Legalising Foreign Documents in Rome: a Step-by-Step Guide
Foreign birth certificate, degree, marriage certificate — three different paths depending on your country of origin. Here's how to make them legally valid in Italy.
In a nutshell
A document issued abroad is not automatically valid in Italy. To use it here, you need a procedure that certifies the authenticity of the signature of the official who issued it. This is called legalisation, and the process varies depending on the country where the document was issued.
At a glance
| Cost | Marca da bollo (revenue stamp) of €16 per legalised document; sworn translation: €16 stamp per 4 pages + court filing fees |
| Timeline | Prefettura of Rome: 5–15 working days; sworn translation: 1–7 days |
| Where in Rome | Prefettura di Roma — Via IV Novembre 119/A; Tribunale Ordinario di Roma — Piazzale Clodio 1 |
| Documents needed | Original document, revenue stamp, photo ID |
The path depends on your country of origin
Before doing anything else, work out which of the three routes applies to you.
EU country: for civil-status documents (birth, marriage, death, residency), neither legalisation nor an Apostille is required. EU Regulation 2016/1191 lets you request the document from the foreign municipality with a standard multilingual form attached, which you can then present directly in Italy with no further steps.
Country party to the 1961 Hague Convention (over 125 countries, including the USA, UK, Argentina, India, China from November 2023, Canada from January 2024, and the UAE from June 2025): no consular legalisation is needed. An Apostille — affixed in your country of origin — is enough, plus a sworn Italian translation once you're in Italy. The Italian Prefettura (regional state-government office representing the central state) plays no role for foreign documents processed this way.
Country not party to the Hague Convention (e.g. Eritrea, Iran, Cuba, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Algeria, Libya): you need the double consular legalisation described in the next section.
Not sure which category your country falls into? Check the updated list at hcch.net.
Procedure for non-Hague countries: double consular legalisation
This is the longest route and involves two phases — one abroad, one in Italy.
Phase one, in your country of origin:
- Obtain the document from the competent authority (civil registry, university, ministry).
- Take it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or equivalent office) of your country: they apply the first legalisation.
- Take it to the Italian Embassy or Consulate responsible for your country: they apply the second legalisation. Consular fees vary by country.
Phase two, in Italy:
- Translation: hire a translator to translate the document into Italian.
- Sworn certification (asseverazione): the translator (or you together with them) brings the original plus the translation to the Ufficio Asseverazioni e Perizie (sworn-translation office) at the Tribunale Ordinario di Roma — Viale Giulio Cesare 54 or Piazzale Clodio 1. You pay a revenue stamp of €16 for every 4 pages of translation, plus €3.87 in court filing fees. A court clerk administers an oath to the translator, and the sworn translation is ready.
- Submit the legalised and sworn-translated document to the Italian office that requires it (Comune, Questura, university, INPS).
As an alternative to the Tribunale, you can go to the Giudice di Pace (local magistrate court) in Rome at Viale Giulio Cesare 54, or to a private notary — faster but not free.
What the Prefettura of Rome actually does
The Prefettura steps in for a specific case: when you need to use an Italian document in a country that is not party to the Hague Convention. In that situation, it legalises the signature of the Italian official who signed the document.
It also legalises the signature of a foreign consul accredited in Italy on documents from their country, when those documents then need to be used in Italy by citizens of non-Hague countries.
The responsible office is Area V — Civil Rights, Citizenship, and Legal Status of Foreigners — under the Ufficio Legalizzazioni at Via IV Novembre 119/A, 00187 Roma (switchboard: 06 67291). Access is normally by appointment; check the current procedure at prefettura.interno.gov.it/it/prefetture/roma/legalizzazioni.
Most common documents and where they're needed
- Foreign civil-status documents (birth, marriage, divorce): for family reunification, marriage in Italy, citizenship applications
- Foreign academic qualifications (diplomas, degrees): for enrolment at Italian universities, professional recognition, civil-service exams
- Foreign police clearance certificates: for residence permits, citizenship, employment
- Foreign powers of attorney and notarial deeds: for legal and commercial matters
- Foreign court judgements: for recognition of divorce or adoption in Italy
For academic qualifications, there is an additional step: the dichiarazione di valore in loco (value declaration), issued by the Italian Consulate in the country where the qualification was obtained. For formal academic recognition, CIMEA (Centro Informazioni Mobilità Equivalenze Accademiche — Italy's academic equivalence centre) may also be involved.
Mistakes to avoid
- Confusing the Apostille with consular legalisation. They are alternative procedures, not cumulative. If your country is party to the Hague Convention, an Apostille is enough — do not also get consular legalisation.
- Forgetting the sworn translation. Even a perfectly legalised or apostilled document must be translated into Italian by a certified translator and sworn at the court. Legalisation alone is not enough to use a document in Italy.
- Using photocopies. Legalisation applies only to the original or a certified copy issued by the competent authority. A simple photocopy will not be accepted.
Special cases
China, Canada, UAE: these three countries joined the Hague Convention on 7 November 2023, 11 January 2024, and 7 June 2025, respectively. Documents issued after those dates require only an Apostille; documents issued before those dates may still require double consular legalisation. Check with the relevant embassy.
School documents for Italian universities: foreign students wishing to enrol at an Italian university must submit their diploma with an Italian consular declaration of value or an Apostille, by the deadlines set by the MUR (Ministry of Universities — generally in August).
Foreign divorce judgements: in addition to legalisation, the judgement must be transcribed by the competent Italian Comune. If contested, the process goes to the Court of Appeal.
Countries with no Italian embassy or reduced diplomatic relations: you can contact the Italian embassy responsible for that country but based in a third country. The process takes longer.
Vatican documents: treated as documents of a foreign state. For Italian civil use, they require legalisation through the Vatican Secretariat of State under special rules.
Official sources
- Prefettura di Roma — Legalizzazioni
- Ministero degli Affari Esteri — Document legalisation
- HCCH — Hague Convention, list of member countries
- Ministero della Giustizia — Apostille and legalisation
- MAECI — Foreign embassies accredited in Italy
- EU Regulation 2016/1191 (Eur-Lex text)
- CIMEA — academic recognition
- Tribunale di Roma
Legal references: DPR 28/12/2000 n. 445 art. 33; Legge 20/12/1966 n. 1253; Hague Convention 5 October 1961; EU Regulation 2016/1191; DPR 26/10/1972 n. 642.