# Synchronous, asynchronous and mixed online auctions: how to bid online

> Three bidding formats, one Ministry form: what you need and where bids go wrong when you bid online.

Source: https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/online-auctions-synchronous-asynchronous · By the ImmobilScan editorial team · Published October 25, 2026

## In short

Online sales (vendite telematiche) come in three types (art. 2 D.M. 32/2015). In a synchronous online sale (vendita sincrona telematica), bidders raise their bids online at the same moment. In a mixed synchronous sale (vendita sincrona mista), bids can be raised online or in person in front of the sale delegate. In an asynchronous online sale (vendita asincrona), bids are raised only online, within a window that lasts from 24 hours to a week, depending on the court order. The bid is filled in on the official Ministry form, opened from the online sale operator's portal, digitally signed, and sent by certified email (PEC) to the Ministry. You need a digital signature, a PEC address, the €16 stamp duty (bollo) and a bid deposit (cauzione) credited within the deadlines in the notice.

## The three sale formats compared

The definitions are in art. 2 of Ministerial Decree No. 32 of February 26, 2015 (D.M. 32/2015), the regulation on online sales. In a synchronous online sale, bids are raised only online, with everyone connected at the same moment. In a mixed synchronous sale, bids are raised online or in front of the delegate, in the same session. In an asynchronous sale, bids are raised only online, during a set period and without a simultaneous connection.

| | Synchronous online sale | Mixed synchronous sale | Asynchronous sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| How the bid is submitted | Online only | Online, or on paper (in a sealed envelope, where the notice says so) | Online only |
| How you take part in the bidding | Online, everyone connected together | Online for those who bid online, in the room for those who bid on paper | Online, each person whenever they want within the window |
| Duration of the bidding | Minutes: each raise must be made within a short time set by the notice (for example 1 minute) | As for the synchronous sale | From 24 hours to a week depending on the order, with extensions if raises arrive close to the end |
| Presence of the delegate | Connected in real time | In the room and connected | A simultaneous connection is not needed |
| Best suited to | Those who can sit at a computer at the set time | Those who prefer paper or do not have a digital signature | Those who work and cannot be tied to a set time |

In a mixed synchronous sale, the paper bid is deposited where the notice indicates, for example at the delegate's office. Paper bids and raises made in the room are recorded on the operator's portal, so the connected bidders can see them (art. 22). In an asynchronous sale, the operator notifies each raise by PEC and SMS. When the window closes, it sends the delegate the list of raises and the best bid (art. 24).

On the portal, participants do not see the names of the other bidders, only pseudonyms (art. 20, third paragraph): during the bidding you know how much the others raise, but not who they are.

Open-bid auctions (vendita con incanto) are now rare. The judge orders one only if a price at least 50% higher than the property's value seems likely (art. 569, third paragraph, c.p.c.).

## Who chooses the format and where to find it

The judge chooses the format in the sale order (ordinanza di vendita). The obligation to hold online sales was introduced in 2016 (D.L. 59/2016) and has applied since April 10, 2018. Since then, the order must provide for bid deposits, bids, bidding and payment through online methods (art. 569, fourth paragraph, c.p.c.). The exception is when those methods would harm the creditors or the speed of the procedure, and the judge must give reasons.

The format is stated in the notice of sale (avviso di vendita) and in the lot's listing on the [Public Sales Portal](https://pvp.giustizia.it/pvp/). A 2026 order from the Tribunale di Siena, for example, provides for a sealed-bid sale (vendita senza incanto) in asynchronous mode. On ImmobilScan the format appears on the auction's page, and you can find the auctions of a single court on its page, from the [list of courts](https://immobilscan.it/en/property-auctions/courts).

The [online sale operator (gestore della vendita telematica)](https://immobilscan.it/en/property-auction-glossary#gestore-della-vendita-telematica) is the company, registered in the Ministry's [register of online sale operators](https://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/page/it/come_fare_per_gestori_vendite_telematiche), that hosts the bidding on its own portal. The notice names it. From the lot's page on the operator's website you open the official bid form. For technical problems, contact the operator; for everything else, your contact is the sale delegate (delegato alla vendita).

## How to use the Public Sales Portal for online auctions

The "online auctions" of the courts are these online sales. The official notice is on the PVP, and the bidding takes place on the operator's portal. A quick guide to the PVP, for buyers:

- Using the portal's search, you find the lot's listing, with the sale date, starting price, minimum bid and sale format.
- In the listing you download the notice, the order and the appraisal report (perizia), and you find the names of the delegate and the court-appointed custodian (custode giudiziario).
- From the assets section, if the feature is active for that property, you can request a property viewing (see [court-appointed custodians and viewings](https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/court-custodian-property-viewing)).
- You can subscribe to the service that alerts you to new publications.

The bid, by contrast, is not deposited on the PVP. It is filled in on the Ministry form, which opens from the operator's portal named in the notice, and is sent by PEC.

## What you need before you start

- A valid [digital signature (firma digitale)](https://immobilscan.it/en/property-auction-glossary#firma-digitale), on a smart card, token or remote signing service. Check the certificate's expiry date: an expired signature makes the bid inadmissible.
- A PEC mailbox. With a digital signature, the bid can be sent from any PEC mailbox (art. 12, fifth paragraph, D.M. 32/2015). The alternative without a signature, the PEC for online sales, is provided for by the decree but is not active: the 2026 notices say it becomes operational only after the Ministry's formalities (art. 13, fourth paragraph).
- The PEC address and mobile number entered in the bid must belong to you or to your lawyer. An order from the Tribunale di Siena, for example, declares inadmissible the bids sent by anyone other than the bidder or the bidder's lawyer.
- An identity document and tax code (codice fiscale); if you are married under the community property regime (comunione legale), your spouse's documents too. If you live abroad and do not have an Italian tax code, enter the tax number of your country or a similar code (art. 12, second paragraph).
- The money for the deposit in an account from which you can make a bank transfer, and the IBAN of that account to write in the form.

## How to submit the online bid, step by step

The steps follow the Ministry's «User manual for submitting the online bid» (Manuale utente per la presentazione dell'offerta telematica), published on the Telematic Services Portal (Portale dei Servizi Telematici).

1. **Bank transfer of the deposit.** At least 10% of the price you bid, to the account indicated in the notice, with the required reason (causale). With a starting price of €80,000, in a property enforcement proceeding you may bid from €60,000, and the minimum deposit is €6,000. It must be credited by the deadline in the notice, so make the transfer at least 3–5 business days beforehand. Note the date, the time and the CRO. An order from Siena explains that if the bank gives you a 30-character TRN, the CRO is made up of the 11 digits between the 6th and 16th characters.
2. **Open the form.** From the lot's page on the operator's portal, choose «Offerta telematica» (online bid). The Ministry form opens, already filled in with the court, the procedure number, the lot and the delegate. You accept the privacy notice and enter the captcha.
3. **Complete the six steps.** Lot; submitter (the person who fills in and sends the bid, who may be one of the bidders); bidder; shares and capacity to take part (quote e titolo di partecipazione); bid (price, term for paying the balance, deposit details); summary. Attachments must be in PDF or p7m format, up to 25 MB in total.
4. **Sign and confirm.** From the summary you digitally sign the bid: the manual says to download the file, sign it with your device and upload it again. Then you confirm, and you receive an email with a link and a key to retrieve the bid.
5. **Pay the stamp duty.** The form generates a code (hash) with which to pay the digital stamp duty, currently €16, on the Telematic Services Portal (pst.giustizia.it). Unpaid stamp duty does not make the bid inadmissible, but it starts a recovery process with penalties.
6. **Download the file and do not alter it.** The package is named offerta_xxxxxxxxxx.zip.p7m. The manual warns you not to open it: an altered file invalidates the bid. Do not rename it either: the Tribunale di Livorno's guide (vademecum) warns that a file downloaded twice gets a number in its name and is rejected.
7. **Send the PEC** to offertapvp.dgsia@giustiziacert.it with the file attached, from the mailbox indicated in the bid.
8. **Keep the receipt.** The bid is deposited when the Ministry's PEC system generates the full delivery receipt (ricevuta completa di avvenuta consegna) (art. 14). Without the receipt you have no proof of deposit.

Once sent, the bid is irrevocable except in the cases of art. 571 c.p.c., and it cannot be amended. The rules of the Tribunale di Lodi, for example, allow only one submission per submitter and per sale attempt (esperimento di vendita).

## By when it must be sent

By law, the bidding takes place the day after the deadline for bids (art. 569, third paragraph); the notice sets the time. The deadline's time also varies. The Tribunale di Livorno requires filing by 12:00 noon on the day before the sale hearing; Siena and Lodi require it by 11:59 p.m. on the day before the review of the bids.

What counts is the time on the delivery receipt, not the time you press «send». The Siena order says so plainly: the operations remain at the risk of the bidder, and no complaints are accepted if you did not finish in time. Start at least the day before the deadline.

If a system outage at the Ministry is scheduled, the operator announces it, and bids are sent by fax to the court office. If it is not scheduled, the acceptance receipt of your PEC counts as filing (art. 15). In that case the operator must admit you to the bidding if you prove that you sent on time.

## What happens on the day of the sale

At least thirty minutes before the start, the operator sends the invitation to connect and the credentials to the PEC address indicated in the bid, plus an SMS to your mobile phone (art. 16). Check your PEC that morning, including the spam folder if your mailbox has one.

The delegate opens the envelopes, checks the deposits and requirements, and declares who is admitted. With a single valid bid, the delegate decides whether to award the property; with several bids, the bidding opens on the highest one (art. 573 c.p.c.). The rules on bids below the starting price and on minimum increments are in [minimum bid and increments](https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/minimum-bid-judicial-auction).

In a synchronous sale, each raise must be made within the time set by the notice and at the indicated minimum amount: the Tribunale di Lodi, for example, allows 1 minute. In an asynchronous sale, the bidding runs for a set period, and a raise in the final minutes extends it, until no one raises again. In a Siena order the bidding lasts 24 hours, with 10-minute extensions. In Livorno it closes at 12:00 noon on the seventh day, with 15-minute extensions for raises made in the last quarter of an hour.

If you are not connected, you cannot raise. If someone else raises, you lose; if no one raises, you can win with your bid if it remains the best one. When no bidding takes place, the judge chooses the best bid on the basis of price, deposit and payment terms, and in case of a tie, the bid deposited first (art. 573). The Siena order and the Lodi rules also allow the award to the sole bidder who does not connect. Deposits are returned to unsuccessful bidders by bank transfer to the IBAN given in their bid.

## The errors that make the bid inadmissible

- A wrong or missing CRO, so the deposit cannot be matched to the bid.
- A deposit credited after the deadline, or one reduced by the fees of a bank transfer from abroad and therefore below 10%.
- A bid sent by someone who is neither the bidder nor the bidder's lawyer. Art. 571 c.p.c. admits only a personal bid or one made through a lawyer acting as lawyer (procuratore legale): using the PEC of an agency or an accountant as the submitter leads to exclusion.
- An expired digital signature, or a file opened, renamed or repackaged before it was sent.
- A price below the minimum bid. In property enforcement proceedings you may bid up to a quarter less than the starting price (art. 571 c.p.c.); in insolvency proceedings the notice governs, and the minimum bid may equal the starting price.
- A property to be registered in the name of someone other than the bidder. For that you need a lawyer with a power of lawyer, or a bid for a person to be named (see [who can take part](https://immobilscan.it/en/guides/who-can-bid-at-judicial-auction)).

On ImmobilScan you can search auctions and read the listings for free; with an account you also see the history of attempts and the value estimate. The bid remains your own act, handled with the delegate and the operator named in the notice.

## Legal references

- D.M. 32/2015, Ministerial Decree of February 26, 2015, No. 32 ([Official Gazette](https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2015/03/24/15G00045/sg)): art. 2 (definitions), art. 12 (contents of the bid, signature and PEC), art. 13 (submission), art. 14 (filing), art. 15 (malfunctions), art. 16 (invitation to connect), art. 20 (pseudonyms), art. 22 (mixed synchronous sale), art. 24 (asynchronous sale).
- Art. 569 c.p.c.: third paragraph, bidding the day after the deadline and open-bid auctions; fourth paragraph, online methods ([Brocardi](https://www.brocardi.it/codice-di-procedura-civile/libro-terzo/titolo-ii/capo-iv/sezione-iii/art569.html)).
- Art. 571 c.p.c.: who may bid (personally or through a lawyer acting as lawyer), minimum bid, irrevocability.
- Art. 573 c.p.c.: bidding among the bidders and choice of the best bid ([Brocardi](https://www.brocardi.it/codice-di-procedura-civile/libro-terzo/titolo-ii/capo-iv/sezione-iii/art573.html)).
- D.L. 59/2016, art. 4: start of the online-sale requirement, in force from April 10, 2018.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need a lawyer to make an online bid?

No, if you bid yourself. The submitter can be the bidder, one of the bidders, or the legal representative of a company. A lawyer is needed if you want to bid through a representative, since art. 571 c.p.c. admits only a lawyer acting as lawyer, or if you want to bid for a person to be named.

### Can I bid without a digital signature?

In practice, no. Ministerial Decree 32/2015 provides for a PEC for online sales that replaces the signature, but it is not active today. Without a digital signature, the only route is a paper bid, and only in mixed synchronous sales.

### What is the difference for me between a synchronous and an asynchronous auction?

In a synchronous sale you must be connected at the set time and raise within seconds. In an asynchronous sale you have from 24 hours to a week, and you can raise whenever you want within the window. You must, however, follow the notifications: a raise by someone else in the last minutes extends the bidding.

### How much does it cost to submit an online bid?

The €16 digital stamp duty, plus the cost of a digital signature and of a PEC, if you do not already have them. The deposit is not a cost: if you do not win, it is returned; if you win, it is deducted from the price.

### Can I change the bid after sending it?

No. After sending, the envelope is recorded by the system and cannot be changed or cancelled. If you notice a mistake, contact the delegate immediately: some orders allow only one submission per sale attempt.

### What happens if I do not receive the credentials on the day of the auction?

Contact the online sale operator named in the notice straight away: it has dedicated support. Also inform the delegate. First check that the PEC address in your bid is the right one and that the mailbox is not full.

Law verified on October 24, 2026.