Arrested in Italy: what happens and what to do
An arrest in Italy must be reviewed by a judge within 96 hours of the arrest. Until that hearing almost nothing is decided, and what you say before it can shape everything that follows. You have the right to stay silent and the right to an interpreter, and both are worth using.
What to do now
Six things, in order.
- Say that you want a lawyer, and then stop talking. You are not required to explain yourself, and an explanation given without advice, through an interpreter you did not choose, is the material that gets used later.
- Ask for an interpreter. Not a bilingual officer, an interpreter. This is a right, not a courtesy, and questioning should not proceed without one if you do not follow Italian.
- Do not sign anything you have not understood. A signature on a document you could not read is very hard to undo afterwards.
- Give a contact. One name, one number. That person can instruct a lawyer for you within the hour.
- Ask for your consulate to be notified if you want it. It is your choice, and it is not automatic in every case.
- Note the time. The clock that matters starts at the moment of arrest, not at the moment you arrive at the station.
What you do not do in the first hours matters more than what you do. There is no version of this in which talking your way out at the police station works better than saying nothing and waiting for a lawyer.
The first 48 hours
The sequence is fixed and short.
The police must inform the prosecutor of the arrest without delay. The prosecutor then has 48 hours from the arrest to ask the judge to confirm it. The judge must hold the confirmation hearing within 48 hours of receiving that request. The outer limit is therefore 96 hours from arrest to hearing, and in practice it is usually shorter.
At that hearing three things happen at once: the judge decides whether the arrest was lawful, decides whether you should be held, released, or placed under a lesser measure, and questions you if you wish to be questioned. Your lawyer must be present. This is the first real point at which the case can be moved, and it is also the point at which most foreign nationals arrive without having chosen anyone.
If you are reading this for someone else
You are probably not in Italy, and you may not know where the person is being held. You can still act today.
- You can instruct a lawyer on their behalf. Confirmation from the detained person follows at the first meeting; it does not need to come first.
- A lawyer can find out which police station or prison holds them, which prosecutor has the file, and when the confirmation hearing is listed. That call takes minutes and you cannot make it yourself from abroad.
- You do not need to travel. Nothing in the first 48 hours requires your physical presence in Italy.
- Money can be sent to a detained person in Italy, but through a defined procedure that varies by prison.
The single most useful thing you can do is get a lawyer appointed before the confirmation hearing rather than after it.
Instructing a lawyer
Italy appoints a duty lawyer automatically if you have not chosen one. That lawyer is a real lawyer with real obligations, but they are assigned case by case, may not speak English, and are not chosen by you.
You can replace the duty lawyer at any time, including at the confirmation hearing itself. Doing it before the hearing is better than after.
If you are outside Italy you can instruct us by email and a signed authority; you do not need to come here to do it.
How this differs from the US and the UK
There is no bail system in the Italian sense. You cannot post an amount and walk out. The judge chooses between release, a non-custodial measure such as an obligation to stay in a given place or a ban on leaving the country, and custody. Money plays almost no part in it.
Three further assumptions that travel badly.
- There is no caution read on arrest in the American sense. There are warnings, given by the prosecutor or judge before questioning, not by the arresting officer at the roadside.
- The prosecutor does not choose whether to prosecute. Under the Italian constitution prosecution is mandatory. There is no equivalent of a decision not to charge as a matter of discretion, and negotiating with the prosecutor not to bring the case is not a strategy that exists.
- There is no felony/misdemeanour split. Italian law divides offences differently, and the thresholds that matter are the maximum sentence attached to each provision.
Common questions
What should I do if I am arrested in Italy?
Say you want a lawyer and stop talking. Ask for an interpreter, sign nothing you have not understood, and give one contact who can instruct a lawyer for you. A judge must review the arrest within 96 hours.
How long can Italian police hold me without charge?
The prosecutor must ask a judge to confirm the arrest within 48 hours, and the judge must hold that hearing within a further 48 hours. The outer limit is 96 hours from the moment of arrest.
Do I get a phone call when arrested in Italy?
You are entitled to have a family member informed, and to have your consulate notified if you are a foreign national. It is not framed as a single phone call in the American sense, and the police may make the contact for you.
What is a convalida dell arresto hearing?
It is the hearing where a judge decides whether the arrest was lawful and whether you stay in custody. It happens within 96 hours of arrest, your lawyer must attend, and you may be questioned if you choose.
Do I have to appear before a judge after arrest?
Yes. The confirmation hearing takes place regardless of what you want, and you are brought to it. What is optional is whether you answer questions once you are there.
What is the difference between arresto and fermo?
Arresto follows being caught in the act or shortly after. Fermo is ordered where there is a serious suspicion and a risk of flight, without anyone having been caught in the act. Both go before a judge within the same timescale.
Can I be arrested for something I did before entering Italy?
Yes, if another country has issued a European Arrest Warrant or an extradition request, or if Italy has jurisdiction over the conduct. Arrest at the border or at an airport on an old warrant is common.
Help arrested in Italy: who can act first?
A lawyer instructed from abroad by a family member can locate the person, identify the prosecutor, and appear at the confirmation hearing. None of that requires the detained person to have signed anything yet.
Provisions relied on
- Artt. 380-391 c.p.p. (arresto, fermo, convalida)
- Art. 143 c.p.p. (interprete)
- Art. 36 Convenzione di Vienna 1963 sulle relazioni consolari
Checked 15/08/2026. Italian sentencing provisions change; if you are reading this long afterwards, ask us to confirm.