The electric scooter is about to lose its last breath as a light object, picked up on the fly, placed wherever it happens and treated like a cross between a lazy bike and a toy for belated adults. From mid-May the season of stamps, codes, online procedures, PagoPA receipts and DMV appointments begins. A small adhesive plaque, of course. Small just to look at.
The deadline for compliance closes on May 16th. The Motorist Portal indicates the entry into force of the obligation to drive with the sticker starting from 17 May 2026, after the directorial decree of 6 March 2026, published in the Official Journal on 17 March. The same notice invites those who already have an appointment scheduled after May 16th to try to reschedule it earlier, a sign that the bureaucratic step is creating more than one virtual queue.
The adhesive plate
The word “plate” immediately brings to mind a metal plate, a miniature motorbike, a workshop object. Here we are elsewhere. For electric scooters we are talking about an adhesive, plasticized identification mark, produced by the State Printing and Mint Institute, to be applied visibly and stably on the vehicle. The law links it to the owner through a unique alphanumeric combination, registered in the archives of the Motor Vehicle Authority. In essence, that scooter stops being an anonymous object that speeds along sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and creative parking lots. Become recognisable.
The declared objective is quite practical: to make it easier to identify the vehicle, to combat theft, exchanges, improper use and irregular circulation. The law prohibits the circulation of unmarked scooters, with altered, counterfeit or poorly visible markings. The same penalty range also concerns the absence of insurance coverage when the related obligation becomes operational. For those who drive in violation of these rules, the fine ranges from 100 to 400 euros. With payment within five days, when permitted, the reduction foreseen for the administrative sanctions of the Highway Code comes into effect.
As requested
The practice passes through the Motorist Portal, within the “Online Practice Management” application. The owner must fill out the form, pay the fee via PagoPA, upload the required documentation and choose the Civil Motorization office where to physically collect the permit. For citizens and businesses the Portal is the direct channel; automotive consultancy firms can operate as delegates through the Transport Portal.
The basic cost of the sticker is set at 8.66 euros, a figure that includes production, VAT and the amount allocated to road safety activities. To this sum are added stamp duty and Motorization fees, bringing the total expense to around 33 euros. For those who own multiple scooters it is possible to submit only one cumulative application: a single tax, while the price of the sticker and fees are paid for each vehicle.
For minors aged 14 and over, the request goes through the person with parental responsibility. In the case of non-EU citizens, legal entities or agency practices, other attachments are needed, from the copy of the residence permit to the company documentation, up to the delegation. Translated into real life: before sitting down at the computer it is best to prepare documents, receipts and a signed form, because the platform wants everything in order.
If you sell it, we start again
The mark follows the person, rather than the object. In the event of sale of the scooter or transfer of ownership, the old owner must remove it and request its cancellation through the platform. The new owner will submit a new request. Same logic in case of theft or loss: a report to the authorities is required, with protocol number and date to be communicated online. The mark is canceled and, if needed, another one is requested.
It is a small bureaucracy of ownership, with a very concrete effect. The scooter remains an agile, urban means of transport, often useful for short journeys, yet it enters into a system of responsibility more similar to that of other vehicles. Whoever uses it must know where it circulates, how to park it, who owns it, who is responsible in the event of an inspection.
Insurance in July
The second step comes two months later. The Motorist’s Portal reports that the deadline from which companies will be required to offer car insurance policies for scooters has been postponed to 16 July 2026. The law provides that scooters with predominantly electric propulsion can only circulate with coverage for civil liability towards third parties, according to article 2054 of the Civil Code and the Private Insurance Code.
Here the knot is less spectacular than the license plate and much heavier. The license plate allows identification. Insurance is useful when something goes wrong: a pedestrian is hit, a fall is caused, damage to a vehicle, a maneuver is done badly. The scooter, for years described as a rapid symbol of urban micromobility, thus enters a less carefree phase. More controls, more obligations, more costs. Even more clarity.
Meanwhile, some cities are already choosing very tough lines on sharing. Florence has decided to stop rental electric scooters from 1 April 2026, after the rejection of the suspension by the Tuscany TAR against the municipal resolution. A signal that the issue now goes beyond the single vehicle and concerns the management of urban space: pavements, safety, parking, controls, coexistence with those who walk.
For those who use a private scooter, however, the immediate question is much simpler: having the mark applied, visible, legible. Then the policy will arrive. Then, as always, the rest will come: checks, fines, appeals, interpretations, sold out appointments and someone convinced that it is enough to say “I’ll do it tomorrow”. Tomorrow, this time, has a sticker on it.
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