A card issued to an Italian citizen is accepted in lieu of a passport to exercise the right of free movement in the European Economic Area and Switzerland or to travel to those countries with which Italy has signed specific agreements.

[17] In 1931, during the Fascist regime, the Kingdom of Italy adopted the identity card for reasons of public security, based on the article 3 of the Law 773/1931.

[25] The production turned out to be complex and inefficient due to the materials and mainly to the transfer printing machines which any municipality had to install to make the card.

[26] Therefore, on 23 December 2015 the government decided to use a single centralized manufacturing site, which is the IPZS in Rome (where Italian passports are made), and set the specifications of the next model.

[20] According to the Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 of 20 June 2019,[31] the phasing-out of every classic identity card shall be completed by 3 August 2026, because it does not meet the minimum security standards and does not include a functional MRZ.

[31] On 18 July 2019, the Minister of Foreign Affairs signed a decree allowing Italians who reside abroad to request an electronic identity card.

[35] As per decree of 21 July 2022[36] which complies with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2019/1157,[31] on 29 September 2022 the design was slightly changed,[37] with the addition of the two-letter country code "IT" inside an EU flag (in the top left corner) as well as inside a square with optically variable ink (in the bottom right corner) and with a different position of the warning if it is not valid abroad.

[34][42] Foreign citizens who have a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) can also request the Italian CIE, but this will be valid only in Italy.