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Vital Records

All Italian citizens are required by law to notify the Italian authorities of any changes to their marital status and within their family unit, even if they occur abroad. These changes include births, marriages, civil unions, divorces, deaths, adoptions and name/surname changes, and must be notified by submitting the relevant certificates or Court orders to the Italian Consulate or Embassy which has territorial jurisdiction in their State/County of residence. Documents may also be sent directly to the relevant Italian municipality (refer to from now on as comune).

It is highly recommended that you also inform your Consulate of any changes concerning your family unit that happened in Italy.

The Vital Records Office can assist with:

– processing requests to change your marital status (birth, marriage and death) and sending them to the your comune so that they may be recognized in Italy;

– processing of court orders issued abroad (e.g. divorce, adoption of minor children, etc.) and sending them to your comune so that they may be recognized in Italy;

  • processing name change Court orders filed and issued abroad and sending them to your comune so that they may be recognized in Italy;
  • court orders establishing paternity and/or the father/son relationship and sending them to your comune so that they may be recognized in Italy;
  • drawing up the marriage banns for Italian citizens who wish to marry in Italy and posting them online;

-processing separation of property documents as long as they are signed and notarized by our Legal Office (please email newyork.notarile@esteri.it)

*** Please note that as of 15 November 2021, Italian citizens regularly registered in AIRE may request some certificates online. The service is free and only available to those who have a digital Italian ID (CIE, SPID or CNS). Please use this link to submit your request https://www.anagrafenazionale.interno.it/servizi-al-cittadino/;

YOU MAY SUBMIT A REQUEST TO THE VITAL RECORDS OFFICE IF YOU ARE:

  • An Italian citizen who is a resident in this Consular jurisdiction and registered in AIRE and you want to register a document issued in the United States or abroad. The document must be issued and legalized according to the guidelines and laws of the country where it is formed

OR

  • An Italian citizen registered in AIRE in another Consular jurisdiction and you want to register a document issued in this Consular jurisdiction

If you are an Italian citizen whose legal residence is in Italy but you are temporarily living in this Consular jurisdiction, you may choose whether you want to submit your documents here or in Italy (pursuant to law DPR 396/200 art.12, comma 11). If you choose the latter you must submit your document exactly as outlined in each specific section of this website. In addition, you must submit a translation of the document into Italian, which must be certified by this Consulate’s Legal Office (please email newyork.notarile@esteri.it )

 

IMPORTANT:

When an Italian citizen submits a birth certificate for a minor child, this Office will automatically register the child in AIRE. Please follow instructions on this link here.  DO NOT follow the procedure outlined in the Citizenship section, which only applies to adults.

 

Documents can only be submitted by mail, except in the following instances when an appointment is required:

  • Marriage banns
  • Adoption Court orders for minors
  • Signing a Court order establishing paternity
  • Any other specific cases not listed here

Please email newyork.statocivile@esteri.it to make an appointment.

 

THE FOLLOWING GENERAL RULES APPLY TO ALL VITAL RECORDS DOCUMENTS, BUT you must still check the specific sections of this website:

In order to process your request, Italian administrative offices must receive and keep the original documents. Therefore, documents must not be emailed nor will they be returned. Only the applicants (or a person they specifically wish to delegate) can request the original certificates from the local authorities. Those who are unable to request their certificates (for example because they live abroad) will have to contact a local aide or agency. It should be noted that this service is also offered by the local Italian Patronati. There may be a fee for this service (click here for a list of local Patronati https://consnewyork.esteri.it/it/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-italiano/pensioni-e-sicurezza-sociale/patronati/ ).

When requesting an original certificate from the local authorities, you must always provide them with your correct personal information, exactly as it appears on the Italian documents. Make sure you check the original certificates as soon as you receive them and have any errors rectified immediately, before submitting them to be legalized and translated.

A request must be submitted for each document along with the relevant request form, which must be duly filled in, dated and signed by the Italian citizen requesting the service. You must attach a copy of a valid ID (preferably your valid Italian passport). Forms can be found here.

In order to be accepted and registered in Italy, all original foreign documents must meet two essential requirements:

  1. They must be duly legalized
  2. They must be translated into Italian

Once you are in possession of the documents (legalized and translated), you must mail them to  Consolato Generale d’Italia,Ufficio Stato Civile, 690 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065. You may also drop off your documents personally by leaving them in the box provided during office hours (9am to 12.30pm only).

Due to the high volume of requests, this office is unable to confirm receipt of documents. Those who require confirmation are strongly advised to use postal services that provide a tracking number.

For documents issued in other US States or in another country, please check with the local Italian Consular authorities/Embassy in that State/Country to make sure it is the correct format and it has been legalized correctly and according to local regulations. To verify whether your document has been registered in Italy, please contact your Italian comune directly. This office is unable to provide you with confirmation of registration.

WHERE TO GET YOUR CERTIFICATES

Please check the individual sections of this website (birth, marriage, divorce and death) for information on where to get your certificates. In accordance with data protection and privacy laws, the Consulate cannot request any certificates on your behalf.

For specific questions and issues not addressed in this website please email statocivile.newyork@esteri.it

       Document Legalization

Documents issued abroad must be legalized in order for them to be recognized and valid in Italy.

In the USA, Italy and the other signatory countries of The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, documents are legalized by Apostille. The Apostille is a form of certification issued in one country that is recognized in any other country that is also part of the Convention. It must be attached to the original certificate and can come in various formats, but it can always be recognized by the word APOSTILLE, which is the same in any language, printed on the page). In the US there is no central Government body that issues Apostilles. They must be issued by the Secretary of State in the US State where the document was issued.

For documents issued in countries that are not members of The Hague Convention, legalization is still required. Please contact the local Italian Consular authority or the Italian Embassy in the country where the document was issued for information and guidelines on its specific regulations.

 

  1. Translation

The translation must be:

– directly from the language in which the original document is drafted into Italian,

– complete: all the text in the original document must be translated without any omissions. Dates must be clearly indicated in the format used in Italy (day / month / year)

– true to the original: summaries or personal interpretations are not allowed

– typed: handwritten translations are not accepted

N.B.: The Apostille or other means of legalization do not require translation.

Translations of Court orders for divorce, name change or adoption must be submitted with a Certificate of Accuracy issued by the translator.

A list of translators is available here.

For documents issued in countries other than the United States:

  • The translation of documents from English into Italian can be done by an authorized translator in the country where the document was issued or by one of the translators on the list published on our website (link above). Please note that the document must still be legalized according to the regulations in the country of origin.
  • The translation of documents from ANY other language into Italian must be done by an authorized translator in the country where the document was issued and legalized according to the regulations of that country. Therefore, they must either be legalized by Apostille or bear the stamp of the Italian Embassy or Consulate in the country where the document was issued.

For information on how to obtain the Apostille or on the legalization procedure in other countries please contact the Italian Embassy or Consulate in that jurisdiction.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

CHILDREN’S NAMING LAW

In Italy, a naming law restricts the names that parents can legally give to their children. It should be noted that in such cases the Italian comune may choose to send the documents to the Public Prosecutor’s Office who may order their correction. Among the restricted names are:

  • the name of a living parent
  • a surname as a first name
  • the name of an historical figure
  • names that are deemed offensive or embarrassing

MARRIED WOMEN

Unlike the US, in Italy women are not expected to take their spouse’s surname after marriage. Even when a woman chooses to take their spouse’s surname, the legal name will continue to be the one given at birth and, as such, it will be the one used in their Italian passport.