Como, residents’ car pass: renewal becomes annual

Context

TL;DR

• The residents' pass must be renewed every year.
• Expiry: December 31, including in 2026.
• With a parking space: two license plates; with a subscription: up to four.
• Without a parking space: loading/unloading, 45-minute stop.

Key facts

• Deadline → December 31 of every year, including 2026
• Renewal → municipal portal dedicated to services
• Private parking space → maximum two license plates and no street parking
• Families with a parking space or subscribed parking bay → up to four license plates
• Red APU → no passage, stopping or parking 24 hours a day

December 31 becomes the annual deadline for residents of Como's walled city who use a car to reach their homes. From now on, the authorization must be renewed by that date every year, including 2026. The rule marks a change from the previous situation: until now, generally speaking, permits did not have a fixed expiry date.

Renewal must be completed by accessing the municipal portal dedicated to these services. The clarification became necessary because, following the extensive public discussion of the Rapinese administration's resolution on reorganizing the ZTL, many people did not know what to do to continue reaching their homes.

Renewal applies to different categories

The plan distinguishes access rights based on the availability of a parking space. Owners or tenants of a private parking space have annual authorization for a maximum of two license plates, but are absolutely prohibited from parking on the street. For resident families with a parking space, or with a subscribed parking bay, the permit may be extended to up to four license plates.

Those without a parking space may enter only for loading and unloading operations in front of their home. Stopping is limited to 45 minutes. This is therefore not the same right granted to those who need to reach a private area with driveway access.

Also entitled to an annual permit are taxis, NCC (chauffeur-driven rental), healthcare workers, doctors carrying out urgent home visits, public-sector employees, media workers with a demonstrable need for access, and people accompanying students enrolled in schools within the ZTL. The latter are allowed to stop for 10 minutes during drop-off and pick-up times.

The new signage has yet to appear in the city. The signs will make the restrictions visible, including for bicycles, as well as the times for goods deliveries; according to the source, once they are installed, all the provisions of the new ZTL will become operational.

Operational details

For a cross-border commuter in a similar situation who resides in the walled city, the news concerns the municipal car pass and access to their home. The text provided does not present the reorganization of the Ztl as a change to permesso G, the AVS, the LPP, LAMal, rebates, or withholding tax. This distinction avoids conflating the renewal of the urban access permit with the legal frameworks governing cross-border employment: the practical point here is to understand which authorization is required for the car and in which area the home is located.

Red Apu and Green Apu

The strictest level is the Red Apu. Here, the prohibition on transit, stopping, and parking applies 24 hours a day, every day, to all vehicles, including those serving people with disabilities. Bicycles and scooters may pass through the gates only when pushed by hand. For those returning home by car, simply having a pass therefore does not amount to a general freedom of movement in the red zone.

The map includes the squares Duomo, Alessandro Volta, San Fedele, Cavour, Pietro Perretta, Giuseppe Mazzini, Piero Gobetti, Guido Grimoldi, Giuseppe Verdi. It includes in their entirety the streets Giocondo Albertolli, Serafino Balestra, Francesco Ballarini, Guido Grimoldi, Filippo Juvara, Alessandro Macchi, Maestri Cumacini, Francesco Muralto, Olginati, Pantero Pantera, Porta, Pretorio and Vitani. It also includes certain sections of Via Vincenzo Bellini, Via Caio Plinio Secondo, Via Cinque Giornate, Via Bernardino Luini, Via Natta, Via Odescalchi and Via Vittorio Emanuele II, according to the limits specified in the regulations.

The exceptions concern emergency vehicles, waste collection and mechanical street cleaning. Passage is also tolerated to reach private parking spaces with vehicular access; a specific authorization may cover temporary, non-recurring needs.

The Green Apu does not introduce a total ban: the source describes it as an area with a morning access window. The resolution provided 90 days, that is, three months, for the signage to appear; the expected deadline was the beginning of November. costo auto pendolare is available to assess the driving component of commuting separately.

Useful planning tools

To estimate your pension strategy, use the pension planner and the pillar 3 simulator.

Useful planning tools

To estimate your pension strategy, use the pension planner and the pillar 3 simulator.

Key points

The operating procedure

The first step is to classify your housing situation. Anyone who owns or rents a private parking space falls under the annual authorization for up to two license plates and must keep the right of access separate from on-street parking. Resident households with a parking space or a subscription parking spot may request an extension to up to four license plates. Anyone without a parking space must arrange entry only for loading and unloading in front of their residence, respecting the 45-minute limit.

The second step is to use the municipality’s portal dedicated to services. Renewal must be completed online through that portal. The deadline to mark is December 31 of every year, including 2026. This annual schedule replaces the previous prevailing situation, in which permits had no set date.

The third step concerns reading the signage once it is installed. The new signs must make the access restrictions visible, including those for bicycles, as well as delivery hours. In the red Apu, the continuous ban on transit, stopping and parking must be taken into account; bicycles and scooters may pass only when pushed by hand. In the green Apu, the source instead indicates a morning access window.

Authorized cases

If access is needed to reach a private parking space with a driveway entrance, passage is tolerated in the red Apu. Access for emergency vehicles, waste-collection vehicles and mechanical street-cleaning vehicles remains guaranteed. For contingent, non-continuous needs, a specific authorization is required. Taxis, chauffeur-driven rental operators, healthcare workers, doctors making urgent home visits, public-agency personnel, information workers with a proven need for access and school escorts follow the annual regime indicated by the source; for the latter, parking is limited to 10 minutes during entry and exit times.

Before entering, the check must also cover the parking prohibition: the permit does not change the street rule, and the absence of a parking space limits stopping to the operations indicated. To connect pass verification with the motoring costs of commuting, consult costo auto pendolare.

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Source: comozero.it

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