Conversion Without a Test Exists Only Where Italy Has an Agreement With Your Country
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Suriname on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
98 exceptions recorded across 37 countries · none match Suriname to Italy · Driving and licence exchange
Once a foreign driver takes up registered residence in Italy, article 136 of the Highway Code lets them convert a valid non-EU licence into an Italian one without sitting the driving examination - but only where a specific bilateral understanding allows it, and on reciprocity. The converted licence is withdrawn and sent back to the issuing authority with the reasons. Where there is no understanding, the article is explicit the other way: no conversion is made of an EU licence that itself derives from a licence issued by a state Italy has no bilateral understanding with.
At a glance
- Conversion without an examination
- Only where a bilateral understanding allows it
- On what basis
- Reciprocity
- What happens to your old licence
- Withdrawn and returned to the issuing authority, with reasons
- Without an understanding
- No conversion - the article says so of derived EU licences in terms
- Which countries have one
- Not in the Code
Article 136 refers to specific bilateral understandings and does not list them; the list is administrative and is not read here.
Requirements
- Registered residence in Italy
- A valid licence from the issuing state
- A bilateral understanding between Italy and that state allowing conversion, on reciprocity
- The physical and mental requirements of article 119
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Suriname
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Fermo restando quanto previsto da accordi internazionali, il titolare di patente di guida in corso di validita', rilasciata da uno Stato non appartenente all'Unione europea o allo Spazio economico europeo, che abbia acquisito residenza anagrafica in Italia, puo' richiedere, la conversione della patente posseduta in patente di guida italiana senza sostenere l'esame di idoneita' di cui all'articolo 121, se consentito in specifiche intese bilaterali, a condizioni di reciprocita'. La patente di guida italiana e' rilasciata previo controllo del possesso da parte del richiedente dei requisiti fisici e psichici stabiliti dall'articolo 119. La patente convertita e' ritirata e restituita, da parte dell'ufficio della motorizzazione che ha provveduto alla conversione, all'autorita' dello Stato che l'ha rilasciata, precisandone i motivi. Le medesime disposizioni si applicano per le abilitazioni professionali, senza peraltro provvedere al ritiro dell'eventuale documento abilitativo a se' stante. 2. Qualora si proceda ai sensi del comma 1, sulla patente di guida italiana convertita e' annotata l'avvenuta conversione, sia in sede di rilascio che in sede di rinnovo o di duplicazione, e, se del caso, sulla stessa e' disposto provvedimento di revisione ai sensi dell'articolo 128. 3. Non si procede alla conversione di patente di guida comunitaria, derivante da patente rilasciata da Stati non appartenenti all'Unione europea o allo Spazio economico europeo, con i quali lo Stato italiano non ha concluso intese bilaterali.»The conversion rule and its mirror image. Paragraph 3 is the one that catches people who naturalised elsewhere in Europe on a Latin American licence.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Italian state's portal for legislation in force. It shows each article as currently amended, with an explicit testo in vigore dal date, and links the amending instruments.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It gives the text and not its interpretation. Article 3-bis reads clearly and has still generated years of litigation over what it means, which is why the Constitutional Court is watched alongside it. A consolidated text can also lag a very recent amendment.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The list of states with an understanding is the whole practical answer and it is not in the Code. Several Latin American states have one; this record does not say which, because nothing read here does.
Until residence is registered, driving on a foreign licence is governed by the articles before this one and by the traffic conventions, which this record does not reach.
- consolidatesCodice della strada, articolo 136
Normattiva, Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri
About this source
The Italian state's portal for legislation in force. It shows each article as currently amended, with an explicit testo in vigore dal date, and links the amending instruments.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It gives the text and not its interpretation. Article 3-bis reads clearly and has still generated years of litigation over what it means, which is why the Constitutional Court is watched alongside it. A consolidated text can also lag a very recent amendment.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source