The below is the process for getting married in Italy if you are not Catholic. The only religious marriage ceremony recognized by the Italian government is Catholic. Any other marriage performed in a non-catholic ceremony can only take place after a civil ceremony in the local town hall. The reason for this is the priest at the non-Catholic church will require the paperwork from the town hall in order to perform the church ceremony. Don’t try to bypass the civil ceremony at the town hall, unless you were married in the United States and have proof. You will be rebuffed at every turn. For our purposes, in Florence, the civil ceremony is held at the Palazzo Vecchio.
This is not the same as having a civil ceremony in the United States and wanting a church ceremony in Italy. You were married in the United States and your license was issued by the State you were married. The below process is if you want your marriage license issued by the Italian government. Remember the Italian government offices we list are for if you are marrying in Florence.
It may look like a daunting task, but it is pretty painless. Our timeline once we arrived in Italy: Tuesday 19 May – US Consulate; Wednesday 20 May – Prefettura; 21 May – Declaration to marry; 28 May – Civil Ceremony at noon, church ceremony at 5pm.
Do not separate documents which have been stapled together by each government office you visit. At every appointment bring all of the documents you have accrued.
The steps are outlined in order as you should handle each. But, within certain steps there are appointment requests you need to handle at least at the 180 day mark or soon thereafter before you depart the United States prior to your planned date before that step can be completed. See the timeline of appointments at the bottom.
1. PASSPORT – Apply for your passport if one or both of you do not have one as soon as you have decided you are getting married in Italy. It takes 6-8 weeks. You will need it for your every appointment.
2. BIRTH CERTIFICATE – You both must obtain a new birth certificate not issued more than 180 days prior to your planned wedding date from the State Office of Vital Statistics in which you were born. You want a copy from the State, not from the local jurisdiction you were born. Use this link to find the office for your State Office of Vital Statistics. We got two each just in case.
3. APOSTILLE – You both must then have the birth certificate certified by the State Secretary of State of which you were born. Just tell them you need an “Apostille”. The cost and time will vary depending on the State. List of State Secretary of State for Apostille. We got two each just in case.
4. TRANSLATION – Find a certified translator to translate the Apostille and birth certificates. We found our translator on American Translators Association to insure we were using a certified translator. See our vendor page for whom we used. Use the advanced options to help filter down to your geographic area.
5. ATTO NOTORIO – Start contacting the Embassy or Consuls of Italy here in the United States which serves the area in which you reside at the 180 day mark prior to your wedding date to make an appointment for the “Atto Notorio” (translates to affidavit). For us it was the, Embassy of Italy, 3000 Whitehaven St. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (202) 612-4400. You need to call and or email almost daily. This is because the office which handles the “Atto Notorio” is not always responsive. It took us almost a month and a half of phone calls and emails to get the appointment date at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC. Keep calling and emailing until the appointment is set. Persistence is key here. You can have this done in Italy, but you will find it far, far, far easier to get his done prior to leaving.
a. On the day of your appointment, you will need:
i. Two witnesses, over 18 years old, not related to either you. They should reside within the jurisdiction of the embassy (at least that is the case of the embassy in Washington, DC). They must arrive with the perspective bride and groom. The Atto Notorio will state that the witnesses swear, under the penalty of perjury, that they personally know that both of you have never been married or are now divorced or widowed; that to the best of their knowledge you both are free to marry in accordance with the local laws; and that there are no objections for you to be married in Italy.
ii. You both and your witnesses need your driver’s license and passports (You are technically visiting Italy).
iii. You will need the birth certificates, Apostilles and the translated copies for the bride and groom.
iv. The Atto Notorio will cost $24 for the two total.
v. This process took about two hours. 75% was waiting for the notary to prepare both Atto Notorio in english and italian. If you do this at the embassy in Washington, DC they have a great cafeteria. Think about it. You are in Italy after all.
b. Prior to the appointment you will be asked to send a copy of the driver’s license and passports for you and your witnesses.
Put all of the documents you have accumulated with your passport. Why? You will not forget your passports, but you could forget the documents…..WE DID!!! DOH!!! Luckily we had someone with a spare key to our house.
6. DICHIARAZIONE GIURATA – United States Consulate General Florence, Lungarno Vespucci, 38 50123 Firenze, Italy. www.florence.usconsulate.gov email: [email protected]
Prior to departing for Florence, you must schedule an appointment with the US Consulate for a “Dichiarazione Giurata” (translates to “sworn statement”) before a U.S. Consular Officer in Italy. In this statement the applicants declare that there are no impediments to their marriage under U.S. law.
i. Schedule your appointment here. The Consuls office opens dates on the calendar 30-45 days prior to the date you will want. Once you are within this window, check the calendar daily. There are a limited number of time slots per day. The appointments are only available Tuesdays and Thursdays. You will have to schedule separate appointments for both of you, but you will be able to go in at the same time. Be sure to print and save the appointment confirmation. You will need to bring this with you on the day of your appointment.
ii. You both will need to fill out a “Nulla Osta” prior to your appointment. DO NOT SIGN THE NULLA OSTA as it must be signed in front of the consular officer.
iii. You both will need your passports.
iii. The cost is $50 for each “Dichiarazione Giurata”.
iv. DO NOT ARRIVE LATE. If you are late, call the emergency number. They may be able to still squeeze you in. There is no guarantee, however.
7. PREFETTURA – Prefettura of Florence, Ufficio Legalizzazione, Via Giacomini 8, Telephone: (+39) 055-278-3781 Fax: (+39) 055-278-3715
Hours: Monday through Friday from 0900 to 1100 and also on Thursday from 1400 to 1600 www.prefettura.it/firenze/multidip/index.htm
You must bring both Dichiarazione Giurata to the Ufficio Legalizzazione (Legalization Office) of the local Prefettura ((Prefecture) an Italian government office) to legalize it. You will need your passport to get into the building. They will give you a number. Once you are outside of the office, there is no formal process for who goes in next. Everyone remembers who came in after them. There is one person in the office. All he does is yell,”Prego” from the office. You give the Dichiarazione Giurata, along with the revenue stamps. They will print and attach a translation to each. They will affix the revenue stamps and them ink stamp them.
i. You will need to purchase two 16€ revenue stamps (marca da bollo) from any tobacco shop (tabacchi). These shops are everywhere.
ii. You both will need your passport
iii. No appointment necessary.
8. DECLARATION OF INTENTION TO MARRY – Take everything you have acquired (Passports, Birth Certificates, Apostilles, Translations, Atto Notorio, Dichiarazione Giurata, Prefettura legalizations) to the Ufficio Matrimonio at the Palazzo Vecchio. Mon-Fri 0830-1300hrs; Tuesday 1430-1700hrs to make a “Declaration of Intention to Marry” (Dichiarazione di Matrimonio) before a civil registrar (ufficiale di stato civile).
i. If you do not speak Italian, an interpreter must accompany you. We used the person we hired as our “day of” wedding coordinator. She was well-versed in dealing with the Ufficio Matrimonio. Also the ladies in the office spoke italian so fast even she had a hard time keeping up. Her fee was worth it just for those two hours. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANDLE THIS PART ON YOUR OWN.
ii. If neither of you is an Italian citizen or a resident of Italy, the civil bann is automatically waived or posted for a shorter period of time which may vary from one day to a week depending on the town hall regulations.
iii. Complete a request to Book the civil ceremony room you want to use. You pay for the room only after you have received confirmation that the room is available on the date you requested. Once you receive confirmation of the room availability, you will have two weeks to pay the fee. Pay for the room here
iv. You will need to make an appointment as soon as you hit the 180 day mark prior to the date you want. You send an email to [email protected]. We sent the email in italian and english. We included scanned copies of our passports, the Atto Notorio for both of us and the receipt showing we completed the civil room request. The email stated:
Pages for reference
Info for US citizens wishing to marry in Italy – I know it says a bann needs to be posted, but the Uffico Matrimonio told us it was not needed. They have not updated their website.
Explanation of document translation and legalization
US embassy or consul appointment links for Florence, Milan, Naples, Rome