Poste Italiane has reached the milestone of 100,000 passports issued, a little more than a year after the launch of the service. The record-setting passport was delivered in Abruzzo, at the “Pescara 6” post office in the Adriatic city. The passport issuance and renewal service in post offices began in March last year, following an agreement signed between Poste Italiane, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy. After an initial rollout in municipalities with fewer than 15,000 residents – as part of the Polis Project – the service was extended to larger urban centers.
Passports available at post offices
Today, citizens can apply for or renew their passports in 2,305 Polis post offices and 415 post offices located in major cities such as Bologna, Verona, Rome, Cagliari, Vicenza, Monza, Venice, Perugia, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, Milan, Naples, and Pescara. The expansion of the service will continue progressively until it covers the entire national network. In addition to simplifying bureaucratic procedures, the initiative helps close the gap between urban and rural areas, providing a vital service to residents of Italy’s most remote communities. One such example is Terranova di Pollino, in the province of Potenza, where citizens once had to travel up to 150 kilometers to obtain a passport. Thanks to Poste Italiane’s extensive network, the passport issuance and renewal service has significantly reduced waiting times for citizens and provided valuable support to the work of the State Police.
Comments from CEO Lasco
“Reaching the milestone of 100,000 passports in just over a year demonstrates the inclusive and social value of the service provided by Poste Italiane in collaboration with national institutions,” said Giuseppe Lasco, Chief Executive Officer of Poste Italiane. “We are offering citizens an essential service that will be further expanded and made even more accessible in the coming months. Poste Italiane continues along its path of innovation and community engagement, reaffirming its strategic role for the country and helping make everyday life easier for citizens.”
Key figures of the initiative
The success of the initiative is reflected in the numbers: more than 77,000 applications for passport issuance or renewal have been processed through the 2,305 Polis offices located in municipalities with fewer than 15,000 inhabitants, and over 30,000 through the other 415 post offices in large urban areas. Among the municipalities with fewer than 15,000 residents participating in the Polis Project, the province of Verona leads with over 9,000 passports issued, followed by the province of Vicenza with more than 8,800, the province of Monza with around 5,700, and the province of Bologna with over 5,300. The Polis post office that issued the highest number of passports is in San Pietro in Casale, in the province of Bologna, which, with a population of 12,701, has issued a total of 560 passports. The Polis works there were completed in November 2023. The smallest municipality where passports have been issued is Carapelle Calvisio, in the province of L’Aquila, with just 78 residents.
