My husband and I were ecstatic when we made the decision to have an intimate wedding on the Amalfi Coast of Italy! However, we did not realize the daunting process ahead of us to make it a legal wedding recognized in the United States! This guide to getting married in Italy would have been extremely useful at the time!
Side note- legally getting married in the States and having a symbolic ceremony/wedding in Italy is a much simpler route. But if you are like us and want it to all be on the same day and show off your Italian wedding certificate – this guide will be extremely useful!
Getting Married in Italy (for Americans)
Beginning the process:
US Embassy’s Guide: This resource link is confusing but provides links to many critical webpages and the various jurisdictions. Do not fully rely on this link or the information contained in this blog post! You must go to many different websites to get the full picture, which we have provided below. Seek advice from professionals such as international lawyers, if need be!
Getting Married in Italy – you must have:
- Passports for you and your fiancé
- Driver’s License for you and your fiancé
- Birth Certificates – full (long) version – for you and your fiancé
- If applicable, evidence of termination of previous marriage
Step One: Authenticating and Translating Documents
Long Form Birth Certificate:
Request a long form birth certificate from your state of birth and make sure the name on the certificate (and all documents) are the same. In Missouri (our birth state), the process is provided here. Your state should have a similar webpage and process.
Apostille:
When requesting your long form birth certificate (from your state of birth), you must also request an Apostille. If you have the additional document evidencing termination of previous marriage, it must have the Apostille stamp as well. Typically, the Apostille request is provided by the Secretary of State’s office. Here is the example webpage that provided the information for our state, Missouri. Your respective state should have a similar webpage and process. You must receive the Apostille on each birth certificate!
What is an Apostille? Apostilles authenticate the seals and signatures of officials on public documents such as birth certificates, notarials, court orders, or any other document issued by a public authority, so that they can be recognized in foreign countries that are parties to the Hague Convention (Italy is a party).
Translation of Birth Certificates:
You must obtain an Italian translation of your long form Birth Certificates. We used the American Translators Association to find our translator. The specific translator we used is Alessandra Cortese de Bosis. Her information is available on the ATA directory and she was very responsive and did a great job for our translations. We were able to scan and email a copy of our birth certificate and she scanned and emailed us the translated copy.
Step Two: Getting the Atto Notorio
The Atto Notorio is done in the United States at the Italian Embassy. This is a declaration, in addition to the “Dichiarazione Giurata” described below, stating that according to the laws to which you are subject in the United States, there is no obstacle to your marriage. Technically, you can also do this in Italy but for timing purposes that is NOT recommended and not even mentioned in this guide.
Making your appointment:
The Atto Notorio MUST be obtained less than THREE MONTHS prior to your marriage date.
This website provides the list of consulate jurisdiction. Be sure to check this to find the appropriate consulate for your Atto Notorio appointment. Click the consulate name that has jurisdiction over your state to be taken to their respective website. Once on that consulate’s website, navigate to find the notary email address. You must email the consulate to ask for an appointment for the Atto Notorio.
Witnesses:
VERY IMPORTANT – the U.S. Embassy webpage provides that you need two witnesses two accomplish this step in the process. HOWEVER, each Italian consulate may have different requirements. When making your appointment, MAKE SURE you verify with that specific Consulate the necessary requirements of the witnesses you bring. For instance, we were required to have FOUR witnesses (all webpages and resources provide that only two are required). Additionally, these witnesses CANNOT be family members and MUST have a United States Passport.
What to bring to your appointment:
Once at your consulate appointment, you must have with you the following: 1) US Driver’s license, 2) Proof of Address in the consulate’s jurisdiction, (if it is different than the address on your Driver’s license), 3) Long form Birth Certificates with Apostille, 4) Translated Long Form Birth Certificates, 5) appropriate number of witnesses that are non-family members with US Driver’s Licenses and Passports.
You must pay for revenue stamps to receive the Atto Notorio. This will be provided and paid for directly at the Consulate. Be sure to have cash, just in case. Bring around $100, which is more than enough for the stamps and documents.
Step Three: Dichiarazione Giurata or Nulla Osta
This sworn statement (sometimes referred to under both names above – so be careful when researching) is done upon arrival in Italy at an American Consulate. Like the Atto Notorio, the Nulla Osta is a sworn statement that you can legally get married in Italy. You will receive two Nulla Osta documents, one for yourself and one for your fiancé. If you are not getting married specifically in Rome, Florence, Naples or Milan (the most common cities with American Consulates), be sure to check with the locality where you will get married to determine which American Consulate has jurisdiction.
Making your appointment:
To schedule your appointment, click here. **Scroll down webpage until you see another link to make your appointments in the appropriate city** Be sure to schedule your appointment at the American Consulate with jurisdiction of the city where you will get married in Italy. Make sure to schedule the appointment as far in advance as possible. Be aware of your travel plans to make sure you will arrive in Italy in time time for your appointment! Appointments are typically only offered on Tuesday and Thursdays. We were able to pay by credit card at this appointment.
What to bring to your appointment:
Once at your appointment, you must present all your documents listed above along with the Atto Notorio. You will each fill out the Nulla Osta form at the appointment (you can also print and bring it with you). Here is the form for Rome’s Consulate.
Step Four: The Prefettura for the Nulla Osta
After receiving the Nulla Osta, you must take it to the Prefettura (the local prefecture process). Before going to the Prefettura, you must buy two “Marco da Bollo” stamps from the local Tabacchi shop (tobacco store). Do not attach the stamps, they will do that at the Prefeturra.
Be sure you know the hours and days your local Prefeturra office is open. The Prefeturra should be received in the same locality as your Nulla Osta appointment. In our scenario, our Nulla Osta appointment was in Rome. So, we checked the Rome Prefeturra for the hours the legalization office is open. Note- there are special hours for the legalization office – it is not just the general hours for the Prefeturra as a whole.
Once at the Prefeturra, the specific office to ask for is the Ufficio Legalizazione. The Prefeturra experience is very similar to waiting at the DMV; therefore, it is important to get to the office as early as possible and make time in your travel plans.
Make sure you schedule your wedding date with enough time to accomplish these tasks in Italy beforehand! Be aware – it is unlikely to find English speakers in these local offices.
Step Five: Marriage Certificate – Civil Ceremony
The Atto Notorio, the Nulla Osta, and the Prefettura are all obtained so that you can present these, along with your Italian-translated birth certificates and divorce documents, to the local authority in the town where you are to be married. We did a civil ceremony at the local town hall in Positano. This may differ slightly for religious ceremonies.
At this step in the process, it is very helpful to have a wedding planner or the venue provide assistance. For instance, you must have an Italian translator present at the civil ceremony. Some localities require the documents to be presented in advance of your ceremony and some do not. In our circumstance, we scanned a copy of our documents to our wedding planner and she passed them along to the town hall. When we arrived for our ceremony, they had everything they needed and it made the process much simpler.
Witnesses:
Like an American wedding, you must have two witnesses for the civil ceremony. Note that these witness ARE able to be family members (unlike for the Atto Notorio). The witnesses must have their passports (and some town halls may request witness name and address in advance).
Venue:
When you are looking for wedding venues, if you are not having a religious wedding in the church be sure to check and see if the venue is approved for legal civil ceremonies. There are very few venues in Italy with such approval. More often than not, the legal civil ceremony takes place in the town hall (the mayor conducts all civil ceremonies) and a symbolic ceremony follows in the place of your choice.
NOTE- if you will be using the town hall for your civil ceremony be sure to make that appointment way in advance (just as you would with any wedding venue)! This is your wedding date and you want to make sure the town hall is available!
For example, we got married in Positano at Hotel Marincanto. This venue not approved for legal weddings. Therefore, our civil ceremony occurred in the morning at the town hall but it was not our true wedding ceremony. We considered this our legal exchange and had our symbolic ceremony that evening (wedding dress, walking down the aisle, etc in the symbolic ceremony) at Hotel Marincanto.
Step Six: The Prefeturra on the Marriage Certificate
Yes, there is more! After receiving your marriage certificate from the town hall, you must return to the Prefeturra to receive the Apostille on your marriage certificate. This may or may not be the same Prefeturra location as before. It depends on the jurisdiction of your civil ceremony location.
The Apostille will provide a translated English copy of the marriage certificate, which is very important when bringing it back to the United States. Further, the Apostille is what makes the document legal in the United States! If anyone questions the validity of the marriage certificate in the US upon return, the Apostille will save you (it saved me at the DMV – but I still had to explain the Hague Convention to them!).
Our wedding planner was especially awesome and went to the Prefeturra for us! That way, we were able to start enjoying your honeymoon!
Other tips to assist in the process:
Hire a wedding planner in Italy!
We were very lucky to have found our wedding planner, Sharon Ridley Smith owner of Marriage Made in Italy. She was absolutely fantastic. She is originally from England, so she speaks English!! This was incredibly helpful. She was able to serve as our translator and liaison throughout the entire planning process. Not just all the legal steps, but the wedding planning steps too! It would have been next to impossible to coordinate hair, make-up, flowers, cake, venue, etc., without her.
Sharon is based on the Amalfi Coast and plans weddings throughout the country!
We can help too!
Feel free to comment below any additional questions or concerns in regards to the “Getting Married in Italy” process! We are happy to help!
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~ Brooke Hartman
Disclaimer: This article should not be used as a substitute for legal assistance by a legal professional with international law experience to assist in this process. This article is merely a resource to provide education and information on the subject and should not be relied on for accuracy or individual needs.
Thank GOD for this article !! I am getting married in Italy, Positano, in September 2020. I am working with a photographer and also a friend of hers on the legalization process. She’s doing all the running around for us in Italy. My question for you is: she wants me to pay for the town all fee now and wants me to do it thru international wire-bank transfer. Is that correct? She gave me all the town halls bank info and everything. I called the town hall directly and of course because of the time difference the marital people weren’t there. I also brought this up with my photographer (who is from Italy but lives in San Diego) and she said Italians really only pay with cash or wire transfer and that credit cards are not a popular thing. She insured me it was the easiest and safest way to go-international transfer. I figured I’d ask you guys because I am also using your blog as a “how to”. Any and all info is appreciated!
Nicole Danna
Hi Nicole! I’m glad the article was useful and congrats on your upcoming wedding in Positano! Yes, we also paid in advance to reserve the town hall and I do believe it was wire transfer. Your photographer is correct that credit cards are not the norm, we had to make many trips to the ATM to pay our wedding vendors. I would give all the wiring instructions to your bank and see if they can verify the information for you! I’ll look through my emails too and see if I can find the info we received for our wire (and to confirm it was a wire). If you want, feel free to email me at brooke@hartmanstravel.com and we can discuss in more detail. Congrats, again!