Connectivity — Italy
What travelers need to know about connectivity in Italy. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Connectivity in Italy: allowed only under specific conditions.
You must show ID to buy any Italian SIM, prepaid included — the shop has to take a copy of your passport before it can activate the line, and cannot legally sell you one without it. As a non-resident tourist you do NOT legally need an Italian tax code (codice fiscale).
The fine falls on the telco (EUR 25,000 to EUR 5,000,000, and in the gravest cases up to 5% of turnover) and on the SIM dealer (5 to 30 days' closure of the business), not on the traveller. The practical consequence for a visitor without a passport is refusal of sale, not a fine. Using a false identity to obtain a SIM (Criminal Code art. 494) bars you from contracting with operators for six months to two years.
§ Normattiva (Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato) — D.Lgs. 259/2003 art. 98-undetricies, testo in vigore dal 12-4-2025