Necessary Documents

Documents

For the American

Atto Notorio

An Atto Notorio is a sworn statement signed by authorities at either the Italian consulate in America or the U.S. Embassy in Italy that basically says that you are legally free to marry. It is a requirement to get married to an Italian in Italy (or to an American in Italy), so it is pretty important. You must bring it with you to Italy to get the other documents that you need.

Birth Certificate + Apostille

Birth Certificate

This one took a bit of time to get. A long-form birth certificate is one that includes your name, birth date and place of birth, along with your parents’ full names and addresses. If you don’t already have this, you can request a certified copy and have it mailed to you. It has to be either the original or an official copy from a verified agency, not a scanned copy.

Apostille

The Apostille is a stamp from the Secretary of State that makes a document legal and valid in every country that is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, which includes Italy. To get this, I had to mail the original birth certificate along with a check (in Kentucky it is only $5-6) to the Secretary of State. Around a week later, I got the document back, with a paper stapled to the front that included the Apostille stamp.

Translation

The Italian translation has to be an official one, although you can choose your own translator (they all charge different prices for their services, so this is a good thing). The consulate sent me a list of translators to start with, and in the end, I emailed a scanned copy of the birth certificate to a translator and she translated it and had it back to me within three days, all for around $20.

Divorce certificate + Apostille

I’ve never been married before, so I have no experience with obtaining this document. But it seems to be similar to birth certificate. It also needs a Apostille and Translation.

Signed Single Statement + Apostille

This one was challenging for me. Basically, it’s a letter from your Vital Records Division testifying that you are currently single. When I went to the Nashville Vital Records Division, they informed me that they did not have a form for it and the person had me fill out a marriage certificate but leaving the spouse blank and wedding date was my DOB. But they did end up giving me a letter with a seal saying that they had done a search and had found no records of me being currently married. You will also need to have a Apostille on this too.

Copy of U.S. passport

Scan the vital pages of your Passport. Keep an online and a printed version with you.

Documents

For the Italian

Italian certificate of birth

(“estratto per riassunto dell’atto di nascita, in formato internazionale”) with parents’ names included. This is issued by the city hall office of the town in which the Italian was born.

Italian certificate of residence, citizenship, and free-to-marry status + Marca Da Bollo

“certificato cumulativo di residenza, cittadinanza e stato libero”); A declaration stating the date and place of the wedding and the intent to marry you (dichiarazione firmata attestante la data ed il luogo del matrimonio e naturalmente il nome della persona che si intende sposare). This is issued by the city hall office of the town in which the Italian was born.

Marca Da Bollo

A legal Stamp which are used to legalize almost every legal document you will ever sign in Italy, for 16 euros at any tabaccheria.

Declaration

A declaration stating the date and place of the wedding and the intent to marry you (dichiarazione firmata attestante la data ed il luogo del matrimonio e naturalmente il nome della persona che si intende sposare).

A copy of the Italian passport.

Scan the vital pages of your Passport. Keep an online and a printed version with you.

Necessary Documents

Documents

For the American

Birth Certificate

Apostille

Translation

Documents

For the Italian

Marca Da Bollo

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