ELIGIBILITY OF APPLICATIONS: under Italian law, the change of name or modification of surname is considered an EXCEPTIONAL measure. Therefore, such requests can be ACCEPTED ONLY AND EXCLUSIVELY in the presence of objectively SIGNIFICANT circumstances, supported by appropriate and substantial documentation and by STRONG and MEANINGFUL reasons, such as RIDICULOUS or SHAMEFUL surnames or names, or those that REVEAL NATURAL ORIGINS.
Under no circumstances may a surname of historical importance or one that may cause confusion regarding the applicant’s belonging to illustrious or well-known families in the place where the birth certificate is registered or where the applicant resides be requested.
According to Italian law, married women always retain their maiden name, as recorded on their birth certificate.
PLEASE NOTE: if a woman adopts her husband’s surname at the time of marriage in the United States, this creates a discrepancy between the identity data registered in the Italian civil registry (which is the only valid record for Italy and for the Consulate) and those registered in the U.S.
For any Italian administrative certification/documentation and on Italian identity documents, the reference surname will always be the one on the birth certificate (the maiden name).
The Italian passport allows, upon request, the annotation of the husband’s surname on page 4. This annotation does not constitute a surname change.
SURNAME CHANGE: to obtain the official and formal addition of the spouse’s surname in the Italian civil registry and on Italian documents, a surname change application must be submitted to the Prefecture, according to the procedure outlined below.
JURISDICTION: the authority to decide on such applications lies exclusively with the PREFECT of the PROVINCE where the applicant resides or where the birth certificate is registered. If the request is deemed worthy of consideration, the applicant will be authorized by a DECREE issued by the PREFECT.
APPLICANTS: applications can only be submitted by ITALIAN citizens.
Procedure
The application can be submitted directly to the competent Prefecture or through this Consulate General by sending all documentation in PDF format to the following email address: statocivile.sanfrancisco@esteri.it
Once the documentation has been positively reviewed, you will be asked to send the ORIGINAL documents by regular mail, along with:
- Proof of payment of the required fee (See Consular Fee Schedule – stamp duty);
• Application form downloadable from the Prefecture’s website, accompanied by a copy of a valid Italian ID showing the applicant’s signature; - Substitute declaration of certification, downloadable from the Prefecture’s website;
- Consent declaration from co-interested parties (for adults);
• Supporting documentation justifying the request; - In the case of minors, the request and related documentation must be submitted and signed by both parents;
• Original documentation of the name and/or surname change made in the United States, duly apostilled and translated into Italian;
• Declaration of absence of criminal charges and absence of prejudice;
• If the applicant holds another citizenship in addition to the Italian one, an original criminal record certificate issued by the foreign authority of the country of citizenship must be provided.
Additional documentation may be required by the relevant Prefecture.
The applicant will receive, through the Consulate, the Prefect’s authorization decree for the posting of the name or surname change/modification. If the application was submitted directly to the Prefecture, the Consulate will still notify the applicant.
Subsequently, the Consulate General will post the decree on the Consular Notice Board for thirty days (LINK), as required by law (Art. 84 and following of Presidential Decree no. 396/2000), to allow for any objections.
At the end of the posting period, the Consulate General will return one copy of the decree to the Prefect, along with a report confirming the posting.
The applicant will then receive the final authorization decree for the name or surname change/modification either directly from the Prefecture or through the Consulate. This decree must be recorded in the margin of the birth certificate by the Italian municipality where the act is registered.
Notification of the decree may be sent to the municipality either officially or, upon request of the applicant, through the Consulate. Once the annotation by the municipality is confirmed, new identity documents with updated personal data may be issued.
All information, including application forms, can be found on the Prefectures’ websites under the section “Change of Name/Surname”.
SURNAME CHANGE BY COURT OF LAW
You may only register a name change if you have legally filed the change in a Court of Law overseas and your request has been granted. If you successfully petitioned for a name change and it has been granted, you may submit a request at this Consulate General to register your Court order, granting leave to change name, in your comune in Italy and to update your birth certificate by adding a note with your new name. Requested documents:
- Request Form
- REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE ORDER REGISTRATION
- original Court Order issued by the Court (or other relevant judicial competent authority), legalized by Apostille issued by the Secretary of State of the US State where the Court has its seat
- a sworn translation of the name change Court order done by a professional translator.
- copy of the valid passport (preferably an Italian passport) of the person submitting the request.
N.B. If you are NOT in possession of an overseas Court order granting leave to change name, an Italian citizen may choose to submit a request to the local Prefetto in their comune of last known residence or where their birth certificate is registered (pursuant to artt. 89/D.P.R. 396/03.11.2000). These type of requests can only be submitted under exceptional, valid circumstances, must be well-documented and corroborated by relevant supporting paperwork. You may submit your request through this Consulate, although this is not strictly necessary, only if you are a resident of this Consular jurisdiction and your AIRE registration is up to date.
Name Changes Accompanying a Gender Change
Under Italian law, the Consulate is not permitted to process a change of name and gender. Requests for name changes accompanying gender change requests instead fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court (“Tribunale”) of the province in which the applicant’s birth certificate is registered. Such requests must be submitted directly to the relevant Italian Courts. Please see the website of the Ministry of Justice.