VITAL RECORDS
The Vital Records Office of an Embassy or Consulate handles, just as an Italian municipality does, the registration, updating and maintenance of the Vital Records. The Italian Embassies/Consulates receive vital records certificates issued by foreign authorities and send them to Italian City Halls for registration.
Due to the high volume of mail that this Department receives every day, the Italian Consulate cannot confirm receipt of documentation to each person, nor preview the documentation that we receive; instead, please use a tracking number provided by your chosen delivery service. The documentation will be reviewed in due time, and we will let you know then if something is not correct or missing.
The Consulate will send the registration request by certified email to your Comune in Italy within 60 days from when the Consulate has received the complete set of the required documents. You will be CC’d on this e-mail.
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With the Law No 169 of 4 November 2024 entering into force on December 3rd, 2024, the crime of surrogacy committed by an Italian citizen even abroad can be prosecuted and punished in accordance with Italian law, regardless of whether said practice is allowed in the foreign country where it occurred. Surrogacy is a crime punishable pursuant to article 12 paragraph 6 of the Law No 40 of 19 February 2004, which already provided sanctions for the crime when committed on Italian national territory.
Please note, therefore, that in compliance with article 38 paragraph 1 of the Legislative Decree No 71 of 3 February 2011, any consular authority receiving the birth certificate of a child that is, or can be presumed to be, born via surrogacy will be required to inform the competent Italian judicial authority of the presumed accompanying crime when sending the aforementioned birth certificate to the Italian Comune (municipality) of reference.
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After this point, the process is entirely in the hands of the Comune, which will complete the registration procedure, usually within 30 business days. However, this timeframe is highly variable, as it takes more time for larger Comuni (cities as Rome, Milan) to complete the registration procedure.
To request a confirmation of the registration, you MUST always contact the Comune in Italy, as the Consulate does not know when the Comune will complete the registration.
We suggest you to wait at least 7 business days since you have received the certified email (PEC), before emailing the Anagrafe/Stato Civile Office of your Comune to get confirmation of the registration (please use the Italian language in the email).
Instructions and forms:
- Registration of the Birth Certificate for Minors in Italy
- Registration of the Marriage Certificate/License in Italy
- Registration of the Death Certificate in Italy
- Registration of the Decree of Divorce in Italy
- Affidavit of Parentage – Voluntary Acknowledgment of Natural Child
- Instructions To Recognize Adoption of a Foreign Minor Child
- Registration of the Decree and Order of Change of Name In Italy
- Posting of Marriage Banns
Vital records and related documents can be submitted either in person, Monday to Friday from 9am to 12.30pm, or by mail to the following address:
Consulate General of Italy in Chicago
500 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1850
Chicago IL 60611
Useful Information:
- Where to request the Apostille
- Where to request Vital Records
- Form to request vital records at the “Comune” for italian citizens
Tel.: (312) 467-1550/1/2
italcons.chicago@esteri.it