Attendance allowance for totally blind persons

The allowance is granted solely on the basis of the impairment, i.e. regardless of the economic circumstances and age of the person concerned.

It is reduced by €93 per month during the period in which the beneficiary uses the accompaniment service provided by a volunteer from the civil service. It is automatically treated as equivalent to the allowance received by severely disabled war veterans.

WHAT AM I ENTITLED TO?

For the year 2026 the amount of the allowance is €1,064.98 for 12 monthly instalments.

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No income or age requirement is required.

The allowance is cumulative with the pension for totally blind persons and is payable in full even to those admitted to a public institution. It is also compatible with the performance of work activities.

However, it is incompatible with similar benefits granted for invalidity contracted as a result of war, work or service. The citizen is entitled to exercise the right of option for the more favourable treatment.

The allowance is also compatible and cumulative with the communication allowance and the attendance allowance for totally disabled persons, provided that they have been granted for distinct impairments, each relating to different invalidity statuses (persons with multiple impairments).

HOW CAN I CLAIM?

To obtain the benefit, it is first necessary that the impairment has been recognised in the report issued by the relevant medical-legal board at the end of the health assessment.

From 1 January 2025, as established by Legislative Decree no. 62 of 3 May 2024, subjects domiciled or resident in one of the following nine provinces:

• Catanzaro;
• Frosinone;
• Salerno;
• Brescia;
• Florence;
• Forlì-Cesena;
• Perugia;
• Sassari;
• Trieste.

From 30 September 2025, also in the 11 provinces of:

• Alessandria;
• Lecce;
• Genoa;
• Isernia;
• Macerata;
• Matera;
• Palermo;
• Teramo;
• Vicenza;
• Trento;
• Aosta.

From 1 March 2026, in the provinces of:

• Arezzo;
• Ascoli Piceno;
• Asti;
• Bergamo;
• Bologna;
• Bolzano;
• Brindisi;
• Cagliari;
• Caltanissetta;
• Campobasso;
• Caserta;
• Catania;
• Chieti;
• Como;
• Cosenza;
• Crotone;
• Cuneo;
• La Spezia;
• Mantua;
• Massa Carrara;
• Messina;
• Milan;
• Pavia;
• Piacenza;
• Pordenone;
• Potenza;
• Ravenna;
• Reggio Calabria;
• Rimini;
• Rome;
• Savona;
• Sondrio;
• Terni;
• Turin;
• Treviso;
• Udine;
• Venice;
• Verona;
• Vibo Valentia.

To establish their disability status they must go to a certifying doctor, who completes and sends the introductory medical certificate electronically to INPS. This is followed by the medical assessment, without the citizen needing to submit an administrative Claim.
For all residents outside the pilot provinces, the previous procedure will remain unchanged until 31 December 2026. In these cases, until that date, it remains mandatory to submit to INPS the administrative Claim for civil invalidity, which must be accompanied by the introductory medical certificate previously sent by the certifying doctor.   

The procedure initiation claim must also include the payment method and the authorisation for collection by a third party or in favour of associations.

The claim may be submitted directly online on the INPS website, with access via SPID/CIE/CNS, or through a patronage institute or a trade association (ANMIC, ENS, UIC, ANFASS).
With the exception of Claims for worsening, it is not possible to submit a new Claim for the same benefit until the process for the current one has been completed or, in the event of a legal appeal, until a final, unappealable judgment has been issued.

Minors in receipt of the attendance allowance for a totally blind person, on reaching the age of majority, must submit the AP70 form (in Italian) for payment of the benefit as an adult (non-reversible pension), without the need to undergo further health assessments.

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