Codice Fiscale (Italy)

The codice fiscale is the code Italy uses to identify you in every dealing with its public administration. It is Italy’s version of a tax identification number, but it reaches much further than tax. Almost anything official you do in Italy starts with someone asking for it. Only a code issued and certified by the Agenzia delle Entrate, Italy’s revenue agency, counts. It doesn’t expire.

How the code is built

It has 16 characters, and none of them is random. The Agenzia delle Entrate spells out the recipe:

• 3 letters from your surname, then 3 from your first name.
• 2 digits for the last two figures of your birth year, then a letter for your birth month.
• 2 digits for your day of birth (for women, the day plus 40).
• 4 characters for the Italian comune (municipality) or the foreign country where you were born.
• A final check character the system calculates.

That’s why websites can “calculate” your code. A calculated code is not an issued one, though. Two people can share the same data, and when that happens the Agenzia checks and assigns a different code. So always use the one on your official certificate or card.

How foreigners get one

The route depends on why you’re coming:

• You’re a non-EU national applying for a permesso di soggiorno (a residence permit). The code is assigned for you. For work or family reunification, the Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione (the one-stop immigration desk) gives you a provisional numeric code, which becomes the final one when the permit is issued. For other permit types, the Questura (the police headquarters) assigns the final code straight away.
• You’re a foreigner already staying legally in Italy, without a code. Book an appointment at any Agenzia delle Entrate office. Bring form AA4/8 and a valid document (permit, passport with visa where required, or another recognised ID), and say why you need the code. A first code for a foreign citizen requires an in-person visit.
• You’re an EU citizen. Take form AA4/8 plus a valid passport or ID card to an Agenzia office.
• You’re applying from abroad. The Agenzia says residents abroad can ask an Italian consulate. In practice, check your consulate’s own page first. Since March 2025 some, such as Edinburgh, accept applications only in limited cases and ask non-residents to delegate someone to apply at an Agenzia office in Italy.

On cost: the Agenzia doesn’t list a fee for issuing the code, form AA4/8 is free to download, and the tessera sanitaria, the health card that carries the code, is free.

The catch people miss

The green codice fiscale card is not health coverage. The Agenzia says so itself: the card gives no right to healthcare, and it goes only to people who aren’t registered with the national health service. Holding the code is a step toward registering with the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale and choosing a doctor. The registration itself is a separate process with its own rules, and EU visitors can use their home EHIC instead.

The code doesn’t make you an Italian tax resident either. Nor does it give you the right to stay, which still runs through a residence permit. If Italy is on your list, the Italy digital nomad visa guide and our relocation wizard help you put these steps in order.

This is general information, not advice. Rules vary and change often, so confirm the details with the Agenzia delle Entrate, your Italian consulate or a qualified professional before you act.

Where you’ll meet this

• Signing a lease, when the contract needs the tenant’s codice fiscale.
• Opening an Italian bank account, or putting the utilities in your name.
• Getting a phone contract or SIM, where shops ask for it along with your ID.
• Registering with the ASL, your local health authority, and choosing a family doctor.