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Birth Registration

Consulate General of Italy
Vital Records Department
2590 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

  1. NOTICE – Parents who were UNMARRIED AT THE TIME OF CHILD’S BIRTH
  2. Adoptions
  3. Instructions and required documentation

 

  • PRIVACY POLICY ACKNOWLEDGMENT: In submitting documentation to this Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, you confirm that you have read and understood the information in the privacy document posted on our website pertaining to the handling of personal data that you submit to this office per EU regulations (RGPD). To view the privacy document, click here.
  • ALL PREVIOUS VITAL RECORDS OF ITALIAN PARENT(S) – previous marriages and divorces- must have already been submitted for registration in Italy BEFORE requesting the registration of the birth certificate of a minor. Please Note: If Italian parents’ vital records have not yet been submitted, the required documentation for all their missing vital records may be submitted at the same time as the request for birth registration of the minor.)
  • ITALIAN PARENTS MUST REGISTER THE BIRTHS OF THEIR MINOR CHILDREN (under 18 years old). Any birth registration requests received for children who have already turned 18 years old will be returned to the parents. If those adult children wish to become Italian citizens, they must scheule an appointment for the recognition of Italian citizenship with the Italian authority/Consulate in whose jurisdiction they reside.
  • Before delivering or mailing the documentation, please verify all information appearing on the birth certificate (names, dates and city of birth) are correct. In case of any errors, you will need to request an amendment from the office that issued the document;
  • Do NOT request that US office of vital records mail the certificates directly to the Consulate General.

 

1. NOTICE – Parents who were UNMARRIED AT THE TIME OF CHILD’S BIRTH

  • If the parents of the minor were NOT married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, they must schedule an appointment with our Notary Department for recognition of paternity/maternity. On the day of the apponitment BOTH PARENTS MUST BE PRESENT, and must bring all documentation ordinarily required for birth registration (see below). IF THE MINOR IS 14 YEARS OR OLDER, he/she must also be present. To schedule an appointment for recognition of paternity/maternity please contact notarile.sanfrancisco@esteri.it.

 

2. ADOPTIONS

To register an adoption in Italy you must send the following documentation to this Consulate:

  1. Documentation ordinarily required for birth registration (see below)
  2. Certified copy of the adoption sentence/decree
  3. Apostille issued by local authorities – this must be attached to the sentence/decree
  4. Translation in Italian of the sentence/decree (click here for translators)
  5. Adoption request form (click here) signed by Italian parent(s) or the parent(s) who are EU citizens**
    • **PLEASE NOTE: parents who are neither Italian nor members of the EU must sign the adoption request form in front of a Consular official. Please contact notarile.sanfrancisco@esteri.it to schedule an appointment for signature authentication.
    • On the day of the appointment you must bring:
      • Items from points 1-5 listed above
      • Payment for signature authentication – MONEY ORDER in $US Dollars made out to Consulate General of Italy – San Francisco for the amount listed under “Autentica firma – art. 24″ (click here for consular fees)
      • Valid photo ID (passport preferred)

The necessary documentation will be submitted to the appropriate Minor Court in Italy that will verify whether or not the adoption is acceptable. The birth certificate will be registerd in the competent Italian Comune/Municipality only if the adoption is deemed acceptable by the Italian courts. Please know that this is a lengthy process and can take anywhere from a few months to more than a year to complete.

Parents who wish to apply for an Italian passport for their adopted child/children cannot do so until they have received confirmation that the birth certificate(s) of the adopted child/children have been recorded in Italy.

3. INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

 

 

REGISTRATION IN ITALY OF A BIRTH CERTIFICATE ISSUED IN CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON, ALASKA, HAWAII, MONTANA, IDAHO, UTAH, or in the US territories in the Pacific

In order to register in Italy a birth certificate issued in the consular jurisdiction:

  1. Obtain a Certified Copy of birth certificate from the City Hall or Department of Health Service or County Recorder. Verify, even by phone, that the signature of the officer on the certified copy is registered with the Secretary of State – see point 2-. If not, before requesting the Apostille, you will have to go to the County Clerk to certify the signature.
    • PLEASE NOTE: Birth certificates cannot be “abstracts”, but must be “long forms”.
    • Birth certificates must show exact CITY of birth.
  2. Request an “Apostille” from the Secretary of State of the State that issued the document. The Apostille legalizes the signature of the Vital Record Recorder mentioned in point 1. (Click here for information and instructions on Apostilles)
  3. Obtain a complete and accurate translation of the birth certificate (it is NOT necessary to translate the apostille). Translations may be done by the applicant, or by a professional. In the latter case, please see the list of recommended (not required) translators on our website.
    • PLEASE NOTE:
      • EVERY SINGLE WORD on the original document must be translated;
      • Translations must be COMPLETE, FREE OF ERRORS, prepared on a computer, printed, and with legible fonts;
      • Any translations that are incomplete and/or that contain errors will NOT be accepted, and in such case all documentation included in the request to register the vital record will be returned to the applicant without processing. Translation of the Apostille is NOT necessary.
  4. Fill out an application form to request the registration of the birth certificate.
  5. Include a photocopy of an ID of the parent(s) (preferably a passport, otherwise a photo ID or driver licence) – [only required if registering the birth of a minor] – please provide only the pages with personal information and signature
  6. MAKE SURE THE DOCUMENTATION IS COMPLETE: Click here to view the DOCUMENT CHECKLIST
  7. SEND THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION – we suggest you purchase a tracking number for your shipment.
    1. If you reside IN THIS CONSULAR JURISDICTION (click here to verify): Send all ORIGINAL requested documentation to this Consulate General to the address listed at the top of this web page.
    2. If you reside IN ITALY or in ANOTHER CONSULAR JURISDICTION: please follow the instructions posted on the main page of the Vital Records department – click here
  8. STATUS OF THE REGISTRATION REQUEST and REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION

The Consulate will send the registration request by certified email to your Comune in Italy within 45 days from when the Consulate has received the complete set of the required documents. You will be CC’ed on this e-mail.

Then, the Comune 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 contact the Comune in Italy, as the Consulate does not know when the Comune will complete the registration. We suggest you email the Anagrafe/Stato Civile Office of your Comune (please use the Italian language; not all municipalities will have an English speaker on staff).

Requests with complete and correct documentation will be processed. All ORIGINAL documentation will not be returned and will be kept in the applicant’s personal file here at the Consulate General in San Francisco.

Please note: Incomplete requests and/or requests with missing documentation will not be processed. The paperwork will be returned if you provide a pre-paid, self-addressed envelope for us to do so.