Question 1

Who may translate and how the translation is sworn

Accepted Answer

In Italy a translation may be made «da chi conosca la lingua di origine dell’atto o documento e quella italiana» (by anyone who knows the source language of the document and Italian). «Una volta effettuata la traduzione, la persona che attesta la fedeltà della traduzione all’originale deve procedere personalmente alla relativa asseverazione, tramite la produzione del relativo verbale di giuramento» (once the translation is done, the person attesting its fidelity must personally swear it by producing an oath record), received by the clerk of any court office, including the Justice of the Peace office (Art. 5 of Royal Decree No. 1366 of 9 October 1922). Alternatively, the oath record may be received by a notary (Art. 1(4) of Royal Decree-Law No. 1666 of 14 July 1937). For civil-status records to be transcribed by Italian municipalities only, «il giuramento del traduttore può essere ricevuto direttamente dall’ufficiale dello stato civile» (the translator’s oath may be received directly by the civil registrar). To find a translator: «Un aiuto per la ricerca dei traduttori nelle varie lingue può venire dall’Albo dei Consulenti Tecnici d’Ufficio del Tribunale e dal Ruolo periti ed esperti della Camera di Commercio» (the court’s register of technical consultants and the Chamber of Commerce roll of experts can help you find translators in various languages).

Question 2

Where the translation can be made

Accepted Answer

Abroad, by the Italian diplomatic or consular mission competent for the country of origin, «senza ulteriori adempimenti» (with no further formalities). In the country of origin under local rules: in that case «anche le firme dei notai o funzionari preposti devono essere apostillate dalle autorità competenti» (the signatures of the notaries or officials concerned must also be apostilled by the competent authorities). In Italy, at a foreign consulate: in this case «le firme dei funzionari consolari esteri devono avere la legalizzazione prefettizia» (the signatures of foreign consular officials must be legalised by the Prefecture).

Question 3

When translation or an apostille is not needed

Accepted Answer

A translation into Italian is not needed in the cases set out in Art. 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, or if multilingual forms under the Vienna Convention of 8 September 1976 are used for the birth or marriage extract. An apostille on signatures is not required for documents from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia and Hungary, or in the cases set out in Art. 6(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1191. To use a translation sworn in Italy ABROAD, in states party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 «la doppia legalizzazione viene invece sostituita dall’Apostille» (the double legalisation is replaced by the Apostille), issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court.

Question 4

Qualifications: dichiarazione di valore and CIMEA

Accepted Answer

«La Dichiarazione di Valore non è una forma di riconoscimento del titolo, ma un documento di natura informativa utile per la valutazione in Italia dei titoli stessi» (the Declaration of Value is not a form of recognition but an informative document useful for evaluating qualifications in Italy); it is issued by Italian diplomatic missions abroad. Foreign-language qualifications intended for the Italian public administration must be «legalizzati e tradotti in lingua italiana» (legalised and translated into Italian). The ENIC-NARIC centre for Italy is CIMEA — NARIC Italia, based in Rome; it also runs the ARDI database, which describes qualifications of the Lisbon Convention countries and suggests a level correspondence with Italian ones.

Sworn translation and asseverazione: how it works in Italy

Key facts

Who may translate and how the translation is sworn

Where the translation can be made

When translation or an apostille is not needed

Qualifications: dichiarazione di valore and CIMEA

Request to sworn translators

Are you a translator?

Sources