Italy and Poland Target 60,000-Vehicle Cross-Border Plate Loophole

Mechanics of the registration scheme

An estimated 60,000 vehicles circulating on Italian roads carry Polish license plates, according to figures released by the Polish Motor Insurers' Bureau (PBUK). The scheme involves motorists transferring ownership of their cars or motorcycles to shell companies based in Poland. The vehicles are then removed from the Italian public vehicle register (PRA) under the classification of export, re-registered under Polish jurisdiction, and leased or rented back to their original Italian owners. This mechanism allows drivers to keep operating their vehicles locally in Italy without ever driving them across the Polish border. Concentrated predominantly in Naples and the surrounding Campania region, the arrangement is marketed with potential savings of up to 70% on mandatory insurance and vehicle ownership levies. Italy's annual road tax, known as bollo auto, costs between 131 and 140 euros for a standard Fiat Panda, while insurance premiums in southern Italy rank among the highest nationwide.

Rising uninsured claims and cross-border liability

The widespread use of foreign registrations has led to surging financial liabilities for insurance bodies in Poland. PBUK recorded approximately 35 million PLN (about 8.9 million euros) in compensation claims for accidents in Italy involving uninsured Polish-registered vehicles during the first eight months of 2026. This represents a substantial rise from 18 million PLN during the full year of 2025 and roughly 7 million PLN in 2024. PBUK vice president Piotr Zadrożny stated that while claim volumes from other European nations like Germany have remained steady, claims originating from Italy have accelerated sharply. The financial risk is compounded when Polish intermediary agencies fail to maintain or renew valid third-party liability coverage, leaving Italian motorists unaware that their vehicles lack active insurance until an accident occurs.

Italian reimbursement requests have grown sharply, for vehicles that have never been in Poland.

Police enforcement and legislative crackdowns

Authorities in both countries have initiated judicial and regulatory countermeasures to shut down the registration network. In March 2026, Warsaw police arrested seven individuals accused of running an illicit operation that used fabricated roadworthiness inspections and corrupt local officials to register more than 1,500 vehicles that remained stationed in Italy. Italian municipal police, particularly in Naples, have intensified street inspections targeting foreign-registered cars. Italian Undersecretary for Infrastructure and Transport Tullio Ferrante outlined government efforts to enforce registration rules in the southern provinces.

The improper use of cars with foreign license plates is a phenomenon that is spreading especially in the Mezzogiorno, where cases of foreign fictive registration to evade statutory obligations are increasingly numerous.

Under Italian legislation established in March 2022, residents who drive foreign-registered vehicles for more than 30 days within a calendar year must record them in the foreign vehicle registry (REVE) administered by the Automobile Club d'Italia. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport is also drafting amendments to the national Highway Code, scheduled for finalization by 14 October 2026, which will require all foreign-plated vehicles operating permanently in Italy to hold insurance recognized or licensed under Italian law. In parallel, the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced plans to abolish the bollo auto tax for 14.5 million vehicles by 2027, financed with 2.4 billion euros from national recovery funds.