Authentication

The documents issued by the Italian authorities, when translated, must be certified and authenticated to acquire legal value in countries not acceding to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 regarding the abolition of the authentication procedure for foreign public documents. The updated list of the countries acceding to the Hague Convention is available on the website of the HCCH – Hague Conference on Private International Law.

Authentication is the procedure that certifies the authenticity of the signature of the Clerk of the court or of the Public Official who has affixed their signature on the affidavit, undersigned by the professional translator. It consists in the affixing of a stamp, known as legalization stamp.

The authentication of the sworn translation is carried out at the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court where the translation has been certified.

The authentication of documents and certificates not issued by a judicial body (Court or Notary) is carried out at the Prefecture of the same province to which the public or academic institution that issued the original document belongs.

For the countries that adhere to the Hague Convention, the authentication procedure is replaced by the affixing of a single stamp, recognized at international level by the countries which are signatories of the Convention, known as Apostille.

For countries not acceding to the Hague Convention, it is necessary to go to the Consulate or Embassy of the country of destination of the translated document in order to complete the procedure of authentication. In this case, the translated text, sworn and authenticated, is lodged with the Consulate or Embassy of the country of destination, which verifies its correctness and affixes the consular mark necessary to complete the procedure of authentication.

The procedure of authentication of foreign documents assigned to Italy is carried out at the relevant authority of the country where the document was issued or at the Italian Consulate in the country of origin of the document.