Italy

General Organization

I. Historical Development

1) When was the registration service established in your country?

In most part of Italy, civil records were founded in 1866. In the Italian region called Veneto they were founded in 1871. However, births were registered by civil Authorities in many parts of the Italian territory even before 1866 (especially in those parts which were under the domination of the French Napoleon empire).

2) Which authorities were empowered before this date and what is the evidential value of documents drawn up by them?

Religious authorities were usually in charge of registering the births.

3) Can you cite the major texts marking the development of civil status in your country?

Decree of the King (Regio Decreto) No. 2602 of 1865 was the first Italian law establishing and regulating the Italian civil records. Then such law was replaced by the Decree of the King (Regio Decreto) No. 1238 del 9 luglio 1939. The current law regulating civil records is the Decree of the President of the Republic No.396/2000.

4) Can you cite the major judgments that have marked the development of civil status in your country?

I would say that the major change was when in 1997 the administration and the control over civil status was transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

II. Characteristics of the System

1) Is the registration service secular ou religious in your country?

Secular.

2) If secular:

a) Do any acts of religious authorities have any effect on civil status and, if so, which?

Pure religious acts do no have effects, but, according to the Agreement between the Italian State and the Vatican, Priests can celebrate marriages and prepare marriages certificates with civil effects.

b) Must an act drawn up by a national religious authority be transcribed or registered by a civil authority and what are the consequences of a failure to transcribe or register?

No.
Pure religious documents cannot be registered into the Italian civil records.

3) Which of your national authorities are authorised to register events?

The Civil Status Registrars “Ufficiali di Stato Civile” are authorized to register events that occurred in Italy and the Italian Consuls are authorized to register that occurred outside Italy before the Consulate.

4) Which authorities hold and keep the registers?

5) Is there a national authority responsible for civil status in your country?

Yes, the national responsible administration is the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

6) Can you give details of who performs the duties of a civil registrar? Are they elected officials? Are they people who have passed an administrative competition or examination? Is this a profession as such in your country?

The Civil registrars are public officials that are not elected. They pass an administrative competition to become public officials, but not necessarily civil registrars. Therefore, they are not considered “professionals” and they do not have to obtain any specific title to be entitled to perform services related to civil status records.

7) In which language(s) are documents drawn up?

In Italian mostly, and in respect of international conventions.

8) What are the different categories of documents and registers used in your country?

There are birth, marriage and death certificates. Moreover, there are citizenship’s certificates, civil unions’ certificates and other documents related to civil status of the people. Also, there are other kinds of documents which refer to the residence of the people (anagrafe) and to their civil status.

9) What is the role of computer technology?

a) Are civil status registers drawn up or reproduced by computer?

Yes, they are now.

b) Can information available in electronic form be consulted by third parties?

Yes, they can.

c) Can interested parties and/or third parties obtain copies of or extracts from civil status records via the Internet?

Yes, they can. However, you must know where the event (birth, marriage, etc) occurred and inquiry the civil registrar of that specific place. In other words, there isn’t a central data base of civil status available for third parties.

III. Consular Registration

1) Do your laws prohibit foreign diplomatic agents or consular officers from exercising, in your territory, the functions of a registrar with regard to their nationals?

No, they do not.

2) Do your laws give your diplomatic agents or consular officers the right to exercise abroad the functions of a registrar with regard to your nationals?

No, they do not.

3) Is there a central service for consular records?

Yes, there is. But this service is not available for third parties.

Marco Mellone
Italian lawyer, founder of Mellone Law Firm, with ten years and more of experience in providing legal services for private individuals and companies, focusing on international business law and international private law.