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How to register a name change

You may only register a name change if you have legally filed the change in a Court of Law overseas and your request has been granted.  If you successfully petitioned for a name change and it has been granted, you may submit a request at this Consulate General to register your Court order, granting leave to change name, in your comune in Italy and to update your birth certificate by adding a note with your new name.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

  • Request Form
  • original Court Order issued by the Court (or other relevant judicial competent authority), legalized by Apostille issued by the Secretary of State of the US State where the Court has its seat
  • a sworn translation of the name change Court order done by a professional translator who must also issue a bilingual Certificate of Accuracy. Please check this link for a list of translators (this list is purely for reference and the Consulate is in no way responsible for the quality of their work or the fees they charge).
  • copy of the valid passport (preferably an Italian passport) of the person submitting the request. Please only include the pages with the photo, personal details and signature.

IMPORTANT NOTE: you may not request to change your name into a historically recognized name, especially if it belongs to a well-known and well-established family in the region where your birth certificate is registered.

 

N.B. If you are NOT in possession of an overseas Court order granting leave to change name, an Italian citizen may choose to submit a request to the local Prefetto in their comune of last known residence or where their birth certificate is registered (pursuant to artt. 89/D.P.R. 396/03.11.2000). These type of requests can only be submitted under exceptional, valid circumstances, must be well-documented and corroborated by relevant supporting paperwork. You may submit your request through this Consulate, although this is not strictly necessary, only if you are a resident of this Consular jurisdiction and your AIRE registration is up to date. Please make an appointment by emailing newyork.statocivile@esteri.it .

 

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

  • Request Form, valid ID of the person submitting the request (preferably an Italian passport) and supporting documentation (for example an official document that shows the name change was acknowledged in the current country of residence of the applicant and that their identity has been modified/changed)
  • Payment of the revenue stamp (marca da bollo). Check consular fees here.

 

This Consulate will then send your request to your Prefettura in Italy. The Prefettura may request additional documents if they deem it appropriate (for example criminal records/background checks). The request will be evaluated by the Prefettura and, if accepted, the following steps apply:

  • we will publish a notice in the Consular Notice Board (albo consolare) on our website summarizing the content of the application. At this stage you will also pay the revenue stamp (pursuant to 90 del D.P.R. 396 del 2000). The notice must remain on the website for 30 days before we can move to the next step.
  • we will notify the Prefettura of the publication of the notice and that there were no objections to it.
  • the Prefettura will then issue the final decree of name change (decreto definitivo)
  • we will notify you when we receive your decree and payment for the revenue stamp (marca da bollo) on the decree is required
  • once you receive your decree, you must have it registered at your comune in Italy
  • once the Decree is registered, you may apply for new IDs (Italian passport and ID card, codice fiscale) using your new name

IMPORTANT: PROCESSING TIMES VARY GREATLY AND DEPEND ON THE INDIVIDUAL PROCESSING TIME IN EACH PREFETTURA.

The Decree is effective only once it has been registered in your comune and the comune has amended your birth certificate accordingly.

The Consulate will only update its records once it has received confirmation from the comune that the decree has been duly registered and birth certificate amended.

All your previous IDs (Italian passport and ID card, codice fiscale etc.) will be voided once the decree is registered and you must return them to us, even if they are still valid, and apply for new ones in your new name. If you already have a codice fiscale in your old name, you must request a new one in your new name.

PLEASE NOTE: if you choose to change your name because it is deemed obscene or shameful, payment of the revenue stamp is not required.