Key takeaways
- Italy’s draft reform would allow a category C1 licence from the age of 17.
- The route to obtaining the driver qualification card would also begin one year earlier.
- A driver with a category C licence could temporarily work without the Italian CQC, provided they are enrolled in the initial qualification course.
- That transitional arrangement would apply for no longer than one year.
- The Italian ministry says the changes are intended to ease the driver shortage, including by making it easier to recruit workers from outside the European Union.
- At present, there is no equivalent in EU rules that would allow drivers to work before completing the initial professional qualification.
- The reform is still under consultation and is not yet law.
The draft is part of a much broader revision of Italy’s road rules. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has opened the proposal to public consultation, with feedback accepted until 13 September. For the road transport sector, however, the most important elements are those affecting access to the profession — and these are likely to prompt the most debate.
C1 at 17 — but not a full category C licence
The main proposal is to lower the minimum age for a category C1 licence. Under the draft, it would be possible to obtain one from the age of 17.
This would apply only to C1, not to a full category C licence. C1 covers vehicles with a maximum authorised mass of more than 3.5 tonnes but no more than 7.5 tonnes.
Italy’s ministry presents the measure as an early step in line with the direction of recent EU legislation.
At the same time, the route to professional driver qualification would also begin one year earlier through Italy’s CQC — Carta di Qualificazione del Conducente. The CQC is the Italian professional qualification required for drivers carrying out road transport as an occupation.
Category C driving before the qualification is completed
The second proposal is more far-reaching. Under the Italian draft, a person holding a category C licence could begin professional driving before receiving the driver qualification card, provided they have already enrolled in the initial qualification course.
There is one clear condition: the full qualification process would have to be completed within one year.
In practice, this would create a transition period of up to 12 months during which someone with the required driving licence could start work before formally completing the training required for the job.
The ministry links this proposal directly to the driver shortage. One aim is to simplify recruitment of people from outside the European Union who arrive in Italy with a driving licence but without the professional qualification required under Italian rules.
This is also the part of the reform most likely to raise legal questions.
According to Italian sources, current EU rules on initial qualification for professional drivers do not contain an equivalent mechanism.
The EU is also lowering the age threshold
Italy’s proposal comes as the European Union is also reshaping driving licence rules. In November 2025, Directives (EU) 2025/2205 and 2025/2206 were published, revising, among other things, the rules on obtaining licences, medical requirements, probation periods and cross-border enforcement of driving bans. Member states must implement the new rules by 26 November 2028, and the main provisions will start to apply from 26 November 2029.
For road transport, one of the most important changes will be the possibility of obtaining a category C licence from the age of 18, provided the required professional qualification is already in place. Until now, the age threshold has been one factor slowing young people’s entry into the profession. The new rules are intended to shorten the gap between finishing education and starting work behind the wheel of a truck.
Italy, however, wants to go a step further — at least in this national draft — by creating a transitional period during which a category C driver could carry out transport work before completing the qualification process.
Driver shortages are at the heart of the reform
The labour issue is central to the ministry’s reasoning. Making it easier for young people to enter the profession, and speeding up access to jobs for drivers from outside the European Union, is intended to reduce the chronic staffing gap in road transport.
This is therefore more than a technical change to licensing rules. The draft would alter the sequence of entry into the profession: part of the qualification process could be completed after work has already begun. That is why the final legal design will matter, particularly whether the provisions allowing work before full professional qualification can be reconciled with EU law.
Not just drivers: Italy is reworking the wider system
The transport measures are only one part of a much broader Highway Code reform. The draft also includes digital driving licences and vehicle documents, meaning drivers would no longer need to carry physical versions if the data is available in the relevant databases.
The penalty system would also be restructured. The current 82 main sanction levels would be reduced to around 21 categories, with fines more closely linked to the seriousness of the offence and its statistical impact on accident rates.
The ministry also wants to move away from automatic fine indexation every two years. Updates would become optional, for example if the inflation indicator published by Italy’s ISTAT exceeds 5%.
The reform also covers remote enforcement devices, road users who are especially vulnerable in accidents, and the powers of road authorities.
From the perspective of international road transport, however, the proposals on access to the profession remain the most significant. If the ministry’s draft is adopted, Italy could significantly accelerate the point at which young or foreign drivers are able to enter the labour market. For now, however, these remain consultation-stage proposals rather than binding rules.
The wider compliance implications for operators would also remain important, especially in a sector where enforcement cases can have serious consequences for fleets and operating licences, as shown in professional driving rules.
