How to Notarise Italian Documents in Australia

Italian documents are proved in Italy, not by an Australian notary. For Australian use you usually need the right Italian civil status record from the comune, an English translation, and sometimes a certified copy. A notary matters more the other way, when you sign a procura here for an Italian inheritance or property sale, often with a DFAT apostille.

Key takeaways

• Italian civil status records come from the comune where the event was registered, as a short certificate, an extract or a full copy of the act.
• The full copy of a birth or marriage act is the most complete record and the one many bodies ask for when details matter.
• A multilingual extract helps, but Australian bodies may still want a full English translation.
• Italy and Australia are both Apostille Convention parties. In Italy, apostilles are issued by the Prefettura or the Procura, depending on the document.
• A procura for Italy can be signed at an Italian consulate or before an Australian notary with an apostille. The Italian notaio or lawyer decides which.

Do Italian documents need to be notarised in Australia?

Usually not. An Australian notary can certify that a copy matches an Italian document they have sighted, but cannot vouch for what an Italian comune records. For Australian uses, the work is ordering the right Italian record and having it translated.

For a visa, the Department of Home Affairs generally asks for colour scans of the originals, English translations, and sometimes certified copies. A Justice of the Peace or another authorised person can usually certify those copies for free. Start with the Home Affairs document checklist for your visa stream, and our notary or JP guide explains who can certify what.

If an Australian body does want Italian authentication, an apostille from the Italian side is the normal form. That is uncommon. Check the HCCH status table for the current position, and order one only when asked.

Certificate, extract or full copy: which Italian record do you need?

An Italian comune can issue a birth, marriage or death record in more than one form, and the names are easy to confuse.

• Certificato. A short certificate with the essential facts, such as name, date and place of birth. It is quick to obtain but shows little.
• Estratto. An extract of the act, with more detail than a certificate, including some later annotations. A multilingual extract uses standard labels in several languages, including English.
• Copia integrale. A full copy of the act as it was registered, with all annotations, such as marriages, separations or changes of name.

For Australian identity checks a certificate or extract may be enough. Where parents, later events or the exact original wording matter, as with citizenship claims, estates or a partner visa where an earlier marriage has ended, the full copy is the safer choice. Ask the receiving body before you order.

Which Italian documents do people most often need?

Italian families have been part of Australia for generations, and the same documents keep coming up, for new migrants and for their children and grandchildren alike.

Italian document	Issued by	Common Australian use
Birth record (certificate, extract or full copy)	The comune where the birth was registered	Visas, citizenship, family claims
Marriage record	The comune where the marriage was registered or transcribed	Partner visas, name changes
Death record	The comune where the death was registered	Estates, superannuation, insurance
Criminal record certificate	The Italian judicial record office	Police certificate for visas
Divorce or separation decision	The Italian court, or recorded in the civil status act	Proving an earlier marriage ended
Degree and transcript	The Italian university	Skills assessments, employers, study

What if you are registered with AIRE?

Italian citizens who live abroad are expected to register in AIRE, the register of Italians resident abroad, through the Italian consulate for their area. Once registered, your civil status records are kept by the comune linked to your AIRE registration, and events such as a marriage or a child's birth in Australia are transcribed into the Italian records through the consulate.

This matters in two ways. If you need an Italian record of an event that happened in Australia, it will exist only if the event was transcribed, so check that first. And when you order Italian certificates, the comune may need to know you are registered in AIRE. The Italian consulate can tell you how to request records for Italians living in Australia.

Do Italian documents need a translation?

Yes, when an Australian body relies on them. Everything in Italian needs an English translation, including stamps, annotations and handwritten notes. When the translation is made in Australia, use a NAATI-credentialled Italian translator. Home Affairs accepts translations made outside Australia only if they show the translator's full name, address and credentials. Our NAATI translation guide explains what a certified translation must include.

A multilingual extract, with its standard labels in several languages, makes the translator's job easier but may not replace a translation. Its free-text entries and annotations are usually in Italian only, and Australian bodies generally still expect a complete English translation.

Who issues apostilles in Italy?

Italy does not have a single apostille office. As a general rule, the Prefettura for the area apostilles administrative documents such as civil status records issued by a comune, while the Procura della Repubblica at the local court apostilles judicial documents and documents signed before an Italian notaio. Check with the office before you send anything.

What about an Italian criminal record certificate?

When Home Affairs asks for police certificates, it usually wants one from each country where you have lived for a total of 12 months or more in the last ten years since turning 16. For Italy, that is a criminal record certificate from the Italian judicial record system. People living in Australia can usually apply through the Italian consulate or have someone apply in Italy on their behalf. Check the Home Affairs instructions for the type it wants and the consulate's current process.

The certificate needs an English translation. It does not need an Australian notary, although a notary can witness a delegation if someone in Italy applies for you.

How do you sign a procura for Italy in Australia?

A procura, or power of attorney, is how many Italian Australians let a relative or lawyer handle an inheritance, sell a family house or deal with a bank in Italy. Italian notai are strict about the form of a procura, so ask the notaio or lawyer in Italy for the wording and the form they need before you do anything. There are usually two routes:

1. At the Italian consulate. Italian consulates can perform some notarial acts for people in their area, and a procura made there is in a form Italian notai know.
2. Before an Australian notary. You sign in front of the notary, who checks your identity and understanding, and DFAT then adds an apostille.

With the second route, the procura is often prepared in Italian, or in both Italian and English, and may need a certified Italian translation once it reaches Italy. Ask about the language before you sign, because a procura in English only may add a translation step at the Italian end. Our guides to sending Australian documents to Italy and overseas inheritances cover the Australian steps.

What about Italian pensions and proof of life?

Many older Italian Australians receive an Italian pension. Pensioners living abroad are generally asked to confirm each year that they are alive, using a form sent on behalf of the Italian pension institute. The letter explains who may witness the form, and it may accept witnesses other than a notary, such as certain officials or the consulate.

Follow the list in the letter, and pay attention to the deadline, because a missed confirmation can suspend payments. Our proof of life guide explains how these forms are usually completed in Australia.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Giulia lives in Adelaide. Her late father owned a share in a house near Treviso, and her cousin is handling the estate.

The notaio in Italy asks for a procura so that her cousin can sign for her. Giulia checks with the notaio, who confirms that a procura signed before an Australian notary and apostilled is acceptable, and sends the wording in Italian and English. She signs it before a notary in Adelaide, DFAT adds the apostille, and she couriers it to Italy. Separately, she orders the full copy of her father's death act from the comune, because the estate needs its annotations.

In short

Italian documents are proved in Italy: the right record from the comune, often the full copy, a criminal record certificate from the judicial record office, and an apostille from the Prefettura or Procura where authentication is asked for. In Australia you add a NAATI translation and certified copies where requested. A procura for Italy can be made at the consulate or before an Australian notary with a DFAT apostille.

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Not sure what your Italian paperwork needs? Send us the instructions you were given, and we will explain each step before you book. For translation with notarial certification, see our NAATI translation with notary certification service.