Change of Personal Details

• RESTORATION OF ORIGINAL LAST NAME

Pursuant to Article 98, paragraph 2, of Presidential Decree No. 3 of November 3, 2000, Circular No. 397 of May 15, 2008, of the Ministry of the Interior, and Constitutional Court Ruling No. 286 of November 8, 2016, citizens born abroad with dual Italian and foreign citizenship may request the restoration of the last name assigned at birth as indicated on their birth certificate.

Recipients: The provisions apply exclusively to persons born abroad who have had dual citizenship since birth (that of the foreign country of birth and Italian) or who have been granted citizenship by descent, and whose last name was corrected by the registrar at the time of transcription of the birth certificate to bring it into line with the rules in force in Italy at the time.

How to access the service: send the documents described below by mail to the Consulate, indicating “request to restore original last name” in the subject line.

Documents to be submitted:

• Signed application form;
• valid passport;
• original birth certificate, apostilled and translated (if the birth took place in the USA) and legalized in accordance with the provisions of the country where it was issued (if the birth took place in a country other than the USA);

Costs: none

• CHANGE OF NAME/LAST NAME

Under Italian law, changing one’s personal details from those assigned at birth is an exceptional event and can take place in two ways:

1. Through a ruling by a court abroad:

In this case, it is possible to request transcription to the municipality of residence AIRE through an annotation on the birth certificate through this Consulate.

Recipients: Italian citizens residing in the consular district and regularly registered with AIRE.

How to access the service: send the documents described below by mail to the Consulate, indicating “change of personal details” in the subject line.

What to submit:

1. Application for transcription of the ruling (Form for requesting transcription of name change ruling);
2. Certified copy of the judgment, issued by the court or competent judicial authority, duly legalized with an Apostille from the State where the court is located;
3. Certified copy of the final judgment (NO APPEAL) issued by the competent judicial authority or court, legalized with an Apostille from the State where the court is located and translated into Italian.
4. Translation into Italian by a professional translator (list of translators) with a bilingual certificate of conformity of the translation;
5. Photocopy of the applicant’s valid passport, preferably Italian (only the pages with the photo, data, and signature of the holder).

It should be noted that it is not possible to request the attribution of last names of historical importance or which could otherwise mislead as to the applicant’s membership of illustrious or particularly well-known families in the place where the applicant’s birth certificate is registered.

Costs: Translation compliance see consular tables (Art. 72A),

1. By submitting an application to the Prefect (in the absence of a foreign judgment changing personal details):

Italian citizens who wish to change their first name or last name but do not have a judgment changing personal details already recognized abroad may submit an application to the Prefect of the place of last residence or the place where the birth certificate is located, stating the reasons for the request and accompanying it with supporting documentation (in accordance with Articles 89 et seq. of Presidential Decree 396 of November 3, 2000).

Please note that requests must be exceptional in nature and are only accepted in objectively relevant situations, supported by significant reasons and adequately documented.

Who can access the service: Italian citizens residing in the consular district and registered with AIRE

How to access the service: The Consulate General does not need to be involved in the preparation and submission of the application. However, Italian citizens residing in this consular district and registered with AIRE who wish to submit their application through this Consulate General must book an appointment by writing to statocivile.miami@esteri.it, indicating ‘change of personal details’ in the subject line.

What to submit:

1. Completed application form, accompanied by a valid identity document (preferably an Italian passport) and supporting documentation (for example, documentation certifying that the name change has already taken place in the place of current residence, effectively modifying the original identity). The supporting documentation must be duly translated into Italian and, if necessary, apostilled/legalized.

The procedure will then consist of the following steps:

1. This consulate will forward the application to the competent Prefecture, which may request additional documentation (e.g., criminal records from the place of residence);

1. if the Prefect considers the application worthy of consideration, a Prefectural Decree will be issued authorizing the publication of a notice containing a summary of the application;
2. publication (pursuant to Article 90 of Presidential Decree 396 of 2000) for thirty consecutive days of a notice containing a summary of the application on the consular register;
3. notification to the competent Prefecture of the publication;
4. receipt from the Prefecture of the Decree authorizing the change of name or last name;
5. delivery of the final decree to the interested party;
6. request by the interested party to the municipality of birth for transcription and annotation of the final decree of change of name or last name;
7. request by the interested party for the issue of new documents with the new personal details (passport, identity card, tax code, etc.).

The total time required for this procedure depends on the preliminary investigation by the competent Prefecture.

The decree will only become effective after the transcriptions and annotations have been made by the municipality in its registers.

The Consulate will make the changes only after receiving confirmation of transcription from the municipality.

Important: following the registration of the change of name and/or last name by the municipality, the documents in the possession of the interested party will lose their validity and effectiveness. It will therefore be necessary to return the passport and identity card issued with the no longer valid name, even if they have not expired, and apply for new ones.

The Italian tax code issued with the old name will also no longer be valid and a new one will have to be requested with the new personal details.

Costs: Consular fees for certified copies of documents (Article 71 of the consular fee schedule), consular fees for any certified translations (Article 72A of the consular fee schedule).

Exemption from all fees is provided for in all cases of change of first and last names because they are ridiculous or shameful or reveal natural origin.

• MARRIED WOMEN and SPOUSE’S LAST NAME

According to Italian law, married women always keep their maiden name, as stated on their birth certificate.

PLEASE NOTE: if an Italian woman takes her husband’s surname upon marriage in the United States of America, there will be a difference between the data recorded in the Italian registry (which is the only valid data for Italy and the Consulate) and that recorded in the US registry.

For any Italian administrative certification/documentation as well as on Italian identity documents, the reference last name will always be the one on the birth certificate (maiden name).

The Italian passport allows the husband’s surname to be noted in the margin (page 4) at the request of the interested party. Important: this annotation DOES NOT constitute a change of last name.

To obtain the official and formal addition of the spouse’s last name to the Italian registry and on Italian documents, it is necessary to submit a request for a change of last name to the Prefecture, according to the procedure indicated above.