Procurement of documents in Italy

Schmidt & Schmidt provides services for the retrieval of civil status documents, as well as obtaining duplicates of lost or damaged documents in Italy with their subsequent legalization and translation.

If your personal documents are lost or damaged or you need to obtain current copies of documents it is necessary to request duplicates of documents. Often, those who have left Italy face difficulties in this procedure. Our service allows you to request documents in Italy remotely and we can carry out courier delivery of the document to anywhere in the world.

Validity of civil status documents in Italy

Civil status documents issued in Italy generally have a validity period of no more than 6 months, after which they must be replaced with new ones containing up-to-date data.

When to obtain duplicate documents in Italy

A duplicate birth certificate, marriage certificate, name change certificate, divorce certificate, criminal record certificate or death certificate may be required to register a marriage abroad, a newborn child, citizenship, inheritance, data verification for pension applications, opening bank accounts, employment and other bureaucratic issues. Requesting documents online is only possible for some cities (Milan, Naples, Rome, Venice, Palermo, Florence, Turin). In other cases, a letter to the city hall or personal presence is required.

Birth certificate

In Italy there are three types of birth certificates:

  • Birth certificate
  • Birth register extract
  • Full copy of the birth certificate

The birth certificate is an official document issued by the Municipal Registry Office and states the first and surname, place and date of birth, gender and address of residence at birth.

The Birth register extract additionally states the margin required by law such as adoption procedures, interdiction judgements, marriage, separation, divorce deeds, recognition of legitimate or natural children and any note regarding the death of the holder.

Finally, the full copy of the birth certificate adds any additional information such as additional names, names of parents, name of the hospital where the birth took place and the name of the person who reported the birth.

The birth certificate can be obtained at the department of Health of the state of birth. Some Municipalities offer online certificate issuing services. This can be checked via the responsible Municipalities website.

Required documents for birth certificate

  • Statement regarding the child's name
  • Marriage certificate or partnership certificate of the child’s parents
  • Proof of the dissolution or annulment of the marriage or registered partnership
  • Proof of nationality of the child’s parents
  • In case the parents live abroad: proof of the parents’ main place of residence

Criminal record certificate

In Italy there are four types of criminal records:

  • General criminal records certificates (Certificato Generale)
  • Criminal certificates of good conduct (Certificato Penale)
  • Civil certificates of good conduct (Certificato Civile)
  • Pending charges certificates (Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti)

The general criminal records certificate contains all relevant criminal, civil and administrative matter Judge actions. This certificate is usually needed for administrative, migration, adoption or citizenship purposes.

The criminal certificate of good conduct contains all irrevocable criminal judgements.
The civil certificate of good conduct contains information relevant to declarations of bankruptcy or expulsion measures.

Finally the pending charges certificate contains all pending criminal proceedings, meaning all charges that havent been decided yet by a judge.

For job applications in various sectors, including security and surveillance, applicants are usually required to present a current criminal record certificate.

This request can only be made at the local Court Records Office of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Italy, regardless of the place of birth or residence of the applicant. Italians as well as foreigners who have resided or currently live in Italy can apply. The certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

Required documents

  • Copy of main page of your current valid passport
  • Copy of birth certificate
  • Place of birth
  • Present citizenship
  • Periods and places of stay while in Italy

Marriage certificate

A marriage certificate is an official document which proves that two individuals are married. In Italy, there are three types:

  • Marriage certificate (certificato di matrimonio)
  • Marriage extract (estratto di matrimonio)
  • Act of marriage (atto di matrimonio)

The marriage certificate contains the main information, such as the couples personal data, date and location of marriage.

The marriage extract additionally states any information such as separation of property agreements, dissolution or other agreements made.

Finally the act of marriage is a true copy of the original document present in the Registry of Civil Status in Italy. It contains all relevant information related to the couple's marriage.

Required documents

  • Full name, date and location of birth of at least one of the spouses
  • date and location of the marriage
  • Tax number if available

The application is possible online, by mail and of course personally. For the completion of each option, follow the instructions and procedure of the relevant Municipality. Please note that when requesting the certificate online, you receive an electronic/digital certificate and not an original in paper form with a wet signature.

Educational Documents

Foreign educational documents only carry the same legal value as Italian documents if they are exempt from legalization or have undergone the necessary legalization process. Documents from countries with bilateral agreements with Italy are fully exempt from legalization. Documents from countries that are part of the Hague Convention of 1961 undergo a simplified procedure called apostille. If neither countries are part of the convention or have bilateral agreements they undergo consular legalization

Italian civil status documents and certificates of no impediment for marriage issued in accordance with the CIEC Convention following the International multilingual model are exempt from legalization in any form. More.

Contracting states of the Vienna CIEC Convention of 08.09.1976 (issuance of multilingual extracts from civil status registers: birth, marriage, and death certificate) are:

    Apostille of duplicate documents in Italy

    Italy joined the Hague Convention on the Simplified Legalization of Documents on October 5, 1961.
    Thus, documents issued in Italy are subject to legalization under a simplified procedure - apostille, after notarized translation into any language, such documents acquire full legal force in the territory of the wished destination.
    You can order an apostille for copies and duplicates of documents from Italy from us.