How to Get Married in Italy From the USA

Sources were checked on 27 October 2026, but rules change, so confirm the requirements for your own passports with your town hall and Italian consulate.

Can Americans Legally Get Married in Italy?

Yes, and you do not need to live there: the US Embassy's requirements for Americans include no residency period. The US Embassy and Consulates in Italy say a marriage valid in Italy is automatically valid in the US, with the Italian certificate and an apostille as proof. An apostille is the Hague Convention certificate that lets one member country accept another's public documents.

Italian marriage law is national, but each comune (municipality) may interpret it differently, and its registrar has the final word on your document list. For regions and venues, see our Italy destination page; for other passports, see our legal guide for couples of every nationality or the UK passport version of this guide.

Legal in Italy or Legal at Home First?

There are two routes: marry legally in Italy, or marry legally in the US and hold a symbolic ceremony in Italy. With a full guest list and two careers, paperwork and days off usually decide it. If you cannot spare weekday appointments in Italy, legal at home first is simpler; otherwise, budget the extra day in the consulate city.

A ceremony led by non-Catholic clergy needs a civil ceremony first, the Embassy says. On the US route, license windows vary, so check with your county clerk: a New York State license is valid for 60 days and a Los Angeles County license for 90. See how civil, Catholic and symbolic ceremonies compare.

The US Documents You Need and Where Each Comes From

Two rules shape everything: Italy accepts public documents issued outside the EU for only six months from issue, and every US document needs an apostille and an Italian translation. Bring valid US passports too.

If a woman's previous marriage ended within 300 days, she needs a waiver from the Procura della Repubblica (public prosecutor) at the court in the wedding city, issued on medical evidence that she is not pregnant.

Nulla Osta means "nothing stands in the way": confirmation that you are free to marry. The US has no document or authority that certifies this, says the State Department, so Americans swear an affidavit called the Dichiarazione Giurata (sworn declaration) before a US consular officer in Italy. The Embassy's own forms call it the Nulla Osta, and Italian offices accept it as one.

Step by Step: The Order That Keeps Every Document Valid

1. 12 to 15 months out (our suggestion): Choose the route, comune and venue. Ask the town hall's marriage office for its document list, whether it needs a birth certificate and the Atto Notorio (a sworn declaration at an Italian consulate, step 4), and how far ahead it books; popular towns have waiting lists, especially in May, June and September. For a private venue, read whether a Tuscan villa can host the legal ceremony.

2. Six to four months out: Order and apostille your documents. Any earlier and they expire. Each document's six months run from its issue date and must cover your wedding week, when you hand it to the comune. A New York City birth certificate needs three stops (city Health Department, New York County Clerk, then the New York State Department of State), so start at month six.

3. Then translate. A professional translator is enough, says the Italian consulate in Los Angeles, which then certifies the translation. New York and other consulates may differ, so ask yours, and ask your comune first.

4. Within 90 days of the wedding: the Atto Notorio, a declaration sworn with witnesses who know you that nothing in US law prevents the marriage. On the Amalfi Coast, the US Embassy's Naples page says you generally do not need it; check with your comune. Otherwise, the Embassy advises doing it at an Italian consulate before you leave, as some Italian courts have long waiting lists. It is your last US step.

   • Which consulate, and when: the New York consulate serves New York State, Connecticut, 13 New Jersey counties and Bermuda, and requires it within three months of the wedding. Southern California generally uses Los Angeles and Northern California San Francisco, which gives it 90 days; check your consulate's jurisdiction page.

   • Witnesses: the Embassy says two, but New York and Los Angeles ask for four (New York: over 18, with a passport, unrelated to you or to each other; Los Angeles: adults unrelated to you), and San Francisco two per partner. Plan on four unless your consulate says otherwise.

   • Booking: New York takes requests at newyork.notarile@esteri.it, books through Prenot@mi and accepts money orders only.

   • Fallback: book ahead with the Ufficio Atti Notori of a court in Italy. Your witnesses attend, everyone shows proof of being in Italy, and you need an interpreter if anyone does not speak Italian. Allow four to 10 days, or pay more for same-day.

5. Request the Dichiarazione Giurata appointment as soon as your travel dates are set. You swear it later in Italy, at the US Embassy or consulate for your region (your "US post"). Rome, Milan, Florence and Naples book online; otherwise, contact the Consular Agency in Genoa, Venice or Palermo. Fill in the form in advance but sign it only before the consular officer.

6. Dichiarazione Giurata at the US post: USD 50 per notary seal (one seal per sworn document), paid on the day (in Rome, by card online). Each of you swears your own, so expect USD 50 each (your US post confirms).

7. Legalization at a Prefettura, generally in the same consular district (your US post confirms which): a EUR 16 revenue stamp (marca da bollo) per document, bought at a tabacchi (licensed tobacconist), during limited weekday-morning hours.

8. Declaration of Intention to Marry at the comune's marriage office (Ufficio Matrimoni), with an interpreter if needed. The date is then formally fixed, and when neither of you is an Italian citizen or resident, the banns (public notice) are waived or posted for one day to a week.

9. The ceremony, led by the mayor or a deputy, with two witnesses (any nationality, over 18, photo ID) and an interpreter if needed, who cannot also be a witness.

As an illustration, never a promise: arrive Monday, consulate and Prefettura Tuesday, comune Wednesday, welcome dinner Friday, wedding Saturday, if your comune's banns period allows. While you are at the consulate, someone should look after arriving guests, and historic town halls can mean stairs: ask the comune about step-free access.

You attend the Dichiarazione, the Declaration of Intention and the ceremony in person; ask your comune if it also wants your ceremony witnesses at the Declaration. US post fees are set in USD, stamps are bought in EUR and hire is paid in EUR to the comune.

Handling the Consulate, Prefettura and Town Hall

Your guests never see this part. It shapes the days before the welcome dinner, including one in the city of your US post and Prefettura (the Italian office that legalizes your declaration).

Pairings follow the State Department's list of US consular districts in Italy, last updated in 2013 but matched by the Embassy's current Milan, Florence, Naples and Rome pages. These cities may not be near your venue, so check rail or road times. Marrying on Lake Como? See how a legal Lake Como wedding works.

What the Legal Side Costs, and Where Budgets Slip

Italian consular fees and the EUR 1 = USD 1.1516 rate come from the Los Angeles consulate's fee table for October to December 2026. That consulate charges the USD 32.30 and USD 15.00 shown; other EUR fees are converted at that rate. New York may differ, so check its table. Fees change quarterly, and the Los Angeles table does not say whether the Atto Notorio fee is charged per couple or per partner, so ask your consulate. Hire varies by place, season and day (Milan EUR 500 to EUR 596, Venice EUR 1,600 to EUR 9,200, per the Embassy's district pages).

Budgets slip around the fees: extra nights in the consulate city, transfers, rush translations and documents re-ordered after they expire. Add that night to your wedding and guest travel plan, track EUR and USD in the free Wonderland Studio, and see what an Italian wedding costs by region.

After the Wedding: Making It Count in the US

Get a copy of your marriage certificate from the town hall and have it apostilled at the Prefettura covering the place you married. Allow a weekday in the area after the wedding for both, before you fly home, and ask the Prefettura its fee. Ask Social Security and the passport agency whether they also need a certified English translation. See how to get and use a marriage certificate from abroad.

If a validity question ever arises, it goes to your state's attorney general, per the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual. Then the admin:

• Social Security first. Request a replacement card in your new name; depending on your situation, you may be able to do it online.

• Then your passport. Within a year of issue, Form DS-5504 has no fee (USD 60 expedited); after that, renew on Form DS-82 if eligible or apply in person.

• Then your driver's license.

• Taxes: the IRS generally treats you as married for the whole year if you are married on its last day.

• If one of you is not a US citizen, see an immigration attorney; USCIS is the official source.

When You Need Help, and When You Do Not

You can handle the US side yourselves. Local help earns its fee in Italy: the comune in Italian, translators and interpreters, Prefettura hours and your guests' schedule.

US consular staff cannot translate, act as witnesses or give legal advice, so the Embassy points you to an Italian consular officer in the US, the town hall's registrar or a lawyer licensed in Italy.

Wedded Wonderland Concierge starts with a free, no-obligation Discovery Call. Depending on your wedding, it may recommend a planner, or help you move forward confidently without one.

If you would rather not vet planners yourselves, your concierge can recommend one.

Frequently Asked Questions