Criminal Record Certificate and Pending Charges in Rome: Practical Guide

In a nutshell

A criminal record certificate shows whether you have final convictions recorded in the Casellario Giudiziale (Italy's central judicial register — essentially your criminal record). A pending charges certificate (certificato dei carichi pendenti) shows criminal proceedings that are still open and have not yet resulted in a final judgment. These are two separate documents, and you will often be asked for both when applying for jobs, sitting public-service exams, applying for Italian citizenship or starting an adoption process.

At a glance

Cost	€19.87 (€16 revenue stamp + €3.87 administrative fee). Free for work involving minors, adoption, public tenders, volunteer work.
Timeline	Online with SPID/CIE: a few minutes. Counter (urgent): 1–2 hours. Counter (standard): 5 working days.
Where in Rome	Online at certificatipenali.giustizia.it or in person at the Procura della Repubblica — Piazzale Clodio 1, 00195 Roma.
Documents needed	SPID (Italy's digital identity for public online services) or CIE (Italian electronic ID card) for online; valid ID + Codice Fiscale (Italian tax ID) + marca da bollo (revenue stamp) + payment receipt for the in-person counter.

Criminal record vs. pending charges: not the same thing

Understanding the difference saves you a wasted trip.

The criminal record certificate (from the Casellario Giudiziale) records convictions that have become final (i.e. no further appeals possible) under Italian law. There are three variants: the generale (most comprehensive, for personal use), the penale (criminal convictions only — the most commonly requested for employment purposes) and the civile (civil measures such as court-ordered incapacitations). Since 2019, the Italian certificate also includes entries from other EU member states, thanks to the ECRIS European criminal records information system.

The pending charges certificate is issued by the Procura della Repubblica (public prosecutor's office) and lists criminal proceedings that are still active in that court's district. Crucially, this is a local document, not a national one. For a complete picture of your situation you need to request it from the Procura of the district where you live (in Rome: Piazzale Clodio) and, if required, also from the Procura Generale at the Court of Appeal.

The criminal record certificate is national — you can get it from any Procura in Italy. Pending charges must be requested from the Procura serving the area where you live, or wherever proceedings have been opened against you.

Three ways to get them

Online with SPID or CIE (criminal record certificate only)

The fastest option. Go to certificatipenali.giustizia.it, log in with SPID (level 2) or CIE 3.0, select the type of certificate and the stated purpose. If your purpose falls into an exempt category — working with minors, adoption, public procurement, volunteering with minors — you pay nothing. Otherwise, pay online by card or PayPal: €16.00 for the revenue stamp (marca da bollo) + €3.87 administrative fee, €19.87 in total. The digitally signed PDF is ready within minutes, downloadable for 90 days, and is fully legally valid even when sent by email.

Pending charges certificates are not available through this online portal. For those you must go to the Procura in person.

In person at the Procura (also for pending charges)

If you need a pending charges certificate, or you do not have SPID, go to the Sportello dell'Ufficio Locale del Casellario Giudiziale (local judicial-register counter) at the Procura della Repubblica, Piazzale Clodio 1, 00195 Roma (Palazzo di Giustizia Penale, ground floor). Opening hours are roughly Mon–Fri 8:30–12:30; always confirm in advance at procura.roma.giustizia.it.

Bring: a valid identity document (non-EU citizens: passport + permesso di soggiorno — residence permit), your Codice Fiscale, a €16 revenue stamp (marca da bollo), the completed request form (available at the counter or downloadable from the Ministry of Justice website), and a payment receipt for the administrative fee paid via PagoPA or postal order (c/c n. 5079741, payable to "Ufficio del Casellario Centrale - Roma"). The standard fee is €3.87; for urgent same-day processing (ready in 1–2 hours) it is €7.74.

To get there: Metro A to Ottaviano (then a 15-minute walk), or buses 32, 49, 200, 280, 590 or 991.

By certified email (PEC)

If you cannot attend in person, you can submit a signed request, a copy of your ID and proof of payment to the PEC (certified email — legally valid in Italy) address of the Casellario office at the Rome Procura (current address at procura.roma.giustizia.it). Allow 5–10 working days.

When it is free

Several use cases are exempt from both the revenue stamp and the administrative fee. The main ones: employment involving minors (D.Lgs 39/2014), healthcare and education, adoption or foster care, some public-procurement tenders, volunteering with minors at third-sector organisations, legal self-defence. The full list is in art. 18 of DPR 313/2002. When filling in the form, select the correct exemption reason — if you choose the wrong one you will be charged.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Confusing the two documents. If you are asked for both the criminal record and the pending charges certificate, you must obtain them separately. The online portal covers only the Casellario criminal record certificate; pending charges require a visit to the Procura.
2. Using paid private websites. The only official portal is certificatipenali.giustizia.it. Sites offering the certificate for €29–99 are middlemen charging you a markup for a service that costs at most €19.87 through the official channel.
3. Submitting an expired certificate. The validity period is 6 months from the issue date. Public-sector bodies will reject out-of-date certificates — always check the date before attaching one to an application.

Special cases

Non-EU citizen without SPID. You can do everything at the counter with your passport and residence permit. If you have no previous convictions in Italy the certificate will show "no record" — but you still need the document to prove that to whomever is asking.

Lived in more than one EU country. The Italian certificate already captures entries from other EU states via ECRIS. Make sure to list all your nationalities on the form so the cross-border lookup is triggered.

Need the certificate for emigrating to a non-EU country (USA, Canada, Australia). Request the criminal record certificate, then have an Apostille affixed to it at the Prefettura di Roma — Ufficio Legalizzazioni (Prefettura is the regional state-government office representing the central government) at Via IV Novembre 119/A. If the destination country has not signed the Hague Convention, you will need consular legalisation instead. Some countries also require a certified translation.

You are a minor. The juvenile judicial register (Casellario Giudiziale dei Minorenni) is separate and held by the Procura presso il Tribunale per i Minorenni di Roma (Via dei Bresciani 32). Entries are automatically expunged when you turn 18, with limited exceptions.

You have a conviction and want a cleaner record. After the statutory periods have elapsed (typically 3 years from completion of a minor sentence), you can apply for riabilitazione (rehabilitation) from the Tribunale di Sorveglianza. Once granted, those entries disappear from the certificate issued to private parties.

Urgent deadline. Online is already very fast. At the counter, ask for rilascio a vista (on-the-spot processing) and pay €7.74 instead of €3.87 — the document will be ready in 1–2 hours.

Official sources

• Ministry of Justice — Casellario Giudiziale
• Online criminal certificate portal
• Ministry of Justice — Practical guides on the register
• Request forms
• Procura della Repubblica di Roma
• Tribunale di Roma
• Prefettura di Roma — Legalizzazioni e Apostille

Legal references: DPR 14/11/2002 n. 313 (Testo Unico Casellario Giudiziale), D.Lgs 02/10/2018 n. 122 (Casellario reform, ECRIS), DPR 28/12/2000 n. 445 (self-certification), DPR 26/10/1972 n. 642 (revenue stamp tax), D.Lgs 04/03/2014 n. 39 (work involving minors).