Motorhome, caravan or trailer from the Netherlands: Italian registration rules

A motorhome goes through the same application to the Motorizzazione Civile and the PRA as a car; we found no separate procedure. For residents the same deadline applies: art. 93-bis covers 'autoveicoli, motoveicoli e rimorchi', so a motorhome must be registered within three months of acquiring residenza. The steps, from the VAT check to the Documento Unico, are on importing a car to Italy. If you buy a motorhome in the Netherlands, have the export arranged in your own name, so that you receive the export certificate (kentekenbewijs deel II).

The MIT instructions of December 2025 do not mention motorhomes separately. Vehicles with a European type approval issued without derogations are exempt from the visita e prova (inspection before registration). A chassis of category N or O with a body ('allestimento') on the foreign registration certificate, without European approval of the completed vehicle, does need one at the Motorizzazione.

In practice: a motorhome with a CoC of a European type approval without derogations is in principle exempt; a self-built or converted motorhome with only a national approval should expect an inspection. It depends on the approval, so ask before you go.

• Revisione (periodic test). A motorhome up to and including 3.5 tonnes is tested for the first time 4 years after its first registration and then every 2 years. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are tested every year; the source does not list motorhomes separately in that group.
• Driving licence. According to ACI a category B licence is enough if the maximum mass is not more than 3.5 tonnes.
• Speed. Up to 3.5 tonnes a motorhome has the limits of a passenger car. From 3.5 to 12 tonnes: 100 km/h on the autostrada and 80 km/h outside built-up areas.

Under art. 93 of the Codice della Strada every rimorchio needs its own carta di circolazione and registration. That article has no exception up to 750 kg as in the Netherlands, where such a trailer carries the towing vehicle's number. Trailers under 3,500 kg do not have to be entered in the PRA and get no Documento Unico.

How a Dutch caravan or trailer up to 750 kg without its own registration number is registered in Italy is not clear; we found no procedure. Ask the Motorizzazione before you travel.

The carrello appendice: the light trailer exception

The carrello appendice is a small trailer of at most 300 kg total weight behind a towing vehicle with an unladen weight up to 1,000 kg, otherwise at most 600 kg. It is linked to the towing vehicle after a visita e prova of the combination at the Motorizzazione, and noted on the towing vehicle's papers.

• Revisione. Trailers up to 3.5 tonnes, such as caravans and boat trailers, are tested after 4 years and then every 2 years. Trailers over 3.5 tonnes after 1 year and then every year.
• Licence. With a B licence you may tow a trailer up to 750 kg. A heavier trailer is allowed with B as long as the combination does not exceed 4,250 kg, but above 3,500 kg for the combination you need the extra test with EU code B96. A BE licence covers trailers up to 3,500 kg.
• Speed with a caravan or trailer (under 3.5 tonnes). 50 km/h in built-up areas, 70 km/h outside them and 80 km/h on the motorway, unless signs say otherwise.

On the Dutch side, a caravan or trailer also gets export insurance. A trailer up to 750 kg (maximum mass) has no registration number of its own in the Netherlands: we arrange the export insurance on its chassis number, and its white export plate carries the registration number of the towing vehicle. A heavier caravan or trailer has its own number, export insurance and one white plate at the rear. An APK (the Dutch roadworthiness test) is only needed above 3,500 kg. For motorhomes over 2,500 kg the price is on request.

After deregistration you may drive on Dutch roads for 14 days, and never after the APK has expired. Abroad the rules for export plates vary by country, so check them for your route or choose transport. Read more about Dutch export plates and the export insurance for the drive to Italy. For vans and trucks see exporting a truck or van to Italy.