Civil Wedding in Italy for Foreigners

To get legally married in Italy, foreign citizens must generally obtain a Marriage Nulla Osta issued by their Consulate in Italy, though some nationalities follow different procedures.
Find the requirements for your specific country below.

Civil Marriage Requirements in Italy for Foreign Citizens: Marriage requirements

Last updated: July, 2026

What Documents Do You Need for a Civil Wedding in Italy?

📌 The required documents typically include:

• Valid passport or ID
• Nulla Osta for the most of nationality
• Sworn Statement for 🇺🇸U.S. citizens
• Certificate of Legal Capacity to marry:
  for 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇩🇪 Germania, 🇬🇷 Grecia, 🇮🇹 Italia, 🇱🇺 Lussemburgo, 🇲🇩 Moldavia, 🇳🇱 Paesi Bassi, 🇵🇹 Portogallo, 🇪🇸 Spagna, 🇨🇭 Svizzera, 🇹🇷 Turchia.
  

General Rule

• 📌 Foreign citizens who wish to marry in Italy must obtain a Nulla Osta pursuant to Article 116 of the Italian Civil Code making exception for the countries mentioned above.
• 📌 Who Issues the Nulla Osta?
• In most cases, the Nulla Osta is issued by the foreign citizen’s Consulate in Italy, some times according to to bilateral agreement with the foreign country and Italy the Nulla Osta is issued in the home country.
• 📌 Are There Any Exceptions?
• Yes. Citizens of certain countries are exempt under international conventions or bilateral agreements with Italy and must provide different documentation.
• 📌 Is Legalization Required?
• Not always. Depending on the applicable international rules, the Nulla Osta may need to be legalized by the competent Prefettura or may be exempt from legalization requirements.
  
  

About the Author

Alessandro Pirrò is a former Italian lawyer specializing in international civil marriages in Italy and consular affairs. He assists foreign couples throughout the marriage process, including procedures before Italian municipalities, consulates, courts, and prefectures, as well as the international recognition of Italian civil marriages abroad and matrimonial property regime matters.

📍Exception to the standard Marriage Nulla Osta

Good news for citizens of the following countries:

🇦🇹 Austria • 🇩🇪 Germany • 🇬🇷 Greece • 🇱🇺 Luxembourg • 🇲🇩 Moldova • 🇳🇱 Netherlands • 🇵🇹 Portugal • 🇪🇸 Spain • 🇨🇭 Switzerland • 🇹🇷 Turkey

Under the Munich Convention, you do not need to obtain a Nulla Osta to marry in Italy.

Instead, you must obtain a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry from the competent authority in your country of citizenship, together with a multilingual birth certificate.

For citizens of these countries, the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry serves as the equivalent of the Nulla Osta and is accepted by Italian Civil Registry Offices for marriage purposes.

However, there is an important practical consideration that is often overlooked.

In our experience, the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry does not always contain the full details of the applicant’s parents. Since many Italian Municipalities require the names of both parents when preparing the marriage record, the certificate alone may not always be sufficient.

For this reason, we generally recommend obtaining an international birth certificate from the authorities of your country of citizenship whenever possible.

If your country is a party to the Vienna Convention on multilingual extracts of civil status records, the international birth certificate can usually be presented directly to the Italian authorities without translation.

If your country does not issue multilingual certificates under the Vienna Convention, it is generally advisable to obtain a standard birth certificate and have it legalized with an Apostille, where applicable, or through the appropriate consular legalization procedure if the country is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

The birth certificate must then be translated into Italian.

Depending on the legal system of the country of issuance, the translation may be completed by:

📍an officially recognized translator authorized under the laws of that country

📍by a translator whose signature can be certified by the competent Italian Consulate

📍or through a sworn translation before an Italian Court.

Although the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry is the principal document required under the Munich Convention, obtaining the birth certificate in advance often helps prevent delays, additional requests from the Municipality, and last-minute complications during the marriage application process.

🇬🇧 British citizens (UK): documents accepted in lieu of the Art. 116 Nulla Osta

For British citizens resident in the United Kingdom, Italian authorities accept— as an alternative to the consular Nulla Osta — the submission of a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) issued by the competent UK authority, duly apostilledand translated into Italian, together with a bilingual statutory declaration (English/Italian) executed before a UK solicitor or notary public and apostilled. As the declaration is bilingual, no translation is required.

Special situations (Circular 10/2015)
Following the 2015 update, the same approach also applies to British citizens who intend to marry an Irish citizen in Italy, as well as to British citizens resident in a third country. In these cases, applicants may submit either the consular Nulla Osta issued by the competent British consular authority, or the Certificate of No Impediment together with the bilingual statutory declaration, both duly apostilled (with the CNI also translated into Italian).

🇳🇴 Norway – Nulla Osta (Marriage Permit) issued by the Registry Office of the municipality of residence, apostilled and translated.

🇸🇪 Sweden (citizens resident in Sweden) – Nulla Osta issued by the local Civil Registry, translated and apostilled.

🇭🇺Hungarian citizens do not follow the standard Nulla Osta route. Instead, a substitute certificate is issued by the Embassy of Hungary in Italy, in accordance with Circular No. 11/2013.
This certificate is exempt from legalization and can be filed directly with the Italian Comune.

🇵🇱 Poland – Certificate of no impediment (nihil obstat) issued by the local Civil Status Office.

🇧🇷 Brazil – Declaration for the purpose of marriage in Italy issued according to the model agreed with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

🇩🇰 Denmark – Nulla Osta issued by the municipal Civil Registry in Denmark, with apostille on both the certificate and the Italian translation.

🇱🇹 Lithuania – Nulla Osta issued by the municipal Civil Status Office, apostilled and translated.

🇫🇮 Finland – Certificate of Capacity to Contract Marriage Before a Foreign Authority, issued and apostilled in Finland.
For all these cases, the document is legally valid in Italy without involving the Consulate in Italy, provided that the required legalization and translation rules are respected.

🇺🇸United States
U.S. citizens do not obtain a Nulla Osta.
Instead, the legally accepted procedure in Italy requires:
an Sworn statement (dichiarazione giurata) executed before the U.S. Consular officer in Italy, followed by legalization at the competent Prefettura; and
an Atto Notorio executed before an Italian court.

Both the sworn statement (dichiarazione giurata) and the atto notorio are sworn declarations. The spouses assume full legal responsibility for the statements made, and no civil status documents from the United States are required, unless exceptionally requested by the specific Town Hall.

🇲🇽 Mexico
Mexican citizens must obtain a Constancia de Inexistencia de Registro issued by the Civil Registry of their State of birth or residence, “apostilled” in Mexico and translated into Italian using italian consular service in Mexico or the Italian Court in Italy.

📍Peculiar procedures with Consular Nulla Osta

🇦🇺Australia
Australian citizens must obtain two separate documents in order to marry in Italy: the Nulla Osta and the Atto Notorio.
The Nulla Osta must be obtained before at the Australian Embassy in Rome.
A valid Australian passport must be presented at the time of signing.
If the applicant has been previously married, original divorce or death certificates must also be shown.
Once issued, the Nulla Osta must be legalized by the competent Prefettura in Italy before it can be submitted to the Italian authorities.

🇨🇦 Canada
Canadian citizens must execute a sworn Affidavit of Marital Status before a Notary Public in Canada.
Depending on the individual’s circumstances, supporting documents, such as a search of marriage records or a letter confirming marital status, may also be required.
Canadian citizens may either mail all required documents to the Canadian Embassy in Rome or swear the affidavit directly in Italy.
Once the procedure has been completed, the Nulla Osta is issued by the Canadian Embassy in Rome and must then be legalized by the competent Prefettura before it can be used before the Italian authorities.

🇮🇪 Ireland
Irish citizens who plan to marry in Italy must first apply for a Certificate of Freedom to Marry (also referred to as the Nulla Osta) through the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, using the official online application form.
This involves completing an online questionnaire and statutory declaration and submitting the signed documents with any required supporting evidence.
Once the application is processed, the Department forwards the necessary information to the Irish Embassy in Rome, which then issues the Nulla Osta in Italian. Because the Nulla Osta is normally issued in Italian, no translation is required for use in Italy.
This document does not require further legalization before submission to the Italian authorities. 
After the Nulla Osta has been issued, the document can be submitted to the chosen Italian Town Hall as part of the marriage paperwork.

🇵🇭 Philippines
Filipino citizens must submit a CENOMAR issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority, legalized by the Philippine Embassy and the Italian Prefettura, and translated into Italian.

🇨🇴 Colombia
Colombian citizens must obtain a Nulla Osta from the competent Colombian Consulate in Italy, whose jurisdiction depends on the region where the marriage will take place.
Once issued, the Nulla Osta must be legalized by the competent Prefettura before it can be submitted to the Italian authorities.

🇸🇾 Syria
Syrian citizens resident in Italy must obtain a Nulla Osta from the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Vienna, followed by Austrian and Italian legalizations and an Italian translation.

Outside all the cases listed above—
✔ Munich Convention (Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry)
✔ United Kingdom (CNI and bilingual Statutory declaration)
✔ American “Dichiarazione giurata (Sworn statement)
✔ Bilateral agreements

the only legally valid route remains the issuance of a Nulla Osta by your Consulate in Italy, followed by legalization at the competent Italian Prefettura if applicable.

Please note that certificates of single status issued in the home country are generally not accepted by Italian Municipalities, even if they have been translated and legalized.

Do I Need a Residency Permit to Get Married in Italy?

No, you don’t.
Foreigners do not need to be residents to get married in Italy. However, if one spouse resides in Italy, marriage banns (pubblicazioni di matrimonio) may be required. The Italian Constitutional Court, with ruling no. 245 of 25 July 2011, declared unconstitutional the requirement for foreigners to prove legal residency in order to marry in Italy, as it violates the fundamental right to marry guaranteed by the Constitution.

Step-by-Step City Hall process for a Civil Wedding in Italy

Step 1 – Booking Your Wedding Date with the Municipality

Here’s a simple breakdown of what you need to do:Step 1 – Booking Your Wedding Date with the Municipality

We liaise directly with the Municipality (Comune) where you wish to marry to secure the civil wedding date and coordinate all preliminary formalities.
This includes scheduling the declaration of no impediment, appointing and formally notifying the professional interpreter, submitting the official request signed by the couple, and registering the two witnesses with the Civil Status Office.

Step 2 – Declaration of no impediment for non-resident foreign citizens or marriage banns if applicable

• If both spouses are non-residents in Italy, they must appear before the Civil Status Officer and sign a sworn declaration confirming that there are no legal impediments to their marriage.
  Specifically, they declare the absence of impediments relating to kinship, affinity, adoption, or affiliation under Article 87, nos. 1, 2 and 4 of the Italian Civil Code, as well as the absence of other impediments pursuant to Articles 85, 86 and 88 of the same Code.
  This declaration is normally executed 1–2 days before the wedding at the Town Hall.
  
  If one spouse is an Italian citizen registered with A.I.R.E. and residing abroad, the above declaration is replaced by the marriage banns (Pubblicazioni di Matrimonio).
  
  In this case, the banns are requested through the competent Italian Consulate abroad where the Italian citizen is registered.
  
  By law, only one spouse may attend the banns appointment, provided that the absent spouse grants a special power of attorney, in accordance with Article 111 of the Italian Civil Code.
  
  Conversely, if one spouse is an Italian citizen resident in Italy, the marriage banns must be initiated at the Municipality of residence.
  
  The banns are posted for 8 consecutive days, followed by an additional 3-day period for possible objections, pursuant to Articles 93 to 96 of the Italian Civil Code.
  
  Once the 8 + 3-day period has elapsed without objections, the couple is legally entitled to marry in any Municipality in Italy.
  
  The only binding requirement is that the Municipality or Consulate where the banns were requested remains fixed for the entire procedure.

Step 3 – The Civil Wedding Ceremony: What to Expect

The civil wedding is celebrated by a Civil Status Officer or by the Mayor, acting in their official capacity, and takes place at the Town Hall (Comune) or at an authorized venue, including approved outdoor locations, where permitted by the competent authorities.

If one or both spouses do not speak Italian, the presence of a professional sworn interpreter is mandatory.
The ceremony must be attended by two adult witnesses, who formally validate the marriage.

Step 4 -Legal recognition in the home country

If your home country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, in order to have your Italian civil marriage recognized in your home country, you will need to have the Italian marriage certificate (we prefer the estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio since it is the sole document that contains the law you chose to be applied to your property regime, legalized with an Apostille issued by the Prefettura competent for the Municipality where the marriage was celebrated.

If your country is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, you will need to contact your Consulate in Italy and proceed through the appropriate consular legalization process.

In both cases, the marriage certificate (or the estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio) must be translated with a sworn translation at the Italian Court (Asseverazione).

The translation may be carried out by any person, as Italian law does not recognize the profession of certified translator and there is no official register of translators.

However, the translator of the marriage certificate must appear before an officer of an Italian court and formally swear that the translation is accurate and faithful to the original document, thereby assuming personal responsibility for its correctness.

Since the sworn translation becomes a public document, it must also be legalized, either by Apostille, where applicable, or through the appropriate consular legalization procedure.

In this case, unlike documents legalized by the Prefettura, the Apostille is issued by the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office attached to the court where the translator swore to the accuracy of the translation.