MARRIAGE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS IN ITALY

OVERVIEW: U.S. citizens wishing to be married in Italy must appear before the Civil Registrar of the City where the marriage is to take place with two witnesses and make a declaration of their intention to marry. At the time of making their declaration the couple must present all required documents (see below). Following the declaration it is usually necessary for banns, or marriage announcement, to be posted at the local comune (city hall) for two consecutive Sundays before the marriage occurs if one of the parties is Italian or if the U.S. citizen is a resident of Italy. However, banns are waived by the Ufficiale di Stato Civile if neither party to the marriage is Italian and neither is residing in Italy.

On the fourth day following the second Sunday on which the banns are posted (or any time after banns have been waived) the couple may be married, either in a civil ceremony or a religious one. A civil ceremony is performed by the Ufficiale di Stato Civile or one of his assistants.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE: The following documents must be presented to the Ufficiale di Stato Civile when making a declaration of intention to marry:

1. U.S. passport or, if a member of the Armed Forces, identification card;
2. A certified copy of the birth certificate in "long firm" which includes the names of both parents and legalized with an "APOSTILLE" seal issued by the State Department of the State where the birth took place. The birth certificate should also be translated into Italian, certified with a "Certificate of Accuracy" and have another APOSTILLE seal affixed by the State Department of the State where the translation was certified.
3. Evidence of termination of any previous marriage (final divorce or annulment decree or death certificate). If applicable, a final decree of divorce or death certificate of the previous spouse, legalized with the "APOSTILLE" issued by the State Department of the State where the divorce took place; the divorce decree should also be translated into Italian, certified with a "Certificate of Accuracy" and have another APOSTILLE affixed by the State Department of the State where the translation was certified.
4. Sworn statement of consent to the marriage by the parents or legal guardian if the American citizen is under 18.
5. An affidavit (the "Atto Notorio"), sworn to by two witnesses, who must be over 18 and unrelated to either of the two parties or to each other and must personally appear either before the competent Italian Consular Office or, in Italy at the local Pretura.
   The affidavit will state that the witnesses swear under oath, knowing fully the criminal penalties involved if they make a perjurous statement, that they personally know the U.S. citizen, that they personally know that the U.S. citizen is a resident of the U.S., that they personally know that the U.S. citizen has never been married or is now divorced, that to the best of their knowledge the U.S. citizen is free to marry in accordance with the local laws, and that they have no objection for the U.S. citizen to be married in Italy.
   The affidavit must be executed within three months from the date of marriage. Any American going to Italy to be married is urged to obtain this declaration before leaving the United States as it may be much easier to find four witnesses who know him or her sufficiently well to make such a declaration in the United States rather than in Italy.
6. A declaration, sworn to by the U.S. citizen before a U.S. Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in Italy, stating that according to the laws to which the citizen is subject in the United States there is no obstacle to his or her marriage. Evidence of U.S. citizenship (passport, naturalization certificate, birth certificate showing birth in the United States) must be shown to the U.S. Consular Officer at the time of making this declaration. U.S. military personnel must also present final approval of his/her commanding officer for the marriage. Presentation of this declaration allows Italian authorities to reduce from three weeks to approximately four days the time you must wait before being granted a marriage license.

AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS: All public records issued outside of Italy and intended for use in Italy must have a "Hague certification," or apostille , which is a form affixed to a public record by the Secretary of State of the U.S. state issuing the document under the terms of a treaty.

U.S. EMBASSY/CONSULATE LOCATIONS:

U.S. Embassy Rome, Via Veneto 119/A, 00187 Rome
Tel. (011)(39)(6) 46741; Fax (011)(39)(6) 488-2672.

U.S. Consulate General Florence, Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci 38, 50123 Florence
Tel. (011)(39)(55) 239-8276; Fax. (011)(39)(55) 284-088.

U.S. Consulate General Milan, Via Principe Amadeo 2, 20121 Milan
Tel. (011)39)(2) 290-351; Fax. (011)(39)(2) 2900-1165.

U.S. Consulate General Naples, Piazza della Repubblica, 80122 Naples
Tel. (011)(39)(81) 583-8111;Fax. (011)(39)(81) 761-1869.

CERTIFIED COPIES OF YOUR ITALIAN MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: You should request a number of certified copies of your marriage certificate, as they will be needed for a variety of employment, insurance and legal purposes, and may be difficult to obtain at a later date. There is a small fee for each.

APOSTILLE FROM ITALIAN AUTHORITIES: Ask the local authorities to have an apostille affixed to each certified copy of the Italian marriage certificate. In Italy, the following individuals are authorized to affix apostilles: 1) I Procurators della Reppublica (The Public Prosecutor); 2) The Competent Prefetti (Heads) of the Territories for the Valley of Aosta; Il Presidente della Regione (The Head of the District for the Provinces of Trente and Bolsano; Il Commissario di Governo (The Commissioner of the Government). See also our general flyer on the "Hague Legalization Convention" available via our home page on the Internet orvia our automated fax service.

related to preparation of Documents Required for a Marriages Abroad for submission in foreign countries.

We will:

	Prepare or Retrieval the Documents for Marriages Abroad
	Obtain an Apostille (for Hague Convention countries) or Embassy Legalization (for non-Hague countries)
	Translate the Documents into the target language
	Have the Documentsfor Marriages Abroad authenticated by the Consulate or Embassy of the target country

To ensure that you receive an accurate record for your request and that your request is filled with all due speed, please complete and submit our Online Application

For more information please contavt apostille.us 1-212-233-7061