An Italian citizen’s death certificate must ALWAYS be registered in Italy at the comune of their last known residence. This is true even if the Italian citizen subsequently naturalized in the United States. Registering the death certificate is crucial since any legal documents pertaining to the deceased’s assets, succession law, bank accounts, pension, etc. can only be processed if their death certificate has been registered.
You may submit a request to register a death certificate even if the deceased was not a resident, as long as their death occurred in this Consular jurisdiction.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
- Request registration form (to be downloaded from this website). A next of kin must fill in all sections in the form, date and sign it.
- Original death certificate legalized by Apostille (or other form of legalization for certificates issued in countries that are not signatory countries of The Hague Convention of 1961). US documents must always be issued in LONG FORM (or extended form) and must be legalized according to the prescribed procedure in each US State.
- Italian translation of the original death certificate (the Apostille does not need to be translated). The translation must be typed, accurate, and must correctly reflect the original text. Dates MUST be entered in the European format (date/month/year). 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).
- Copies of the valid passport of the person submitting the request. Please only include the pages with the photo, personal details and signature.
- Copy of deceased Italian passport, even if expired. If not available, copy of the deceased’s foreign passport. If the deceased was a naturalized US citizen, please include copy of their naturalization certificate if available.
HOW TO OBTAIN A DEATH CERTIFICATE IN THIS CONSULAR JURISDICTION
The local authorities who issue birth certificates are the same ones who issue death certificates. Therefore, please refer to the BIRTH section of this website to find out where to request the birth certificate based on your State of residence.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST AT THIS CONSULATE GENERAL
Once you are in possession of the required documents, duly apostilled and translated into Italian, you may mail them to:
Consolato Generale d’Italia
Ufficio Stato Civile
690 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
You may also drop off your documents in person during office hours (9am-12.30pm only) using the drop box provided in the lobby.
IMPORTANT: due to the high volume of requests, the Vital Records Office is unable to confirm receipt of the documents. If you need confirmation that your documents were received please use a mailing service that provides a tracking number or return receipt.
If you need confirmation that your documents have been registered, please contact the Italian comune directly.
For death certificates issued in other US States or in another Country, please check the website of the Italian Consular authorities or Embassy in that State/Country to verify the applicable regulations and means of legalization.