Shipping your belongings to Italy: customs and household goods

Moving to Italy from the United States raises a practical question early: what to bring, and what Italian customs will charge for it. The good news is that the European Union has a relief for people transferring their normal residence from outside the EU, and Italy applies it through its customs and monopolies agency, the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM). Used household goods you have owned for a while can usually enter without import duty or VAT, if you meet the conditions and file the right paperwork.

Vaughn, who runs this site, lived and worked in Italy. This guide is reference material built from ADM, EU and US Customs and Border Protection pages, checked on the date shown on this page. Customs offices decide individual cases, so confirm your situation with the office where your goods will clear.

The short version

• The EU transfer of residence relief (Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009) lets personal property enter free of import duties when you move your normal residence from a non-EU country.
• You must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months, and have owned and used the goods for at least 6 months before leaving.
• Goods must be cleared within 12 months of establishing residence in Italy, and may arrive in several shipments.
• Excluded: alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles, and professional equipment other than portable instruments.
• In Italy you file ADM form Mod. F-01 A (after you have residence) or Mod. F-01 B (before, with a guarantee).
• Moving back later? CBP lets household items used abroad for at least a year return duty free.

The rules behind the relief

The EU's summary of Regulation 1186/2009 explains that it sets out the cases where goods enter the EU free of import duties. The first category is the personal property of people changing their normal place of residence from a non-EU country to an EU member state, provided they lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months.

Italy's ADM applies this through its customs relief pages ("franchigie doganali"). ADM's form for a transfer of residence states the conditions in plain terms. The applicant declares:

• residence outside the EU customs territory for at least 12 consecutive months;
• normal residence in Italy established not more than 12 months earlier, in a named municipality;
• that the goods were owned for at least 6 months before the date the previous residence in the non-EU country ended;
• that the goods will be used for the same purposes at the new residence;
• that the goods will not be lent, pledged, rented out or transferred, whether for payment or free, for at least 12 months after import without telling the customs office first.

The regulation also allows the competent authorities to make an exception to the 12-month rule when the person clearly intended to live outside the EU for at least 12 months. If your time in the US was interrupted, ADM's FAQ says you need to show that intention.

What counts as personal property

The ADM form describes the goods covered as household goods and personal effects ("masserizie ed effetti personali"), plus household provisions in the quantities a family normally keeps. Used registered vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trailers and caravans, can be included on the same form, with their details.

The form lists what is excluded:

• alcoholic products;
• tobacco and tobacco products;
• commercial means of transport;
• equipment for professional use other than portable instruments of the mechanical arts or liberal professions;
• any goods subject to an import ban, or that need a license or authorization from another Italian authority.

That last point matters for items such as firearms, certain plants and food, and medicines in quantity. Those fall under separate rules, so check them before packing rather than at the port.

ADM's 2022 circular on duty relief adds a useful detail: audiovisual equipment imported as household goods on a transfer of residence does not need CE marking. Your US television can come with you, even if it will need a plug adapter.

The ADM forms: F-01 A and F-01 B

ADM publishes two forms for a transfer of residence into Italy:

1. Mod. F-01 A, without guarantee. For people who have already established residence in Italy. You attach proof of your former residence outside the EU, proof of residence in Italy, the inventory and your ID.
2. Mod. F-01 B, with guarantee. For goods that arrive before you have established residence. Regulation 1186/2009 allows this if you commit to establishing residence within six months, and the customs authority asks for a security (guarantee), whose form and amount it sets.

### Supporting documents

The F-01 A form lists the evidence it accepts. For your former residence outside the EU you tick at least one of: a statement from your employer in that country, a lease or proof of home ownership there, AIRE registration or a consular certificate (relevant mostly for Italian citizens), or a Foreign Ministry accreditation for diplomats and journalists.

For residence in Italy you provide a self-certification of residence, or a copy of your residence application to the municipality together with something like a registered lease, utility contract or employment contract.

You also attach:

• a list of the household goods and personal effects (the inventory);
• for vehicles, the foreign registration document or other proof the vehicle was used abroad for at least six months before the move;
• a copy of your ID.

The form also asks for the value of the goods, for customs purposes only, with vehicles valued separately. You can handle the clearance yourself or name someone to do it for you, which is how most moves with a moving company work.

Building a good inventory

The inventory is the document customs officers look at most closely. A practical one:

• numbers every box and lists the contents of each in plain language;
• separates household goods from any vehicle;
• gives a realistic value per box or category;
• marks items that are new, because the relief is built around goods you already owned and used;
• is translated into Italian, or written in both languages, if your mover or the customs office asks.

Keep receipts or photos showing older items in use if you have them. The six-month ownership rule is what you may need to prove.

Timing a sea or air shipment

Because relief is tied to the date you establish residence, timing matters. If your container lands before you have registered your residence with the municipality, you are in F-01 B territory, with a guarantee. If it lands after, you can use F-01 A, as long as it is within 12 months. Regulation 1186/2009 allows several separate consignments within that 12-month window, so an air shipment of essentials and a later sea shipment can both qualify.

Many people find it simplest to bring what they need for the first weeks in their luggage, register their residence, and have the main shipment clear afterward.

Shipping luggage ahead

For a smaller move, especially for someone renting furnished, a full container is often more than you need. An alternative is sending suitcases and boxes ahead with a door-to-door luggage service so they arrive around the same time you do. You can compare options with Luggage Forward, which ships bags and boxes door to door. Whatever service you use, customs rules still apply to what is inside, so keep the same inventory discipline and confirm with the carrier how the items will be declared on arrival in Italy.

Moving back to the US later

If you return, US Customs and Border Protection has its own rules. CBP says items used in your household abroad are duty free if you used them for at least one year while abroad and they are not intended for anyone else or for sale. CBP treats clothing, jewelry, photography equipment, electronics and vehicles as personal effects, not household effects, so they cannot come in duty free on that basis, though duty is usually waived on personal effects more than a year old. All vehicles are dutiable. For shipments that do not travel with you, CBP uses Form 3299, the declaration for free entry of unaccompanied articles.

Practical checklist

• Confirm you meet the 12-month and 6-month conditions.
• Decide whether your goods will arrive before or after you register residence.
• Download the right ADM form (F-01 A or F-01 B).
• Prepare a numbered inventory with values.
• Gather proof of US residence and Italian residence.
• Leave out alcohol, tobacco and restricted items.
• Keep copies of everything for the 12 months the goods cannot be sold or lent.

Common questions

Do I pay import duty on my furniture when moving to Italy from the US? Usually not, if you lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months, owned and used the goods for at least 6 months, and clear them within 12 months of establishing residence, using ADM form F-01 A or F-01 B.

Can my shipment arrive before I have Italian residence? Yes. Regulation 1186/2009 allows relief before residence if you commit to establishing it within six months and give a guarantee. In Italy this is ADM form F-01 B.

Can I sell my imported furniture soon after the move? Not freely. For 12 months after import, goods admitted duty free may not be lent, pledged, rented out or transferred without notifying customs first, otherwise duty becomes payable.

Can I bring wine or cigarettes in my household shipment? Not under the relief. Alcoholic products and tobacco are excluded and are subject to normal duties and limits.