In short: a courtesy car brings customers back. But without clear rules it can turn into arguments, fines and costs. Here is what you need to know about the rules in Italy, in plain words.
Free loan or rental?
This is the first question, and it changes everything.
- If the car is free, it is a free loan (comodato): you lend it to the customer without charging. You do not need a rental licence.
- If you charge for it, even a little, it is a rental. You need a rental licence, and with it come the obligations of a rental company, such as sending data to CarGOS (the Italian State Police system for rental data).
If you want to charge for the car but have no licence, some services let you rent out under someone else's licence: Movolab is one of them.
Do you need an agreement even if it is free?
Italian law does not require a free loan to be in writing, but a signed agreement is your best protection. It sets out:
- who uses the car and for how long;
- what condition it was in at handover (ideally with photos);
- who is liable for damage, fines and tolls while the car is out;
- the rules on fuel and mileage.
Without an agreement, every scratch becomes an argument.
If the customer keeps the car for more than 30 days
The Italian Highway Code (Codice della strada, article 94, paragraph 4-bis) says that when someone has exclusive and continuous use of a vehicle registered to someone else for more than 30 days, this must be reported to the Motorizzazione (the Italian vehicle registration office) so it can be noted on the registration certificate. Most courtesy cars come back within a few days, so this does not apply. But if a repair drags on, it is worth remembering.
Who pays for damage
It depends on what your agreement says and on what you can prove. That is why photos at handover and at return matter: if the car's condition is documented, new damage is plain to see, and you can ask whoever caused it to pay.
Who pays fines
The fine comes to you, because the car is yours. The Highway Code (article 196) makes you liable together with the driver. And for offences that carry penalty points, you must give the driver's details within 60 days of notification (article 126-bis).
In practice: you need to know who had the car on that day and at that time. With an accurate handover log you find out in a minute; without one, it means digging through paperwork and phone calls. We cover this in the article on fines.
What a courtesy car really costs
On top of the lease payment or purchase, insurance and maintenance, there are hidden costs: time at the front desk filling in forms, damage never recharged, fines paid on the customer's behalf, days when the car sits idle because nobody knows it has come back.
Two ways to make it pay for itself:
- Charge for it, with your own licence or through a service like Movolab.
- Recover the loss-of-use claim (vehicle downtime): when the customer's car is off the road after an accident, part of the cost of the replacement car can be recovered from the insurer.
How you do it with Movolab
One photo of the driving licence, and the agreement is signed on the tablet. Photos at handover and at return. Fines find the driver on their own. For a loss-of-use claim, two photos are enough, of the accident report (CID) and of the repair estimate: the file goes to the legal team and you follow the recovery in real time.
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This article is for information only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Last source check: October 2026.
Sources
- Highway Code (Codice della strada), art. 94, para. 4-bis — Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Motorizzazione: temporary registration for free loans (in Italian)
- Highway Code (Codice della strada), art. 196 — Brocardi, joint liability principle (in Italian)
- Highway Code (Codice della strada), art. 126-bis — Generali, failure to give the driver's details (in Italian)