Police organisation
Corpo della guardia di finanza
One of the police forces listed by Italy’s Law 121/1981, alongside the Polizia di Stato and the Carabinieri.
At a glance
- Official name
- Corpo della guardia di finanza
- System
- Italy
- Level of government
- National
- Kind of body
- Specialist national service
- Status
- Currently operating
- Facts last checked against sources
- 13 September 2026
What it is
Article 16 of Law No. 121 of 1 April 1981 lists the Corpo della guardia di finanza among the forces of public security. It is published here on that basis and no further: the Corps’ own site could not be read this wave, so its mandate, its ministry and its powers are not described. The entry exists because omitting a force that Italian law names as one of the police forces would misrepresent the Italian system as having two.
What it covers
National. Its specific remit is not established by the source cited and is not described here.
Broad responsibilities
- Named by Law 121/1981 as one of Italy’s forces of public security
Elsewhere on this site
- Who polices what — how Italy is structured, against other systems
Other organisations to compare
- Polizia di Stato — Italy
- Arma dei Carabinieri — Italy
Where this connects
Institutions: National police.
Sources
Law No. 121 of 1 April 1981 (new organisation of the public-security administration)
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri — Ufficio Studi (official government text) · Legislation · 1981-04-01 · link verified 2026-07-26
The official government text of Law 121/1981, fetched as a PDF and text-extracted, verified verbatim in both passes. Art. 16 lists the police forces: the Polizia di Stato plus "a) l'Arma dei carabinieri, quale forza armata in servizio permanente di pubblica sicurezza; b) il Corpo della guardia di finanza", and (Art. 16(2)) the custodial and forestry corps. Art. 17 provides that judicial-police functions "sono svolte alla dipendenza e sotto la direzione dell'autorità giudiziaria" (are carried out under the dependence and direction of the judicial authority). Establishes the multiple national police forces and that criminal investigation is directed by the prosecuting magistracy.