How to Get Your Ancestor's
Italian Birth Certificate

Step 1: Find the comune and the date

You need the town (comune) and, ideally, the date of birth. U.S. documents usually give both, or at least the town:

• Naturalization records: the declaration and petition usually state the town and date of birth
• Passenger lists from Ellis Island and other ports
• U.S. death certificates, marriage records and Social Security applications (SS-5)
• Family papers: Italian passports, military papers, letters, religious records

Spellings change between Italian and U.S. records. Search for variants of the surname and the town, and check that the town is a comune and not a smaller village (frazione) inside one.

Step 2: Search the record on Portale Antenati

The Italian Ministry of Culture's Portale Antenati publishes free images of civil registers for many comuni, often from the early 1800s to the early 1900s. Browse the birth register (nati) for the town and year, and use the yearly index (indice) to find the record number.

Note the record number, the year, the parents' names and any notes in the margin. Margin notes can record later events such as marriage or loss of citizenship. The Antenati images themselves have no legal value and cannot be used for a citizenship application, but they make your request to the comune precise.

Not every town or year is online. If yours is missing, go straight to Step 3: the comune still holds its own register.

Step 3: Request the official copy from the comune

Write to the Ufficio di Stato Civile (civil records office) of the comune of birth. Most comuni list an email address or a certified email (PEC) on their website. Ask for an estratto per copia integrale dell'atto di nascita (full-copy extract of the birth record), unless your consulate's checklist asks for a different format. Say that it is for citizenship use ("uso cittadinanza").

Include your relationship to the person, a copy of your ID, and an address where they can send the document. Some comuni send a scan by email and the original by post; some charge stamp duty or a small fee, so offer to pay any costs.

Letter template (Italian)

Copy this into an email, fill in the brackets, and attach your ID:

In English: "Subject: Request for a full-copy extract of a birth record, for citizenship use. I kindly request a full-copy extract of the birth record of [name], born in [comune] on [date], child of [father] and [mother] (record no. [number], year [year], if known). The document is needed for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent. I am the [great-grandchild / grandchild / child] of this person. Please send it to [address], or by email if possible. I will pay any fees or postage. A copy of my ID is attached."

If the comune does not answer, or the record is lost

• Follow up after about six weeks, politely, quoting your first email. Small comuni can be slow but usually answer.
• Try certified email (PEC). A PEC address is the comune's official channel, and messages sent there are logged.
• Ask the State Archive. Italy kept a second copy of many civil registers. Antenati says authentic copies of records shown on the portal are requested from the State Archive (Archivio di Stato) that holds the original.
• Get help. We order Italian records for $150 per record plus the comune's fee, and handle follow-ups in Italian.

Do Italian records need an apostille or translation?

No. Records issued by Italian comuni are already Italian public documents, so they need neither an apostille nor a translation for an Italian consulate or court. Only your U.S. records need apostilles and certified translations.

Sources

• Portale Antenati: requesting certificates
• Portale Antenati (Italian Ministry of Culture)
• Consulate of Italy in Perth: request form for Italian civil records

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and consulate practice change; check the official sources or ask us before acting.