, trolleys and everything that is towed.
What does car registration consist of?
We then analyzed the history of enrollment. At the end of this guide I will reveal a trick to amaze all your friends, but first let's think about it what is a car registration materially and what steps it involves.
Entering a car into public records is one quite simple procedure. The newly purchased and never registered car must be recognizable both on the road and "bureaucratically". As mentioned, in fact, the plate is not just a roadside identification device, but it is the reference on which fundamental documents are drawn up such as vehicle registration, insurance, road tax, certificate of ownership and so on.
Car registration is therefore the real birth of a car, the second after leaving the factory but in reality the most important. In fact, without it you cannot go anywhere! But what does it consist of? Simply put, matriculation mainly includes the deed of assign a unique number plate to a car model. The license plate number is directly linked to the vehicle chassis number, and is therefore unique for each car on the road.
As for the rules, procedures and different types of matriculation, now let's go into the depth of the matter.
Which cars can be registered?
Not all of them. To be registered, a car must be approved according to the strict Italian laws. It must therefore be a car produced by an authorized manufacturer recognized by the Ministry of Transport. Furthermore, in Italy the laws are particularly strict, as fans already know. For this reason, after registration, each car will not be able to receive modifications of any kind: larger wheels, noisier exhausts, and so on. Even the body color must remain the same as marked on the vehicle registration document.
So any vehicle registered in Italy must be in perfect order, produced by certified manufacturers who have subjected the model to rigorous tests compliance, safety and emissions. Almost all the world manufacturers carry out these tests autonomously and therefore make it very easy to overcome the "barrier" of car registration. Obviously, however, it is much more difficult homologate and register a car that you have built in your garden ...
The registration of a new car
Let's move on to practice: how to register a car when is this new? Your role as a buyer will be virtually nil. All you have to do will be buy the car, sign the sales contract, fill out a form and have valid documents. All very simple, right?
In fact, it will be the concessionaire you turned to to take care of all the bureaucratic matters. Your job is simply to give the seller a valid identity document, the tax code and the TT2120 module, which is the form of the change of ownership. This form ensures the accuracy of your data and empowers the seller to complete the procedure for you.
Once you have all the data and signed the sales contract, the seller will go to the Driver's ATM present in your city or province. Here he will deliver all the data and documents required to proceed with the application for registration. At the same time, the seller will send to the PRA, the public Automobile Registry, a copy of the sales contract to have the certificate of ownership.
Once this is done, it will only be necessary wait for the license plate number to be assigned, that these are printed together with the vehicle registration document and voilà, that's it! The car is now yours, with the license plate in your (or your company) name and a unique license plate number. Times? Usually we talk about very fast times: 3-4 days to about a week is the canonical time frame.
And if for some reason you want one personalized plate, in Italy it is not allowed to change the license plate to your liking such as in Germany or England. What you can do is though wait for the license plate number that interests you to be “produced” and ask to have it assigned to you: nothing changes at the matriculation office, but you will also have a more or less personalized license plate.
An example? Valentino Rossi's Ferrari 458 Italia. Even for the Doctor it was not possible to create an ad hoc personalized plate. But what has been done is wait for a combination of the three digits and the final two letters to come out (the ones that change faster) perfect for him, or 046 VR. In this way, even the Ferrari of the champion from Tavullia is recognizable at first glance thanks to the plate, although in Italy it is not possible to customize them from scratch. If you like the idea and have a favorite combination of these 5 digits, try asking to wait for a particular plate: you could be satisfied!
Foreign car registration: requirements and procedures
Instead, let's say if you want buy a car from abroad, whether new or used. For some it will seem a very limited situation, while the purchase of cars from abroad is instead definitely more common than you think. In fact, many looking for a particular model or an engine that cannot be found in Italy rely on the purchase outside Italy, in Germany or Poland for example. To register foreign cars it is necessary to differentiate the two cases: new car or used car.
In case of purchase of a new car already registered in the country of origin it is allowed circulate with the country license plate for one year. But often in some countries such as Germany or France there is one "temporary" license plate. This allows the owner to legally travel to his country without the use of car transporters or trailers. Once the temporary license plate has expired (lasting between one and six months) or the “good” year has passed, you have to proceed with the Italian registration. The registration of imported cars goes edited directly by the applicant (i.e. you who bought the machine), from a professional importer or a car practice agency.
It will therefore be necessary present all the “canonical” documents", Or identity card and tax code. To these will also have to be added the original deed of sale, with the seller's signature and authenticated by a notary. But that's not all: we also need the European certificate of conformity. This certificate attests that the car you bought is approved according to community law. Alternatively, one is sufficient declaration of registration and approval by the manufacturer.
All these documents are also required for the used car purchased outside the border. To these, however, only goes added the registration certificate of the country of origin. This serves to certify that the car was in order from a mechanical and legal point of view for circulation, as well as to replace the vehicle registration certificate of the country of origin with the current Italian registration document.
Timing varies according to situations and sales, but in general we can indicate a taverage time of one to two weeks both for the registration of new and used cars from abroad.
How much does the enrollment cost?
We then talked about all types of registration and its history. One fundamental point is still missing: how much does it cost to register a car in Italy?
The price varies according to the type of car and the region of residence, but in general it includes these fixed costs. There are indeed to be paid 27 euros to the ACI, 32 euros for the registration to the PRA e another 32 € for the issue of the registration certificate. Then there are others 10,20 euros for transport rights. To these 101,20 € you must finally add the costs of IPT and license plates.
THEProvincial Transcription Tax (or IPT) varies according to the province of residence and the power of the engine. It starts from a minimum of 151 euros for cars with power below 51 kW (72 hp). After this threshold, you go up by approx 4 euros for each kW in excess, with a variable cost depending on the province. Assuming the purchase of a120 HP medium car, the cost of the IPT in the province of Milan will be approximately EUR 400. In total, the cost of registering a 120 hp car is approximately EUR 500: not a few, but inevitable.
How to understand the age of a car from the license plate
As promised, there is room for one at the end of our lectio magistralis on the world of car registration little surprise. I'm sure each of you knows at least one friend capable of recognize the year of production of a car only by reading its license plate. How does? Is he a stalker who spies on all the cars in the world? A fool? No, he just read this little trick.
This registration trick it works only on Italian cars, specifically on those produced after 1994. In that year, as we have already said, the alphanumeric system was introduced consisting of two letters, three numbers and then two other letters. The operation of this system is as follows.
The first two letters are the most important: formed a couple, the "triple" of numbers and the second pair of letters continue to flow up to 999 ZZ. Once all the numbers and letters have been used up, it scales to the next pair of letters, AB, and so on. Hence, numerous registrations have passed from an AA car to an AB or AC car.
Now: the number of cars sold each year in Italy has been practically stable for several decades now, and being the number plate linked to the number of cars sold and registered, he created one very simple rule. Every 4 years, the first letter is changed. In fact, from 1994 to 1998 it went from AA to BA. From 1998 to 2002 it went from BA to CA, and so on. So, reading a plate it is possible to understand broadly when it was produced the machine on which it is mounted. Every 4 years-4 and a half years the first letter changes, and in a year 6 to 7 letters are used.
For example, if you have a registered car EX like the Alfa Romeo Giulietta in the picture, it was most likely registered precisely at the end of period "E", or at the end of 2014. The letter F in fact inaugurated the frequency of the "change" every 5 years, caused by poor sales over the past decade. The last letter "born" was finally the G, seen for the first time at the beginning of 2020, proving the change of "literature" every 5 years. Test with your home cars and see if the game works: you can get a beer offered if you guess the year of the cars in your group of friends only from the license plate!
Car registration, simple but irreplaceable
Our journey through the history and secrets of matriculation ends here. I bet you've never stopped to think about all these things while looking at a license plate. An object we are so used to but without which the whole world of motoring would perhaps not exist. I bet you will look more closely at the license plates of the other cars the next time you go out, right? See you at the next episode of Auto For Dummies: every Friday, same place, same time. Do not miss!
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