The new Simplification Decree eliminates the mandatory renewal after the age of 70. But doubts remain about validity, updates and times of entry into force. And from August the mandatory electronic identity card will be introduced
Goodbye to the mandatory renewal of the identity card for those over 70. The document becomes “unlimited time”. Less bureaucracy, more simplification. This is the spirit of the new Simplification Decree, arriving in Parliament, which introduces the new rule. The Minister for Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo announced the new rules. But there are points to clarify and, on the horizon, an important deadline is approaching: from August 2026 the electronic identity card will be mandatory for everyone.
New rules for the over 70s: no more renewal of the identity document
For those over the age of 70, identity card renewal becomes a thing of the past. Today the document is valid for ten years for adults, but with the new rule the duration will become unlimited (or in any case “much longer”) once the threshold of 70 is exceeded. An apparently technical change, but which directly affects over seven million citizens. Elderly people who often find themselves dealing with slow bureaucracy, difficult to obtain appointments and overloaded registry offices.
The measure is part of the “Let’s make Italy simple” program, which collects citizens’ proposals on how to lighten the administrative machinery.
The points to be clarified about the identity card without expiration for over 70s: validity, updates and times
Several aspects remain to be defined. What will happen, for example, to those who are 68 or 69 today and have a card that expires when they turn 70? Will you have to renew it one last time, or will you be able to consider the document valid indefinitely? Another critical point concerns the updating of personal data: the photograph, marital status or address can change even at an advanced age. How will these changes be managed in the absence of periodic renewal? Finally, the great unknown: when the rule will actually come into force. The decree should arrive in Parliament by the end of the month, but it will take time to define the technical details and methods of application. It is likely that the actual entry into force will take place during 2026, but postponements cannot be ruled out.
From August 2026 only electronic identity card: what changes
On the document front, however, another deadline looms: from 3 August 2026 the paper identity card will no longer be valid, even if the expiry date is later. The replacement with the Electronic Identity Card (CIE) will be mandatory for all Italian citizens. The measure responds to a European regulation that requires documents equipped with microchips and MRZ (Machine Readable Zone) to guarantee common security standards in the Union. In Italy the change still affects around 5 million people, equal to 8% of the population, who have not yet made the switch. Those who have not yet renewed, however, would do well to move in time: waiting times in the registry offices are already getting longer, and the last year’s rush risks creating a real bureaucratic traffic jam.
