This site uses technical, analytics and third-party cookies.
By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies.

Preferences cookies

Marriage banns

Italian citizens who wish to get marry overseas are not subject to marriage banns, unless specifically required by local norms in the Country where the marriage occurs.
However, in order for the marriage to be valid in Italy, you must register the marriage certificate with the Italian comune. You can do that directly with the comune, or through this Consulate General, following the instructions in the HOW TO REGISTER A MARRIAGE section of this website.

Italian citizens who are residents in this Consular jurisdiction and wish to get married in Italy MUST request marriage banns from this Consulate General. Marriage banns are an announcement of an intended marriage.

If the parties involved are both Italian citizens, but only one of them is a resident in this Consular jurisdiction, the marriage banns can be requested at this Consulate General, at the Italian Consulate/Embassy where the other party resides, or, if their residence is in Italy, they can request the marriage banns at their comune of residence. In case of separate residences, the Vital Records Officer in either Consulate/comune will ask their counterpart to publish the marriage banns on their website’s notice board.

The request for marriage banns must be submitted in person. Please make an appointment by emailing newyork.statocivile@esteri.it

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

  1. marriage banns application form duly filled in and signed by both the bride-to-be and groom-to be
  2. copy of valid passports for both parties
  3. should you opt for a religious marriage having civil effects, you must submit an official letter (on headed paper) from the Church in Italy. The letter must include both parties’ personal details, the name of the Church and the date of the ceremony, and must bear the seal and signature of the priest who will officiate the marriage.

Additional requirements for the foreign spouse-to-be:

 

  1. long-form birth certificate, duly legalized by Apostille (unless an exemption is granted in an International Agreement) and translated into Italian. The translation must be certified as true to the original by the competent Consulate or, if it is a sworn translation, it must be apostilled.
  2. A certificate of no impediment (as required by Art. 116 of the Italian Civil Code), issued by the competent authorities of the Country of citizenship. The certificate of no impediment is only valid for 6 months and must be duly legalized and translated into Italian. The translation must be certified as true to the original by the competent Italian Consulate or, if it is a sworn translation, it must be apostilled.

The certificate of no impediment (also known as CNI) must include all of the following details: surname, name, date and place of birth, citizenship, residence, marital status as well as name and surname of the spouse’s parents. It must also state that there is no impediment or obstruction in allowing you to be married, and must show that there has been no objection to your proposed marriage, according to the laws of the Country of citizenship. In the case of a divorced woman or a widow, the certificate must either state the date the marriage was dissolved, or the date she became a widow.

PLEASE NOTE: some countries, specifically those who are signatories of the Munich Convention of September 5th 1980, do not issue CNIs. In these countries, the CNI is replaced by a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage. In accordance with the Munich Convention, this certificate DOES NOT need to be translated nor legalized.
*Countries that DO NOT issue CNIs are: Austria, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
N.B. The Munich Convention does NOT currently apply to Belgium which, although a signatory State, has not yet ratified it.

IMPORTANT: the United States Government DOES NOT issue certificates of no impediment. Therefore, US citizens wishing to marry in Italy must submit the following documents:

  1. a sworn statement, in lieu of a certificate of no impediment, which serves as a written declaration that one is free to marry and that, in accordance with United States laws, there is no impediment or obstacle to the marriage. The written statement must be made under oath and must be signed in front of a notary public in the US (or an American Consulate in Italy) who verifies and certifies the identity and citizenship of the person signing the statement. The document must be legalized by Apostille;
  2. a sworn affidavit (atto notorio in Italian) which can be obtained at a Civil Court in Italy, or at this Consulate, by making an appointment with our Legal Office (please email newyork.notarile@esteri.it). In order to draft and get the atto notorio you need to come to the Consulate with four witnesses who are not related to you or your spouse-to-be, and are not interested parties. This step comes BEFORE the marriage banns. Once you have all the required documentation (including the atto notorio), you can make an appointment for your marriage banns. The appointments can be on the same day, provided you have obtained your atto notorio first. Please email the Vital Records Office of this Consulate (newyork.statocivile@esteri.it) to make a marriage banns appointment.

In one of the two interested parties is unable to attend the marriage banns appointment, they must submit one of the following documents:

  1. if they are an Italian or EU citizen: a simple authorization letter signed by the responsible party. There is no need to apostille or legalize this letter.
  2. if they are a NON-EU citizen: they must provide a Special Power of Attorney, which can be drafted at the Italian Consulate or at a local Notary Public’s office, and must be apostilled and translated into Italian.

If both interested parties are unable to attend their appointment, they must issue a written letter or power of attorney to a third party to authorize them to act on their behalf under the specific laid-out circumstances. The third party must follow the steps outlined above.
The marriage banns will then be posted on the Consulate’s online notice board where they will be displayed for 8 consecutive days. Subsequently, after an additional 3 days, we will issue a certificate of completed marriage banns, which is valid for 180 days and officially authorizes the celebration of the marriage in Italy. If the 180 days elapse and the marriage does not occur, the whole process must be repeated.

PLEASE NOTE that marriage banns are subject to consular fees, which must be paid as follows:

  1. NAA government revenue stamp (if both parties are Italian citizens and one of them resides in a different consular jurisdiction, payment of two revenue stamps is required)
  2. art. 24 authentication of signature for non-EU citizens
  3. art. 3 Publication of Marriage Banns
  4. art. 2c Notice of Publication of Completed Marriage Banns

Payment must be made with two money orders, made payable to the Consulate General of Italy in New York: the first money order will cover points 1 to 3 ( NAA, art.24 and art.3), and the second money order will cover point 4 (art 2c).
Please check the current amounts here: consular fees.