Divorces

Registration in Italy of divorce decreed outside Italy

Ufficio Stato Civile
Email: statocivile.losangeles@esteri.it
Jurisdiction: Arizona, Southern California, Nevada, New Mexico

Divorces filed outside Italy will be considered valid only after being registered at your Comune of AIRE registration.

Based on reciprocity, a judgment of divorce from a State Court in the United States is generally recognized in Italy, but, ultimately, the final decision is made by the Italian Comune of AIRE registration.

A foreign divorce decree for a marriage that occurred in Italy will be registered in the Italian Comune where the marriage was celebrated. A foreign divorce decree for a marriage that occurred abroad will be registered in the Italian Comune where the marriage was registered.

A fundamental requirement to be able to register a divorce, is that the marriage the divorce decree refers to, MUST have already been registered in Italy if it transpired outside Italy. If the foreign marriage was never registered, you must submit a request to register the marriage first (see the MARRIAGE section of this website) before proceeding with the divorce registration.

Only ‘certified copy’ decrees will be accepted and will remain on file at this Consulate General and will not be returned to the applicant.

 PLEASE NOTE:

• Before submitting or sending a certificate issued outside Italy, please CAREFULLY check the names, dates and places of birth with the appropriate local authorities. If there are any errors, you will need to request an amendment from the office that issued the certificate;
• For decrees not issued in the consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, it is highly recommended to always check the correctness of the documentation with the Italian Consulate territorially competent over the issuance of the documentation by consulting their website. The procedure to be followed may vary depending on the country or state where the documents was issued, according to the agreements in force with the country in question. Find your competent consulate here. Example: For a birth certificate issued in Buenos Aires (Argentina), check the website of the Italian Consulate General in Buenos Aires.

The documents to be presented are the following:

1) Form to Request the Registration in Italy of a decree of divorce (click here);

2) Certified Copy of the FINAL JUDGMENT OF DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE / JUDGEMENT OF DIVORCE / DECREE OF DIVORCE, in full format issued by the competent Court;

3) Certified Copy of the Certificate of No-Appeal (also referred to as: Certificate of the Clerk, Certificate of Fact, Certificate of Disposition, Letter of No Appeal) to be obtained from the same Superior Court that issued the divorce decree for the purpose of certifying that there have been no appeals or reopening of the case after six months from the final judgment (example). If the Certificate of No Appeal cannot be found, please complete and have the appropriate clerk sign the following statement (available here);

4) Apostille (Declaration of international validity) to be requested for both the Divorce Decree/Judgement and Certificate of No-Appeal issued by the “Secretary of State” of the State where the birth occurred (list of Secretaries of State). The Apostille does not require translation;

5) Translation in Italian of both the Decree of Divorce and Certificate of No-Appeal, it must be complete, typed up and faithful to the original in every aspect (list of translators). The format of dates must follow European format: Day/Month/Year;

6) Photocopy of the valid Italian passport of the applicant.