Legalization of documents: what is it and what is it for?

Legalization of documents is a procedure that is often mentioned in the context of immigration procedures, both in reference to documents relating to individuals and companies: let's see together how it works.

What it is and what it is used for

The legalization of a document is a process that certifies the status of the official (generally a public official or notary) who signed documents such as copies, deeds or extracts.

Legalization is necessary in order to be able to use the document abroad: in fact, for a document drawn up in Italy to be used abroad, it must be legalized. This means that in relation to Italian documents, Italy declares, when legalizing the document, that the signature of the person who signed it "is precisely that of the person who had the power to sign it".

It is important to note that legalization does not certify the authenticity or veracity of the information contained in the document but only of the signature placed on it.

What documents and how?

The documents that can be legalized are various, for example: birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, criminal record certificates, etc., but also driving licenses, contracts, etc.

In Italy, then, depending on the country of destination, the document can be legalized in different ways, alternatively with (i) consular legalization; (ii) via Apostille, (iii) by another legalization linked to a special agreement between Italy and the country of destination.

Legalization in Italy

In Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the process of legalization of documents. Depending on which office issued a particular document, it delegates the functions to the Prosecutor's Office of the Courts or the Prefectures in the legalization process.

The Public Prosecutor's Office is responsible for the legalization of documents signed by Notaries, Chancellery officials and Public Officials, while the Prefectures are responsible for the legalization of documents signed by other Italian Authorities, such as Civil Registry officials. If consular legalization is required, after the previous legalization, the documents must be presented at the Embassy/Consulate of the destination country to receive legalization by the competent foreign consular authority.

In the case of legalization provided for on the basis of special agreements between Italy and the foreign country of destination, it is necessary to specifically verify what is required by the agreement in force between the two countries for the document in question to be valid in the country of destination (for example: multilingual certificate).

The Apostille

The Apostille, on the other hand, can be applied instead of ministerial legalization, to all documents that must be used in a destination country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961.

This Convention aims to simplify the use of public documents between the signatory countries greatly simplifying the legalization process, since the apostilled document can be used as is (except, obviously, the certified translation, when necessary) without the need to subsequently go through the diplomatic/consular representation of the destination country in the country where the document will be used.

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The content of this article is intended to provide general guidance on the subject matter. You should seek specialist advice on your specific situation.