The executive car with driver (NCC)

For one to three passengers, or up to eight in a van-type car, Italy's answer is the NCC: noleggio con conducente. It is a public service but not a taxi. It cannot be hailed in the street, and every ride is booked in advance.

How NCC booking works

Bookings are made at the operator's garage or office, including by app. The operator's office and at least one garage are in the municipality that issued its authorisation, but pick-up and destination can be anywhere, even outside that province. The driver keeps a service sheet for each job: plate, driver, start and end, times, kilometres and the customer.

Drivers hold a category B licence and a KB professional certificate, from age 21.

Seats and luggage

Seats: 1-3 (up to 8 passengers in a van-type car)
Luggage: Boot space; choose a larger vehicle for more passengers or luggage

Rules and equipment on board

A car with driver hired in Italy is a public non-scheduled service (noleggio con conducente, NCC) under Legge 21/1992; a car (autovettura) has at most nine seats including the driver (L. 21/1992 art. 1; art. 54 c. 1 a, Codice della Strada)
NCC bookings are made at the operator's garage (rimessa) or office, including through apps and other technology (L. 21/1992 art. 3 c. 1 and art. 11 c. 4), so a car with driver is always booked in advance and cannot be hailed in the street
The operator's office and at least one garage are in the municipality that issued the authorisation; pick-up and drop-off may be outside that province (L. 21/1992 art. 3 c. 3 and art. 11 c. 4)
The Corte costituzionale (ruling 56/2020) struck down the rule that each NCC service had to start and end at the garage with a return to it, finding it unreasonable; the car no longer has to drive back empty to the garage between jobs
In municipalities with a taxi service, an NCC car may not wait for hire on public taxi stands, only at its garage, but it may stop on the street while waiting for the customer who booked it and during the service (L. 21/1992 art. 11 c. 3 and 4-ter); this is a waiting rule, not a duty to return to the garage between jobs
The driver keeps a service sheet (foglio di servizio) recording the plate, the driver, the start and end places, times and kilometres, the destination and the customer's details (L. 21/1992 art. 11 c. 4)
NCC car drivers hold a category B licence and a professional certificate (certificato di abilitazione professionale, type KB), from age 21 (art. 116 c. 8, Codice della Strada)

The garage rule that no longer applies

Older guides say an NCC car must start and end every job at its garage. The Constitutional Court struck that rule down in 2020 (ruling 56/2020), even though the printed law still shows the text. The car no longer drives back empty between jobs.

What still applies: in towns with a taxi service, the car may not wait for hire on a taxi stand, but it may stop in the street while it waits for the customer who booked it.

Airports and the coast

Councils may set NCC waiting areas at airports, ports and stations, apart from the taxi ranks, and taxis keep priority at the passenger exits. The meeting point is therefore part of the booking. At Venice airport, for example, the NCC areas went from one to five in July 2026.

On the Amalfi Coast, cars with driver were among the exemptions from the 2026 alternate-plate rule on the SS163; the 2027 calendar has not been published.

Questions organisers ask

Can the car wait while we are in a meeting?

It may stop in the street while waiting for the customer who booked it, though not on a taxi stand. Inside a ZTL, where it can stop depends on the local rules.

Do children need a child seat?

Children up to 1.50 m tall may travel without one only if they sit in the back with a passenger aged at least 16. Ask for child seats on the booking if you prefer them.

Can one car carry a small group?

A van-type car takes up to eight passengers. Above nine seats including the driver, the vehicle is a minibus and is hired as a bus.