CERTIFICATES

🤔 What are these certificates?

What are birth certificates and civil status certificates?

Registry certificates are documents that give information about you and your family.

Registry certificates are:

the certificate of residence, which tells you where you reside;
the family status certificate, which tells who your family members are;
the certificate of unmarried status, which says you are not married;
the citizenship certificate, which says you are an Italian citizen if you have Italian citizenship.

Civil status certificates are documents that give the main information about a person's status: they are the birth certificate, marriage certificate, and death certificate. Check out the links below.

🔏 What are authentications and legalizations?

By authentication, a city clerk declares that your signature has been placed on a document in front of him/her.

Authentication of your signature may be necessary in some cases, for example:

for certain statements involving personal facts and conditions. These statements may be required by banks or insurance companies, for example.
for certain applications (called "petitions") that you must submit to private parties.
to delegate another person to receive financial benefits, such as to collect your pension if you are unable to do so.

Legalizations:

You need a document legalization to make a document from your home country valid in Italy.

If the documents are written in a language other than Italian, they must be accompanied by a translation into Italian. The translation must be certified as conforming (i.e. corresponding) to the text written in the foreign language.

Who does the certification of the translation?

An Italian diplomatic or consular authority does the certification of the translation. An official translator accredited (i.e. recognized) by the Italian Consulate of the country of origin can also certify the translation.

Legalizing a passport photo allows you to guarantee the identity of the person in the passport photo. You can have your passport photo legalized to obtain certain documents, such as a passport, hunting license, fishing license, or gun permit.

You cannot have your passport photo legalized if you need it for school or sports.

The office that issues the personal documents you need can legalize the necessary photographs if you apply directly.

To request legalization of your passport photo, you must go in person to the Registrar's Office, or to the counter of the office that issues the ID you need. You must bring the passport photo and a valid identification document with you.

Minors must present themselves with a passport photo and be accompanied by an adult. The adult must have a valid ID with them.