The recent law allowing the scrapping of detained vehicles represents an important operational tool for Italian municipalities, called upon to manage an issue that has been an administrative and urban decency obstacle for years.
The rule, approved by **a bill signed by Hon. Gaetana Russo and the Hon. Fabio Raimondo, and published in the Official Journal as Law 14/2026, introduces changes to the regulation of out-of-use vehicles subject to administrative immobilisation, allowing them to be deleted from the Public Register of Motor Vehicles (PRA) even when they are immobilised and overcoming a long regulatory inertia which prevented the removal of unusable cars from the fleet and public registers.
For ANCI Lazio, the novelty is significant especially from a practical and environmental point of view. Speaking on the subject was Mauro Lombardo, Mayor of Guidonia Montecelio and member of the ANCI Lazio Executive in charge of productive activities, local development and industrial policies.
“The new rule resolves an administrative paradox that left abandoned or unusable vehicles under administrative detention for years, with negative impacts on decorum, urban safety and environmental protection,” said Lombardo. “The measure finally gives local authorities a clear and practicable tool to intervene. Now it is essential to accompany the implementation with shared operating rules, guidelines and technical protocols so that municipalities can transform the rule into effective services for citizens”.
The law provides that, once it has ascertained that the vehicle is unusable, the municipality - by means of formal acts - may proceed with its removal, demolition and cancellation from the PRA, even in the presence of immobilisation. The detention can no longer be used as a block to scrapping, if the requirements of “out of use” exist. The owner remains responsible for the costs of the procedure and no access to public incentives for the purchase of a new vehicle in the event of demolition in the presence of immobilisation.
Mr Lombardo also emphasised the importance of considering the issue not only from a bureaucratic perspective but also from an environmental and social one: “Removing vehicles that have been abandoned for years means improving urban quality, reducing traffic risks and enhancing recyclable material flows, creating an opportunity for a more efficient circular economy.
ANCI Lazio will closely follow the implementation of the rule, proposing a technical comparison between local authorities, law enforcement agencies, associations and operators in the sector to define clear, sustainable and uniform operational tools throughout the region.