Italian death record

Following a death, the death record is required for the purposes of succession, social security benefits and updating the civil status of family members. The Firm handles both the request for the death record from the Italian town hall and the transcription in Italy of the death of an Italian citizen occurring abroad.

Requesting the death record in Italy

The death record is issued by the town hall in which the death occurred or was transcribed and, like other civil status records, is exempt from stamp duty. For use abroad, the multilingual extract (Form C) is appropriate, being valid without translation or legalisation in the States party to the 1976 Vienna Convention, including Spain.

Death occurring abroad: transcription in Italy

The death of an Italian citizen occurring abroad must be transcribed in the registers of the competent Italian town hall. Without transcription, the person is still deemed alive under Italian law: the spouse still appears as married, the AIRE registration remains active and the succession in Italy cannot be opened.

The application is submitted to the competent consulate or directly to the town hall in which the deceased was registered with AIRE. The Firm prepares and submits the entire documentation.

Death occurring in Spain

• Application form, prepared by the Firm.
• Original full-text death certificate (certificado de defunción literal) and original multilingual death certificate (certificado de defunción plurilingüe), issued by the Registro Civil.
• Copy of the deceased's identity document, where available.

The Libro de Familia is not an acceptable document for the purposes of transcription.

Death occurring in another State

• Full death certificate issued by the local authority, bearing an apostille (or legalisation) and an official translation into Italian.
• Copy of the deceased's identity document, where available.

Documentation required to request the death record

• Copy of the applicant's passport.
• Full name of the deceased and date of death.
• Indication of the Italian town hall in which the death occurred or was transcribed.

Timescales

For the death record: digital copy in approximately three weeks, original in 30–60 days. For transcription, timescales depend on the consulate and the town hall.

Costs

The Firm issues a detailed, no-obligation quote and takes charge of the entire administrative handling of the matter.

Certificates we handle

Sources: D.P.R. 396/2000, arts. 17, 19 · Law 405/1990, art. 7 · Vienna Convention 1976 · Information pages of the Italian consulates. Information only, updated September 2026.