A Car with Driver for the Few Who Travel Apart

Not everyone in a party rides in the minibus. The bride and groom, a guest of honour, a manager on a tight schedule: for a party of one to three, or a van-type car seating up to eight, a car with driver fits.

What NCC means

In Italy a car hired with its driver is noleggio con conducente, or NCC, a public non-scheduled service under Legge 21/1992. A car has no more than nine seats including the driver. You book through the operator's garage (rimessa) or office, or through an app, which is why the car is always arranged ahead and can never be flagged down in the street like a taxi.

Each NCC business keeps its office and a garage in the town that licensed it. Pick-ups and drop-offs are not tied to that province, though, so a car may travel a long way to collect you.

What it is like on board

NCC car drivers hold a category B licence and a professional certificate (certificato di abilitazione professionale, type KB), from age 21 (art. 116 c. 8, Codice della Strada)
The driver keeps a service sheet (foglio di servizio) recording the plate, the driver, the start and end places, times and kilometres, the destination and the customer's details (L. 21/1992 art. 11 c. 4)
In municipalities with a taxi service, an NCC car may not wait for hire on public taxi stands, only at its garage, but it may stop on the street while waiting for the customer who booked it and during the service (L. 21/1992 art. 11 c. 3 and 4-ter); this is a waiting rule, not a duty to return to the garage between jobs
The Corte costituzionale (ruling 56/2020) struck down the rule that each NCC service had to start and end at the garage with a return to it, finding it unreasonable; the car no longer has to drive back empty to the garage between jobs
The operator's office and at least one garage are in the municipality that issued the authorisation; pick-up and drop-off may be outside that province (L. 21/1992 art. 3 c. 3 and art. 11 c. 4)
NCC bookings are made at the operator's garage (rimessa) or office, including through apps and other technology (L. 21/1992 art. 3 c. 1 and art. 11 c. 4), so a car with driver is always booked in advance and cannot be hailed in the street
A car with driver hired in Italy is a public non-scheduled service (noleggio con conducente, NCC) under Legge 21/1992; a car (autovettura) has at most nine seats including the driver (L. 21/1992 art. 1; art. 54 c. 1 a, Codice della Strada)

The old return-to-garage rule

You may read that an NCC car must go back to its garage after every job. The Corte costituzionale struck that rule down in ruling 56/2020, finding it unreasonable, and the car no longer has to drive back empty between jobs.

Some waiting rules remain. Where a town has taxis, NCC cars cannot sit on taxi ranks touting for hire; stopping on the street is allowed while the car waits for its booked passenger and during the ride. Airports, ports and stations may have NCC waiting zones set apart by the council, and at the passenger exits taxis come first.

The paperwork

The driver keeps a service sheet with the plate, the driver's name, the start and end points, times and kilometres, the destination and the customer's details. Behind the wheel: a category B licence, the professional KB certificate on top, and a minimum age of 21.

What travellers ask us

Do children need a car seat?

Without one, a child no more than 1.50 m tall must sit in the back, together with a passenger of 16 or over. Give ages and heights when booking.

Can the car wait during the ceremony?

Yes. It can stop near the church while waiting for you, though not on a taxi stand.

Can I book on the day?

An NCC car is always reserved in advance, and the earlier you ask, the wider the choice.