How To Create an Italian tax code – Codice Fiscale

The Codice Fiscale is an alpha numeric code which is assigned to all Italians at birth.  Anyone who comes to live and work in Italy will need this code too.  I have one, even though I am not Italian.

Recently a number of readers have been having problems with Italian web sites which require a codice fiscale before certain operations can be carried out.  For example, online stores in Italy may request a codice fiscale before a purchase can be completed.

The trouble is, if you are not Italian, or not resident in Italy, you will probably not have one of these codes.  So here is how to obtain your very own, unofficial, Italian codice fiscale which should work OK with Italian online stores.

Those who need a real codice fiscale will also find instructions on where to go to obtain an offical one.

Codice Fiscale

Before I explain how to use an online system to create a codice fiscale be aware that if you ever need a real codice fiscale, the one you create using the system mentioned here may not be 100% accurate.

Problems can occur if more than one person has a similar name and surname, was born on exactly the same date and in the same ‘comune’.  OK, so this is going to be rare, but I thought I should mention this – just in case.

Note, again, that the code you create with this system is not official – to create a real codice fiscale you will need to come to Italy, get up early and go stand in a queue – see below.

Incidentally, I used the system below to calculate my own codice fiscale and the result was exactly the same as my actual official Italian codice fiscale code – but this is not always the case.  I have a codice fiscale because I live and work in Italy, even though I am not Italian.

If You Need an Official Codice Fiscale – Read This

PLEASE NOTE: The system mentioned on this page does not produce an official Italian Codice Fiscale.  If you need an official Codice Fiscale, then you must go to the offices of the Agenzia Delle Entrate.  There is more information, in English, on the Italian Agenzie Delle Entrate website: Health and Tax Code Section.

To get a real codice fiscale, you will need an identity document.  A passport, or birth certificate for young children, will be enough.

Get there Early

The offices issuing the codice fiscale are usually open from 8 in the morning until 1 in the afternoon.  It is a good idea to get there at opening time – or you may have to come back the next day.  In the bigger Italian cities, queues are likely to be long meaning that a morning off work is advisable.  If you tell your Italian boss where you are going, he or she will understand.  Many companies in Italy will help you with the creation of a codice fiscale, and may even go do the queuing for you.

Now, if you just want a codice fiscale to use on some Italian online store or other, here is how you can do it:

Codice Fiscale Creation Instructions

Remembering that this process will not create an official Codice Fiscale (Yes, In know I keep repeating this – if I don’t, you may forget, and moan), first of all, you will need to go to this site: http://www.comuni.it/servizi/codfisc/ (The link will open in a new window/tab, so you can refer to instructions which follow.)

You should see a screen which looks something like this:

Create an unofficial Codice Fiscale

Now, how to complete the screen, enter your

• Cognome – Surname – Jones

• Nome – First Name (from your passport) – Mark

• Sesso=sex – select M, if you are a man, or F, if you are the other.

First – longer box:

• Comune/Prov.: (o Stato estero) – Birthplace – in Italian, for Example ‘Gran Bretagna’ = Great Britain, ‘Stati Uniti’ = United States, etc, etc.

Second – small box:

• Prov - Your country – for those from outside Italy write ‘EE’.

Data di Nascita – Date of Birth

• Giorno=day – select a number eg 21

• Mese=month – select a month eg Aprile

Months in Italian and English

Gennaio – January
Febbraio – Feburary
Marzo – March
Aprile – April
Maggio – May
Giugno – June
Luglio – July
Agosto – August
Settembre – September
Ottobre – October
Novembre – November
Dicembre – December

• anno=year – enter eg 1967

Then click on ‘Calcola‘.  Again, note that this does not create an official Codice Fiscale, as has already been pointed out more than a few times.

On the next screen that you should see, will be your very own, unofficial, codice fiscale – make a note of the alpha numeric code.  It should look something like this: JNS JHN 67B02 Z404Z – 6 letters, then numbers and letters.

Now you can whiz off to acquire an unlocked Apple iPhone or whatever.

The codice fiscale serves in Italy as both a tax and health code.

Hope this helps.  And you might find this post:  How to Avoid Fines while Staying in Italy useful too – assuming you’ve arrived here before being fined, that is.

If you have problems, let me know.