Italian Criminal/Civil Records Search

Italian nationals and foreign nationals that have spent a period of residence in Italy are able to obtain an extract of their criminal record. Applications are made to local criminal record offices if applying from within Italy. Overseas applications must be submitted in writing, and sent, with payment, to the office closest to the applicant’s last place of residence in Italy.

Application procedure

The certificate available in Italy that most closely equates to a Disclosure is the Penal Certificate. There are two other types of certificate, these being the ‘General certificate’ and the ‘Civil certificate’. If applying from within Italy, the individual should make a request in writing to his or her local Casellario (criminal record office) via European Background and request one of three types of certificate. There are 165 such offices in Italy.  If applying from the UK a request should be made to European Background.   The request must be signed by the applicant. The applicant must also enclose a good quality photocopy of their birth certificate or an identity card along with the written application. There is no requirement to specify the reason for the request.

Cost

Costs are as follows as at 3Q 2007:

• Penal certificate 3.10 Euro (£2.15)
• Civil certificate 14.10 Euro (£9.70)
• General certificate 14.10 Euro (£9.70)

If an application is made in person directly to the local casellario (criminal record office), certificates will be produced ‘while-u-wait.’ Applicants will have to pay a premium. The charge for this is as follows:

•  Penal certificate 6.20 Euro (£4.30)
•  Civil certificate 17.20 Euro (£11.85)
•  General certificate 17.20 Euro (£11.85)

Content of certificates

There are three different types of extract, each containing certain information. They are: 

• General certificate - contains personal data in relation to criminal affairs, civil and administrative affairs (except those declared by the judge to be non-disclosable).
• Civil certificate - details whether an individual has been declared bankrupt
• Penal certificate - details all criminal convictions (except those declared by the judge to be non-disclosable.)

The Penal certificate most closely equates to a basic Disclosure. When passing sentence, Judges in Italy have the power to declare that a conviction should not be disclosed in future, other than to judicial or law enforcement authorities. However, these convictions do tend to be in relation to minor offences. Any entries that may appear on an individual’s criminal record are deleted when an individual reaches 80 years of age, or upon the death of the individual. 

Turnaround time

The standard turnaround time is 14 days. If applications are sent from the UK then the additional time taken to send and receive applications by post should be taken into account. If an applicant wishes to pay a premium and receive a quicker service, then certificates can be produced ‘while-u-wait’.

European Background has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained herein is as accurate and comprehensive as possible. In order to maintain the accuracy of the information, European Background will update the information periodically. However, European Background cannot be held responsible for the level of service provided by overseas authorities. Please contact European Background regarding applications submitted to overseas authorities.