Health Card: Complete Guide 2025

What is the Italian health card (tessera sanitaria)

The Italian health card (tessera sanitaria) is the plastic card every resident enrolled in the National Health Service (SSN) carries around. It does two jobs at once. On the front it is your national health ID, printed with your codice fiscale (Italian tax code) in both letters and a barcode. On the back it doubles as the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which covers you across the EU, the EEA, and Switzerland.

The card is issued by the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate). You did not apply for it, and you probably won't think about it until a pharmacist asks for it. That's the point — it just works in the background, tying your medical visits, prescriptions, and tax deductions to one identifier.

The health card and your codice fiscale

Here's the bit that confuses newcomers. The card and the codice fiscale are not two separate things — the card is simply the physical home of your tax code. That same 16-character string is what links your pharmacy purchases, your hospital records, and your annual tax return to you, and to nobody else.

What's printed on the card

• Surname and first name of the holder
• Codice fiscale (Italian tax code) in alphanumeric form
• Barcode of the tax code, for fast scanning at the till
• Expiry date of the card itself
• Region of residence, which routes you to the right SSN
• Local Health Authority (ASL) you belong to

Check that the code is actually right

Typos happen — a misread vowel, a name transliterated oddly, a wrong date of birth. The code on your card must match the registry and the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) exactly, or expenses can fail to attach to your return. Before you assume the printed code is correct, run it through our tax code checker: it confirms the code is formally valid in seconds. If you only have your personal details and want to see what the code should be, the codice fiscale calculator rebuilds it from name, birth date, and place of birth. Found a mismatch? Fix it first at your town registry (Anagrafe), then at the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate).

How to request the health card

Mostly, you don't. For Italian citizens enrolled in the National Health Service the card is issued automatically and mailed to your registered address. There is no form, no queue, no appointment.

When a card is sent out on its own

The system triggers a new card whenever you:

• Receive a codice fiscale for the first time
• Register residence in Italy
• Renew your enrollment with the SSN
• Approach the expiry of your current card

If you're a foreign resident

Non-Italian residents are entitled to the Italian health card (tessera sanitaria) too, provided a few boxes are ticked:

• You're properly enrolled in the SSN
• You hold a valid residence permit
• You've been assigned a definitive codice fiscale (not a temporary one)

Renewal and expiry

Cards don't last forever. The good news: renewal is hands-off in almost every case, so the new one usually beats the old one's expiry to your mailbox.

How long a card is valid

• Italian citizens: 6 years
• EU residents: tied to the length of your SSN enrollment
• Non-EU citizens: tied to your residence permit's expiry

Automatic renewal

The Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) posts a fresh card to your registered address about two months before the current one lapses. The new card carries a new validity window. But the codice fiscale stays the same — that number never changes, and it never expires.

If the renewal doesn't show up

1. Check the expiry date printed on your current card
2. Make sure your residence address is up to date
3. Log in to the Revenue Agency portal to check the card's status
4. Request a duplicate if it still doesn't arrive

Loss, theft, and getting a duplicate

Lost it down the back of the sofa? Had your wallet stolen? Put it through the wash? Whatever the reason, a duplicate is free and the process is quick.

Three ways to request a duplicate

The stopgap: a provisional card

While the duplicate is in the post, you can print a provisional card (valid for three months) from the Revenue Agency portal or pick one up at your ASL. It keeps you covered for prescriptions and visits in the meantime. Want the full step-by-step? Our dedicated health card guide walks through requesting and downloading it.

How to use the health card day to day

You'll reach for this card more often than you'd expect — and not only when you're unwell.

When you'll actually need it

• At your GP: for every appointment
• At the pharmacy: to collect prescription medicines
• At the CUP: to book visits and exams
• At the hospital: for admissions and treatment
• At labs: for tests and diagnostics
• Abroad: as your EHIC across the EU

For tax deductions

This is the part people forget. Every eligible medical expense — a dentist visit, a prescription, a specialist's fee — is transmitted automatically to the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) and pre-filled into your 730 tax return. The codice fiscale on the card is the key that links each receipt back to you. Worth keeping the card handy at the till, then. If you ever have a tax code in hand and want to read off the personal data encoded in it, our reverse tax code lookup decodes birth date, sex, and place of birth from the 16 characters.

The CNS health card (Carta Nazionale dei Servizi)

Some cards do more. The CNS health card is a smarter version of the standard one, fitted with a microchip that turns it into a digital key for public-administration services online.

What sets it apart

• Microchip: holds a digital certificate
• PIN: needs a personal code before it'll work
• Electronic signature: lets you sign documents digitally
• Public services access: an alternative to SPID for logging in

Activating the CNS

1. Confirm your card has a chip (usually on the left)
2. Request the PIN from your Region, online or at the ASL
3. Download the reader software from your regional website
4. Use a smart-card reader to connect it

Frequently asked questions