Legal Requirement

If you are both British, you must publish the Banns at your local registry office in England.

After 23 days of these publications of Banns the registry office releases a Certificate of Non Impediment.

The Certificate of Non Impediment will then be mailed by you with express courier (NOT regular mail) to our address in Italy with payment of Nulla Osta fee.

If you have been previously married and are divorced you must include the “Divorce Decree Absolute”.

The following documents must also be presented to the British Consulate when we present your Non Impediment Certificate to the Consulate, so express mail also these documents:

1. Certificate of Non Impediment issued by UK registrar
2. Long Birth Certificate issued by civil authorities, which must include names of both parents
3. Photocopy of passports (and bring passports with you)
4. Deed Poll (in case of change of name)
5. Decree Absolute of Divorce (in case of previous marriage)
6. Previous marriage certificate (for both!)

After some days the Consulate will release the necessary documents for you to marry (Nulla Osta). These will be sent to us via post and we will file them with the wedding hall.

LEGAL REQUIRMENTS FOR USA CITIZENS

In fact there are only 3 documents that are necessary to marry in Italy.

Documents needed before starting:

• US passport
• Birth certificate
• If previously divorced/widowed, your divorce decree or death certificate.

1. ATTO NOTORIO
It consists of a meeting in front of the Italian Consulate with witnesses in which a declaration relative to the civil status (single, divorced, etc.) of the couple is made. An official document is then drawn up to present to us for filing purposes here in Italy. You need to set an appointment yourselves with the Consulate and ask how many witnesses are required – it varies from location to location.

2. APOSTILLE of a DOCUMENT
This peculiar word means that the original documents (birth and divorce, if applicable) presented to the Italian Consulate have been:
Sent to the Secretary of State’s Notary Public of the state the document originated in for authentication (or Apostille seal).
The APOSTILLE is simply the seal of the Notary Public of the State in accordance to the Hague Convention which means that the documents can be used officially in a foreign country.

Example:
Jane Smith was born in Miami, Florida. She therefore sends her Birth Certificate to the Secretary of State’s Notary Public office in Tallahassee requesting an Apostille. The certificate is returned to her with the Apostille and Seal.

TRANSLATIONS
All birth and/or divorce certificates must be translated into Italian.
The translations are then authenticated by the Italian Consulate.

3. NULLA OSTA
It is the final declaration to be made in ITALY before the US CONSULATE or EMBASSY stating you are free to marry. Then this declaration must be authenticated in any Prefect’s office. The two procedures do not usually take more than one morning, but we require that your arrival be at least 3 weekdays prior to your wedding date to be safe. The requirements may vary from town to town so ask us specifically. Basically these are the main procedures, but we always advise you to contact the Italian Consulate in the US or relative country directly, since each Consulate may vary slightly the timing and scheduling of all the above.
Listed below are the paperwork requirements. Each Italian Consulate does things just a bit differently and we always advise you to call them and check with them what to do to set up an appointment for the Atto Notorio.

TRANSLATIONS REQUIRED
Documents 2 and 3 must be translated into Italian and apostilled through the Secretary of State’s Notary Public of the state the document originated in.
The translations are authenticated by the Italian Consulate. Our company does provide translation services.

ATTO NOTORIO
You must order the form from the Italian Consulate and/or call and find out when an appointment can be set up for this to be done. Some Consulates require only 2 witnesses per couple (not relatives) to witness the Atto, while other may require up to 4 witnesses PER PERSON to appear (totally 8).

When the Atto Notorio is done and the original documents are apostilled, you must:
1. Fax us a copy so that we can verify that everything is complete.
2. After we give you our approval, you need to express mail all documents to our address in Italy.
3. Keep a copy of your divorce certificate, if applicable, to take to the US consulate in Italy.

In some cases, the Atto Notorio may be done in Italy but we prefer it be done in the US unless time does not allow you to.

The last declaration is to be done in Italy before the US Consulates in Florence or Rome, we will set up the appointment for you.
NOTE THAT PAPERWORK EXPIRES AFTER 3 MONTHS.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN DIVORCED LESS THAN 300 DAYS FROM THE PROPOSED WEDDING DATE, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PROCEED WITH THE WEDDING PLANNING OF A CIVIL CEREMONY, ONLY A SYMBOLIC WEDDING.

To simplify, we give you a step by step explanation of what you must do:

1. Send us LEGIBLE copies of your passports, in addition to the following information for you, your future husband, your best man, and your maid of honor: full name, date and place of birth, current address (legal residence), and profession.
2. Order your birth certificates (and divorce decrees, if applicable) and request the Apostille from the state you were born in. The apostilles can not be required earlier than 6 months before the wedding.
3. Once you have requested your birth certificates (and divorce decrees) make an appointment with the Italian Consulate for your Atto Notorio. This document can not be issued more than 3 months before the wedding otherwise it will expire.
4. You must bring several witnesses with you to the appointment. Some Consulates require only 2 witnesses per couple (not relatives) to witness the Atto, while others can require up to 4 per person to appear (total 8), so find out how many people must come with you.
5. Get the birth certificates (and divorce decrees) translated before you go to the Italian Consulate.
6. Go with the correct number of witnesses to the Italian Consulate in the US for your Atto Notorio. Bring the originals (with the Apostille) and the translations of your birth certificates (and divorce decrees) to this appointment. Make sure that the Consulate stamps the translations of your documents if the Consulate did not do the translations themselves.
7. Right after your appointment at the Italian Consulate, fax us copies of all of your documents. We will check everything and continue the paperwork at this end. Keep the originals and hand carry them when you come to Italy (don’t check them at the airport).
8. IN ITALY: some days before your wedding (generally 3 working days prior), go with our local assistant to the US Consulate to get the Nulla Osta (also referred to as the sworn statement). Bring all of the originals of your documents and your passports with you. After the US Consulate visit, you will be accompanied with our assistant to the Prefettura, where a government official will authenticate your documents. Finally, our assistant there will take everything to the town hall where you will be married, so that they can finish the paperwork.