Dear Early Porsche enthusiasts,
Today marks the end of my four-month odyssey with the Italian "Motorizzazione Civile" (I’ll explain below what it is and how it works). I’m thrilled to share that it finally came to a happy conclusion!
A big thank you to @Biancaneve for his invaluable help and guidance throughout this process.
Disclaimer:
This recount of the entire procedure is by no means a critique of the employees of the various entities involved. They are simply following the rules or orders set by others and doing what they can within their constraints. However, I did notice a general attitude of “please don’t bother us with these unusual requests.”
Now, here’s the story: This journey began with my curiosity about uncovering the history of my 1973 Porsche 911S, which was delivered to Italy in October 1972. Specifically, I wanted to find out who its previous owners were.
After exchanging messages with @Biancaneve, in September last year initially visited the nearest Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) office to request a database search using the car’s VIN (as I don’t have any information about its previous Italian license plates). Here’s my first piece of advice for anyone in a similar situation: if you don’t know the car’s Italian license plate, skip ACI altogether and go directly to the "Motorizzazione Civile" to request a VIN search (called VISURA TELAIO in Italian). This is what the ACI staff ultimately advised me to do.
When I visited the "Motorizzazione Civile" (the same day, the offices are almost next to each other), I encountered significant confusion. For context, the "Motorizzazione Civile" is the government agency in Italy responsible for vehicle registration, driver licensing, and ensuring compliance with transport regulations. In this case, they oversee the vehicle ownership registry.
Despite explaining my request multiple times (in reasonably understandable Italian), showing all kinds of documents proving I was the legal owner of the car they were reluctant and at one point the employee gave me a phone number and asked me to call the "Engineer" (a senior official at the registry, which for those that know Italian culture was very funny). After 5-10 minutes I was not getting anywhere.
Finally, I invoked the European Union laws regulating public access to information, which compelled them to provide me with a form called “Diritto di Accesso ai Documenti Amministrativi” (Right to Access Administrative Documentation). Note that this form is a regional document, and each Italian region likely has its own version.
After completing the form, I asked how long it would take to retrieve the information. They told me it would take 30 days, but this turned out to be wildly optimistic.
Follow-Up and Additional Forms
After 40 days, I was contacted with further questions about the car’s ownership. Apparently, the car was still listed as “registered” with the Italian authorities. When the car was sold from its last Italian owner to a German buyer, the registration likely lapsed, and no one notified the Italian registry.
To address this, I had to provide all the documentation I had on the car’s German owners and complete another form called “Dichiarazione Sostitutiva di Atto di Notorietà” (Statement in Lieu of a Sworn Statement). This form is essentially a sworn declaration of all the information I had about the car.
It then took almost 60 more days for the authorities to produce a document (attached here), which still lacks information on the first 12 years of the car’s ownership.
Cost and Delivery Challenges:
The cost for processing the document was EUR 26.20, which was very reasonable. However, when the document was finally ready, I asked if it could be sent via mail or email, but they refused. Instead, they required me to "pick it up in person", adding unnecessary inconvenience to the process.
While I’m glad to have made progress, my search for the missing details now moves to Salerno (anyone with a contact at the local Porsche club will be very helpful).
This process has been long and complicated, but for those who share a passion for uncovering the history of classic cars, it’s an adventure worth undertaking.
I’ll keep you updated as I dig deeper into the car’s story!
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