A car is inspected April 14, 2025, at the vehicle registration office in Torri di Quartesolo, Italy, which serves U.S. personnel assigned to Vicenza. Members of the American military community in Vicenza can now fill out most vehicle registration forms online, shortening the time they have to spend in the office to register a vehicle. (Rebecca Holland/Stars and Stripes)
VICENZA, Italy — The Army in Italy has launched an online vehicle registration system, which officials say will reduce time service members and their families spend settling in as the busy summer moving season approaches.
The new system allows soldiers and civilian employees to submit most paperwork electronically. Once the preliminary information is approved, registration is finalized during an in-person appointment that should take just five to 10 minutes.
“Before we were doing most of this stuff in person, with paper. This should be something that is easy and convenient for newcomers,” said Rick Scavetta, spokesman for U.S. Army Garrison Italy.
A Stars and Stripes reporter recently tried out the new system, which rolled out in late March. Users fill out an online form with personal information and vehicle specifications, then receive an email with instructions for sending copies of documents such as the registration and title, proof of insurance, military-issued driver’s license, orders, ID card and bill of sale.
The documents should be approved within a few days. If not, the applicant should receive a message asking for information.
Once approved, users receive an email with appointment details for payment and signatures, as well as license plate information. Registration renewal appointments can be made on the U.S. Army Garrison Italy website.
The program was tested at Camp Darby in February and is now available at Caserma Ederle and Del Din in Vicenza.
Adoption of the speedier process by the Army in Italy comes on the heels of a huge backlog that began last year for Defense Department personnel at various places in Germany.
Service members in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which includes Ramstein Air Base and U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, often found themselves waiting in an electronic line numbering well past 1,000 people.
Actions to remedy the situation were taken there and in Bavaria, where soldiers at one point camped out in front of the vehicle registration office.
The changes in Italy are different from those in Germany, Scavetta said. But he added that the goal is the same: to get people out of administrative tasks and back to work as soon as possible.
“These things can be really time consuming, when what we need is people working, soldiers training,” he said.
holland.rebecca@stripes.com @_RebeccaHolland
