Italian Civil Records in the U.S. — 2026 Guide

Italy records the civil status of its citizens in their Italian municipality, not at the consulate. When a birth, marriage, divorce or death involving an Italian citizen happens in the United States, the consulate receives the document and forwards it for transcription into the register of the relevant comune. Until that transcription happens, the event has no effect in Italy.

Quick facts

The transcription itself is free. The cost sits in the preparation: a certified long-form U.S. certificate, an apostille, and a translation into Italian.

Fees breakdown

Every Italian citizen resident abroad is required to keep AIRE up to date, and civil status changes are part of that obligation, not an optional extra.

How to file

1. Order the long-form U.S. certificate of the event. Abstracts and souvenir certificates are not accepted.
2. Have it apostilled by the Secretary of State of the issuing state.
3. Have it translated into Italian and the translation certified as the consulate requires.
4. Submit the file to the consulate holding your AIRE registration, in person or by post depending on the office.
5. The consulate forwards it to your comune, which enters it in the register.
6. Update AIRE with the new civil status once the transcription is complete.

Required documents

• Long-form U.S. certificate, apostilled and translated.
• Transcription request form supplied by your consulate.
• Identity document of the Italian citizen concerned.
• AIRE details, including the comune of registration.
• For births: identity documents of both parents and evidence of the parents’ civil status.
• For divorces: the complete judgment, apostilled, with the certificate showing it is final.

Where to file

The consulate covering your residence handles the file and routes it to your comune. If you are not yet registered with AIRE, that registration usually has to happen first.

Additional notes

Births of children abroad

A child born in the United States to an Italian parent is Italian from birth, but nothing follows — no passport, no identity card — until the birth is transcribed in the comune.

Marriages

A marriage celebrated in the United States is valid in Italy once transcribed. Without transcription, an Italian office will still show the person as unmarried, with consequences for property and inheritance.

Foreign divorces

Transcription of a foreign divorce requires the judgment to be final and, in some cases, additional checks before the comune will register it.

Timing

Transcription depends on the workload of both the consulate and the comune, and can take months. Start it well before you need a passport or a certificate that depends on it.