Credit licence: clarifications of the National Labour Inspectorate

by Marta Vignati

In Note No. 9326 dated Dec. 9, 2024, the National Labor Inspectorate provided the first clarifications regarding the mechanism of the so-called “Credit License”, provided by Article 27 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008, which was introduced to qualify companies and self-employed workers working at temporary or mobile construction sites. 

In particular, the Principal or Project Manager in charge of the works is required to verify the possession of the “credit license”, equivalent documents for foreign companies or SOA certification by the executing companies and/or self-employed workers.

1. Principals and Project Managers who do not carry out the necessary checks
In relation to this requirement, several hypotheses should be distinguished: 

  • a) Absence of driver's license or SOA attestation: if the Principal or the Project Manager in charge of the works has not verified the authorization title and assigned the work to a person without a license or SOA attestation will be punished with an administrative fine from 711.92 euros to 2,562.91 euros pursuant to Legislative Decree No. 81/2008
  • b) Assignment of work to a person in possession of a license but with a score of less than 15 credits: similar penalty will apply in case of assignment of work to parties who, on the date of assignment, hold a license of less than 15 credits.


2. Penalties for Companies or self-employed person operating without a licence or with less than 15 points

  • a) Suspension and revocation of driver's license and driver's license with a score below 15 credits: the above penalty will not be applied against the principal or the person in charge of the work if, only after the assignment, the license is lost due to suspension, revocation or reduction of credits below 15. In respect of the contractor or self-employed worker only, the penalty under Article 27, paragraph 11, of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 (10 percent of the value of the work and, in any case, not less than 6,000 euros) will apply. In these cases, it appears of fundamental importance to identify the time of the entrustment of the work on which every appropriate investigation should be carried out without relying solely on the date stated in the contract signed between the parties. These penalties apply only to work assigned after Oct. 1, 2024.

3. Exceptions to the requirement to hold a credit licence
There are two exceptions to the requirement to hold a credit license with at least 15 credits or SOA attestation:

  • a) A first exception to the requirement to hold a license is found in the last sentence of paragraph 2 of Article 27, according to which, “pending the issuance of the license, the performance of the activities referred to in paragraph 1 is still allowed, unless otherwise notified by the National Labor Inspectorate.”
  • b) A second exception pertains to the possession of the license endowed with at least 15 credits is contained in the same paragraph 10, which allows the successful completion of contracted or subcontracted activities in progress when the work performed is more than 30 percent of the value of the contract, without prejudice to the adoption of the measures to suspend the business activity referred to in Article 14 of the same Legislative Decree No. 81/2008. This hypothesis evidently finds application in cases in which a person already in possession of a license has incurred a reduction of credits during the execution of activities already begun, so as to result in a reduction of the remaining credits below the threshold limit of 15. As clarified by Circular No. 4/2024, for such cases it is necessary to verify the value of the work planned under the individual contract or subcontract, as reported in the relevant specifications or contract signed by the individual company or self-employed worker, and not the value of the work referred to the worksite as a whole. If the value of the work performed is more than 30 percent of the value of the work entrusted to the license holder at the same site, the license holder may terminate ongoing activities on the same site, while on any other site where the work has not reached that percentage the activity will obviously have to cease given the absence of the licensing title. The proof is on the company or self-employed person, who, in default, will not be able to avail themselves of the opportunity to complete the work. The exception contained in Paragraph 10 is clearly not applicable for those who have been found to be completely unlicensed or who have not submitted the relevant application through the dedicated portal.