Within the next few weeks, to access the electronic school register you will need a digital identity, via SPID or CIE: this is what is established by the Simplifications DDL (Law 182/2025), which in article 51 introduces the obligation to access online registers via the public system for the digital identity of citizens and businesses (SPID, now also paid with Poste Italiane) or the electronic identity card (CIE).
The legislation does not specify exactly when this innovation will come into force: in any case, the transition should be complete for all schools in Italy within a few weeks. With the new rules, among other things, middle school students will lose independent access to electronic registers: only parents (or guardians) will be able to connect to the virtual platform used by schools to manage grades, absences and communications.
This is an important change, which affects approximately 7.7 million students in Italy and 15 million parents, made with the aim of strengthening the security of digital school portals.
What changes and who can access the electronic register
The first big change, therefore, concerns the credentials for accessing the electronic register, up to now provided directly by schools. Within the next few weeks, the credentials will no longer be valid and the only way to access the electronic register will be through digital identity, whether via SPID (Public Digital Identity System) or CIE (Electronic Identity Card).
This is an important turning point, considering that the electronic register is used by families and students to consult homework, the testing calendar and access any other official communication: in short, it is the direct channel between parents, teachers and schools.
But there is another big news: students in the first cycle of education will no longer be able to access the register independently, but will need the digital identity of their parents or those exercising parental responsibility. This includes not only elementary school pupils, but also boys and girls in lower secondary schools, i.e. middle schools, which in Italy are part of the first cycle of education.
In short, students up to eighth grade will no longer be able to freely consult assignments, grades, absences or other official communications, but will necessarily have to do so via their parents’ digital identity. High school students (i.e. upper secondary school) will instead be able to access directly with their digital identity.
The question of costs
As mentioned, the State’s objective is to simplify procedures and, above all, make access to the electronic school register more secure. However, the initiative immediately received criticism for the potential costs for families and, above all, for the timing.
In recent months, in fact, several providers have introduced a fee for digital identity, effectively making the SPID payable: the latest was Poste Italiane, which manages around 28.7 million Italian users, which from January 2026 has activated a mandatory fee of 6 euros per year. However, the free alternative remains the Electronic Identity Card (CIE), which however requires a further step to be able to activate the digital identity linked to it.
At the same time, the legislation is not entirely clear on the actual times of this transition: institutions are not obliged to contact parents individually about this change, with the risk of having to rush to activate SPID or CIE and not lose access to the electronic register, essential for school communications, grades and any notes. In the first period, therefore, there is the risk that the procedures will not be simplified at all for Italian families.
