If my licence requires glasses, can I drive with contact lenses?

Do not assume that contact lenses can replace glasses. Code 01 indicates a visual correction, but subcodes and the prescription on your licence may specify which aid to use. Read the full code entry and follow medical advice; if the document distinguishes aids, comply with the more specific restriction.

Code 01 and your individual prescription

The Italian Portale dell’Automobilista lists code 01 among harmonised codes for lenses or visual correction. Article 173 requires drivers to use aids prescribed when the licence was issued or renewed. The general code alone does not settle whether contact lenses are allowed: check any subcode and the conditions shown on your licence.

An annotation can specify the type of correction. If the licence says glasses only, do not substitute contact lenses on the assumption that the correction is equivalent; ask the clinician or issuing office. A medical prescription can describe your vision needs, but the driving condition to follow is the one recorded on the licence and required by law.

Use an approved correction and check the codes

Before driving, check the code column on the back and make sure you have the permitted aid with you, working and suitable for your prescription. If you were told to keep a backup correction, follow that advice. Do not drive without correction because the trip is short or because you can see well at that moment: the code is a condition of your entitlement.

For example, if the document allows a particular form of correction, use that one; if it has a more restrictive code, do not treat it as optional. After renewal or an update, check that the new licence shows the correct prescription and ask for a correction if you find an error.

Study and review harmonised codes and Italian licence rules with the quizzes in Quiz Patente Ufficiale.