Getting legally married in Italy as Americans

That takes two documents, sworn in two countries, each valid for a limited time, and fitting them around your wedding date is the job we do.

The two documents

The atto notorio. A sworn statement made at the Italian consulate that serves where you live, with four witnesses over 18 who know you and come with you in person, usually two for each of you, who are not close family. Each consulate sets its own rules on who can be a witness, so check yours. It can instead be sworn at a court in Italy, with witnesses and an interpreter, though court appointments can take a while, so the consulate is usually the better route. The first thing to start is your apostilled birth certificates and their translations, which the consulate wants at the appointment; then book the atto notorio as soon as the 90-day window opens. Some comuni, including many on the Amalfi Coast, do not ask for it at all.

The sworn declaration (dichiarazione giurata). Signed in person before a US consular officer in Italy, by appointment, during the week of your wedding. The State Department charges its $50 notarial fee. The declaration then goes to a prefettura, the Italian government's provincial office, in the same consular district, to be legalised with a €16 revenue stamp before the comune will accept it.

The supporting documents

Your long-form birth certificates, and any divorce or death certificates, apostilled in the state that issued them and translated into Italian. Each consulate and comune sets its own list, so we agree yours with both early. The documents for each nationality, with the official sources

Where in Italy

The declaration is made by appointment at the US Embassy in Rome, a consulate general in Milan, Florence or Naples, or a consular agency in Genoa, Venice or Palermo. We plan your week around the nearest office and its prefettura: Florence for Tuscany, Milan for Lake Como, Rome for Rome, Naples or Salerno for the Amalfi Coast, Palermo for Sicily.

The week of your wedding

Arrive a few days before. The consular appointment comes first, then the prefettura, then the declaration before the registrar, then the ceremony. We book each step, and we are with you at the Italian ones, interpreting and guiding you through.

Is it valid at home?

Yes. The US Embassy in Italy confirms that a marriage valid where it is made is valid in the US, with no federal registration to do. Your Italian marriage certificate is the proof. We obtain it after the wedding, translate it into English and send it to you. If an agency at home asks for an apostille, the prefettura for the area where you married issues it, and we can arrange that for you, quoted separately.

Same-sex couples

Italy provides civil unions for same-sex couples. The comune's checks can take up to 30 days after the first appointment, so allow more time.

What it costs

Our fee is $3,400, fixed, for the same service as British and Irish couples: everything with the comune, your paperwork checked, the Italian translations, the stamp duty paid in Italy and interpreting on the day. You pay the comune's fee, the consulate's fees, your US apostilles and the $50 notarial fee separately. The service

Start early

Allow four to six months. Your birth certificates need apostilles from the states that issued them, which takes time, while the atto notorio comes near the end: it is valid for 90 days, so it is made within the 90 days before your wedding.

Checked October 2026. Official source: the US Embassy in Italy on getting married in Italy.