Everything you need to know about Codice Fiscale

In today’s blog I am going to talk to you a bit more about paperwork (there are tips in the post How to complete paperwork without dying in the process). I would assume that paperwork will be your new best friend during the first month of an Erasmus.

How to get a Codice Fiscale in Italy

The focus of today is the codice fiscale (fiscal code), which is a type of Italian ID, that you have to have before completing any paperwork because it is required for absolutely everything. For the university, the flat, the doctor (although your EHIC should be enough for this), for the supermarket loyalty card and much more things!

You can get this ID from an italian revenue agency, also called "Agenzia delle Entrate". In Cassino you can find the office at the following address: Via Ausonia, 21, 03043 Cassino FR, Italia

Upon arriving, take a number and wait in whichever office. My advice is to not give them your address when they call you up. I’ll explain: I gave my address of Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain), as you can do, and the card never arrived.

This card is very important, especially for smokers because you need it to buy tobacco from the machines.

What about the address you have to give?

In the majority of places to be able to fill in a contract they will ask you for your fiscal code, but when you first arrive in Italy, it’s important to have an address for this. I suggest the two following alternatives:

1. If you sign the contract without a fiscal code, that’s not a problem, register the address of your flat and it will be sent by post.
2. Talk to the home-owner so they can give you the address and sign the contract with the code, having put the address of the flat before signing.

Do NOT pay any attention to the person that tells you that you can modify the address later on the contract, because I am still waiting for my card.

How is it calculated?

The code is a combination of 16 characters. The first three of your surname, the first three consonants, the next three consonants of your first name. The last two numbers are your birth year. The first letter of your birth month. The birthday, the town code (in this case, Cassino) and a letter such as one from ‘DNI’ (ID in Italian) that is calculated from the previous characters.

It is very important to know that two people can have the same code. In that very case, as can happen, people are responsible for making any changes. If you’re curious about what your 'Codice Fiscale' number would look like, I’ll leave a link at the end of this paragraph. In this link, put in the information that appears and it will calculate your number.

Here it is: Codice Fiscale

I hope this post has been useful and, as always, thank you very much for reading :)

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