Notarial Services
Pursuant to Article 28 of Legislative Decree No. 71/2011, the Decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of 31 October 2011 provides that, as of 1 January 2012, Consular Offices located in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Latvia shall no longer perform notarial functions.
This decision is based on the existence of bilateral or multilateral conventions which have abolished, for documents originating from these countries, the need for legalisation (e.g. Article 6 of the Brussels Convention of 25 May 1987), as well as on the fact that the notarial bodies operating in these countries have joined the International Union of Notaries (U.I.N.L.).
The provision nevertheless allows the Head of the Consular Office, at the request of Italian citizens, to receive public, secret or international wills.
The Head of the Consular Office may also receive documents that are objectively necessary and urgent, provided that the Italian citizen can demonstrate that they are unable to contact a local notary, and where any delay could cause prejudice to the Italian citizen.
In light of the new provisions, as of 1 January 2012, Italian citizens must therefore contact local notaries for notarial deeds.
It is also possible to check notaries contact details on the website of the National Council of Notaries for Italy at www.notariato.it and, for Belgium, www.notaire.be.
A list of Italian-speaking notaries within our consular district is available at the following link:
https://consbruxelles.esteri.it/it/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-italiano/modulistica-faq/
Authentication (Certification) of Signatures for administrative purposes
Public administrations and public service providers may not request or accept documents or certificates containing information concerning Italian citizens and citizens of the European Union, as well as citizens of non-EU countries legally residing in Italy, where such information is already held by another public administration.
Such certificates are always replaced by substitute declarations of certification or substitute declarations in lieu of an affidavit (Articles 46 and 46 of Presidential Decree No. 445 of 28 December 2000). These declarations may either be signed by the person concerned in the presence of the responsible official, or signed and submitted by the person concerned together with an unauthenticated photocopy of an identity document belonging to the signatory (Article 38 of Presidential Decree No. 445 of 28 December 2000).
However, if the declaration is to be submitted to entities other than public administrations or public service providers, or to the latter for the purpose of having third parties receive financial benefits, the declarant’s signature must be authenticated by a public official. The official certifies that the signature was affixed in their presence, after verifying the identity of the declarant, indicating the method of identification, the date and place of authentication, their first and last name and official position, and affixing their own signature and the official stamp (Article 21 of Presidential Decree No. 445 of 28 December 2000).
For Italian citizens residing within the consular district, an official of the Consulate General may carry out this certification. In order to have a signature authenticated by the Consulate, the applicant must appear in person at the Consular Office, by appointment arranged with the Social Affairs Office, bringing a valid identity document and the document on which the signature is to be authenticated. On the day of the appointment, a consular fee of EUR 20 (Article 24 of the Table of Consular Fees) must be paid by bankcard.
NOTA BENE
Authentication of signatures carried out by the Consular Office is an administrative certification (which serves solely to establish the origin and authenticity of the signature, after verifying the identity of the signatory, without examining the substance of the document) and is not equivalent to notarial authentication (which serves not only to establish the authenticity of the signature, but also to certify that the content of the document complies with the law and is not contrary to public morality or public order).
In such cases, it is necessary to contact a local notary or a notary in Italy.
Authentication of Photographs
The applicant has to personally come to the Consulate by appointment arranged with the Social Affairs Office, bringing a valid identity document and two identical passport-size photographs. On the day of the appointment, a consular fee of EUR 50 (Article 66B of the Table of Consular Fees) must be paid by bankcard.
Certification of Photocopies (Certified True Copy)
The Consulate General provides certified true copies of original documents upon presentation of the original Italian document and a photocopy thereof. A consular fee of EUR 10 per page is payable for this service (Article 71 of the Table of Consular Fees).
Translation and Legalisation of Documents
As of 16 March 1997, the Convention on the abolition of legalization of documents in the Member States of the European Communities, signed in Brussels on 25 May 1987, has entered into force between Italy and Belgium. This Convention applies to public documents issued in the territory of one Contracting State that are required to be presented in the territory of another Contracting State, or to diplomatic or consular agents of another Contracting State, even when such agents are performing their duties in a State that is not a party to the Convention.
For the purposes of the Convention, the following are considered public documents:
- documents issued by an authority or official under the jurisdiction of a judicial authority of the State, including documents issued by public prosecutors, court clerks or bailiffs;
- administrative documents;
- notarial deeds;
- official declarations, such as certificates of registration, endorsements for the certification of a date, and authentication of signatures affixed to private documents.
As a general rule, in order to be valid for use in Italy, documents and deeds issued by foreign authorities, with the exception of those drawn up using multilingual forms provided for by international conventions, must be translated into Italian.
Translations must bear the stamp “per traduzione conforme” (“certified as a true translation”). In countries where the legal status of an official translator exists, the conformity may be certified by the translator themselves, whose signature is then legalised by the Consular Office.
For the provision of this service, a consular fee of EUR 24 is payable for each translation (Article 69 of the Table of Consular Fees).
For the list of sworn translators whose signatures are deposited with this Consulate General, please click on the following link: https://consbruxelles.esteri.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/L-Lista-TRADUTTORI-GIURATI.pdf
Further information on the translation and legalisation of documents can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://www.esteri.it/it/servizi-opportunita/italiani-all-estero/traduzione-e-legalizzazione-documenti/
Please send an email or call before visiting the Consulate General in order to arrange an appointment with the Social Affairs Office.
Direct telephone number: 0032 2 543 15 75
Email address: sociale.bruxelles@esteri.it