Italian vital records: how to obtain birth, death and residence certificates
For the recognition of Italian Citizenship by law of the bloodline (jure sanguinis), or during inheritance and succession processes, you might be asked to provide Italian vital records such as birth, death and residence certificates, as prescribed by the Italian law.
What information is included in these documents?
The Italian birth certificate attests the birth of a person and contains some primary pieces of information such as name, surname, place and date of birth.
If needed, you can also apply for an extract of birth act (“estratto di nascita”), which is a more comprehensive certificate reporting personal data (name, surname, gender), birth details (place, date and time of birth) and some more precious additional information like civil status, residence, and name and surname of the parents (notice that these are not always specified).
On the other hand, the death certificate attests somebody’s decease and reports basic data such as name, surname, place and date of death. When a more comprehensive document is requested, you should retrieve an extract of death act (“estratto di morte”), which includes personal data (name, surname, gender), birth details (place, date and time of birth), place, date and time of the decease and some additional information like civil status, last residence, and potential name of wife/husband of the deceased (when specified).
For what concerns the residence certificate, it attests the current place of residence of a person and lists the personal data (name, surname, place and date of birth), city and address of residence.
How can I obtain Italian vital records?
These types of records are maintained by the Registrar of Vital Statistics (Ufficio dello Stato Civile) in the city (comune or municipio) where the event occurred. When applying for one of these certificates, you must provide a set of relevant information, as the office of the registrar cannot undertake extensive research of its files to locate a record which is not properly identified. Also, the office will not translate requests in a foreign language: your request will have to be written in Italian.
For this reasons, unless you don’t speak fluent Italian and/or have the chance to visit these offices in person, obtaining the records you need may not be as simple as you thought.
Let us know if we can help.
Do you need birth, death and/or residence certificates? Our team is specialized in cross-border legal matters and can fully manage the process of obtaining documents from Italian public bodies and local authorities. We also provide legalization, apostillation and certified translation services to enable the international use of your certificates.