A public document produced in one country has no automatic value in another. Legalisation is the procedure by which an authority of the issuing State confirms the signature and the capacity of the official who signed the document, so that the receiving State can rely on it. Between the countries party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 the procedure is reduced to a single stamp, the apostille. MMW Traduzioni obtains apostilles and legalisations in Rome for Italian documents and translations going abroad, handles consular legalisation for the countries outside the Convention and advises clients on how foreign documents must be legalised before they are translated and used in Italy.
Which Italian office issues the apostille
In Italy the competence is divided by type of document. The Prefecture (Prefettura, Ufficio Territoriale del Governo) apostilles and legalises administrative documents: civil status certificates issued by the Comune, residence and family status certificates, school and university diplomas and certificates, certificates of the Chamber of Commerce, medical certificates issued by public bodies, documents signed by notaries in some districts. The Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court (Procura della Repubblica) apostilles and legalises judicial documents and documents signed by notaries and by court officials, and therefore also sworn translations, since the signature legalised is that of the court clerk who received the oath. Each office legalises only signatures deposited with it, which means that a document issued in Milan cannot be apostilled in Rome. The firm works daily with the Prefecture of Rome and the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Rome, and arranges through correspondents the legalisation of documents issued elsewhere in Italy.
Italian documents for use abroad
The usual sequence for a document going to a Hague Convention country is: issue of the document by the Italian authority, apostille of the document at the Prefecture or the Public Prosecutor’s Office, translation into the language of the destination, and, where the receiving authority requires it, apostille of the translator’s signature after the oath. Some countries accept a certified translation made in the destination country and need only the apostilled Italian original; others, Spain, Portugal and most Latin American States among them, require the translation to be made or validated by a translator of their own system. The firm tells the client which route the destination follows and avoids double costs. The apostille is issued in Italian with the standard headings of the Convention and does not itself need translation, although many authorities appreciate that it be translated with the document.
For the countries that are not party to the Convention, among them the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Canada until its accession in 2024 and several African and Asian States, legalisation follows the long route: Prefecture or Public Prosecutor’s Office first, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the destination requires it, then the consulate of the destination country in Rome, which applies its own fees and timing. Within the European Union, Regulation 2016/1191 exempts certain public documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates and criminal records, from legalisation when presented to the authorities of another Member State, and provides multilingual standard forms that replace the translation for those documents. The firm checks whether the client’s document falls within the Regulation before any legalisation is ordered.
Foreign documents for use in Italy
Italian authorities require foreign public documents to be legalised in the country of origin, by apostille if that country is party to the Convention, and then translated by sworn translation in Italy. A British birth certificate goes to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for the apostille, a United States document to the Secretary of State of the issuing State, an Indian document to the Ministry of External Affairs, and only then to the translator. Documents from countries outside the Convention are legalised by the Italian consulate in that country, which also issues, for degrees and diplomas, the Dichiarazione di valore described on its own page. The firm cannot obtain the apostille of a foreign document from Rome, but it tells clients exactly which authority to approach and what the document must look like when it arrives, which saves many rejected files.
Timing and cost
The Prefecture of Rome and the Public Prosecutor’s Office issue apostilles and legalisations within a few working days of filing, with longer waits at certain periods of the year; consular legalisation depends on the consulate and ranges from a few days to several weeks. The Italian offices charge no fee, but a stamp duty of 16 euros applies to each apostille or legalisation unless the document falls within a legal exemption, as is the case for adoption, scholarship and certain employment papers; consulates apply their own fees. The quote states the firm’s fee for the filing and collection, the duties and the courier separately. Documents are returned by courier anywhere in the world, with a scan sent in advance.
Frequently asked questions
Does the apostille go on the original document or on the translation?
It depends on what the receiving authority wants to verify. The apostille on the original confirms the signature of the official who issued it; the apostille on the sworn translation confirms the signature of the court clerk who received the oath. Many authorities require both, some only the first. The firm asks the question before starting and obtains what is required.
Can a photocopy be apostilled?
Not as such. The apostille certifies a signature, and a photocopy carries none. A certified copy made by a notary or a Comune can be apostilled, because it bears the signature of the official who certified it. For diplomas and certificates that the client does not want to send abroad, this is the usual solution.
Does an apostille expire?
The apostille has no expiry date. The receiving authority may however require that the underlying certificate be recent, typically issued within the last six months for civil status and criminal records, which in practice means obtaining a new certificate and a new apostille.
My document was issued in another Italian city: can you apostille it in Rome?
Only if the signature on it is deposited with the Rome offices, which is the case for documents of national bodies based in Rome and for sworn translations made in Rome. Documents of other Comuni, universities and Courts are apostilled by the Prefecture or the Public Prosecutor’s Office of their own district; the firm arranges this through correspondents.
I have an apostilled document in English: do I still need a sworn translation for Italy?
Yes. The apostille makes the document acceptable; the sworn translation makes it readable for the Italian authority, which receives documents in Italian only. The two steps are distinct and both are needed, in this order.
Do you need an apostille or a legalisation?
Tell us which document you have and which country and authority it is going to: you receive within one working day the list of steps, the timing and a written quote.
