What Is Carta del Docente?

Carta del Docente is a €500 annual voucher that the Italian Ministry of Education (MIM) gives to every permanent teacher in Italy. Teachers can spend it on books, hardware, software, training courses, theatre, cinema, museums, concerts, and music — a wide range of cultural and educational goods.

Until recently, accepting this payment method on Shopify was complex. You needed a custom integration, a digital certificate from the Ministry, and a way to validate vouchers in real time against the official SOAP API. ilGhera Carta del Docente for Shopify handles all of that.

Now Available on Any Shopify Plan

The app was originally built for Shopify Plus stores only, because the checkout UI extension — the most seamless integration point — requires Plus. But we heard merchants on lower plans asking for the same functionality.

Starting May 2026, Carta del Docente for Shopify works on every Shopify plan. If you are on Shopify Plus, the voucher widget appears directly in the checkout. On any other plan, you add the widget to the cart page using the theme editor (Sections > Cart). The experience is nearly identical: customers enter their voucher code, the app validates it in real time, and the discount is applied automatically.

How It Works

The app integrates at four levels of your Shopify store:

1. Voucher Widget (Cart or Checkout)

Customers see a branded field where they can enter their Carta del Docente code. The app calls the official MIM SOAP API to check validity and remaining balance. If the voucher is valid, the discount is applied immediately.

2. Automatic Discount via Shopify Functions

Once validated, a Shopify Functions-powered discount automatically reduces the order total by the voucher amount. The discount respects Carta del Docente rules: it only applies to eligible products based on your category mappings, and it never discounts shipping costs.

3. Category Mapping — Control What Can Be Bought

Carta del Docente has specific spending categories: books, hardware, software, training, theatre, cinema, museums, concerts, and music. In the app settings, you map your Shopify collections to these categories. Products in unmapped collections are excluded from the voucher discount — keeping you compliant with Ministry rules.

4. CONFIRM on Payment — Never Waste a Voucher

The app does not consume the voucher when the customer enters the code. It only calls the CONFIRM SOAP operation after the order is paid. If the customer abandons the cart, the voucher remains untouched and can be used elsewhere.

Setup in 10 Minutes

Getting started is straightforward:

1. Install the app from the Shopify App Store and start a 7-day free trial.
2. Set up your digital certificate. The app includes a built-in certificate wizard: generate a certificate request (.der file) directly from the app, upload it to cartadeldocente.istruzione.it, receive the signed certificate (.cer) from the Ministry, then upload it back into the app to generate your final .pem certificate. If you already have a .pem, you can skip straight to uploading it. Or enable sandbox mode to test with demo vouchers without a certificate.
3. Map your collections to Carta del Docente categories in the Options tab.
4. Add the widget to your cart page via the theme editor (or checkout if you are on Shopify Plus).
5. Done. Your customers can now pay with Carta del Docente.

Pricing

The app costs $19.99/month or $199/year (two months free). Each subscription includes premium support with a dedicated license key and access to the ticket system on ilGhera.com.

Who Is This For?

Any Shopify merchant selling products that teachers can buy with Carta del Docente: bookstores, electronics shops selling educational hardware, online course platforms, theatre and museum ticket sellers, music stores, and more. If your store ships to Italy and your products fall within the eligible categories, this app opens up a customer base of over 1 million teachers with €500 each to spend.