The Vital Records Office (also known as “Civil Status” or “Civil Records” Office) at the Consulates transmit to municipalities in Italy registration requests related to birth, marriage, and death certificates issued abroad, as well as decrees of divorce issued by local judicial authorities.
The Vital Records Office of the Consular Chancellery in Washington D.C. exclusively handles registration requests submitted by Italian citizens registered with the AIRE at this Consular Chancellery.
Events registered include the following:
- Marriages and civil unions
- Births (* see below)
- Divorces
- Deaths
- Marriage public announcements (email stcivile.washington@esteri.it)
- Adoptions of minors (email notarile.washington@esteri.it)
- Changes/corrections of first and last name or surname (email pass.washington@esteri.it)
Most of the services provided by the Vital Records Office are provided by mail, without the applicant having to personally appear at the Consulate. It is recommended to always contact the office in advance via email.
The registration of vital records’ documents is free of charge.
(*) Births – New regulations entered into effect on December 3, 2024:
With the entry into force of Law No. 169 of November 4, 2024, on December 3, 2024, the crime of surrogacy committed by an Italian citizen is prosecutable abroad and punishable under Italian law. This is true regardless of whether the practice is legal in the foreign country where it occurred. The offense is subject to the penalty set forth in Article 12, paragraph 6, of Law No. 40 of February 19, 2004, which already provided for and sanctioned it within the Italian territory.
Our user base should thus draw particular attention to the fact that, pursuant to Article 38, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree No. 71 of February 3, 2011, in the event in which a birth certificate of a child who was born or is presumed to have been born through surrogacy, is presented to the consular authority, the consular authority will be required to communicate the fact that there may have been a crime committed to the competent national judicial authority, and the consular authority will be required to send the certificate of birth itself to the relevant Italian municipality, at the same time.
For more information on Vital Records, please visit the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
January 28, 2026.