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Notary services

NOTARY SERVICES

The notary office of the Consulate is authorised to receive and file acts and wills and to issue copies and extracts of the same. The notary service is available to all Italian citizens living abroad permanently or temporarily.
The most frequently requested notary services in a Consular office are:
  1. Power of Attorney
  2. Will and Testament
  3. Public Act
  4. Certificate of Authentication

Link to the relevant section of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s web site

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY
Power or letter of attorney is a document authorizing one person to act on behalf of another person, to take the necessary measures to achieve a particular goal (e.g. sell, buy, manage, make a donation, accept a donation, set up or close a company, request the posting of marriage bans, etc.).

Power of Attorney is divided into two categories:

  1. General Power of Attorney: with this document the person concerned entrusts the management of all of his/her present and future affairs to the attorney or agent. The General Power of Attorney is issued for an indeterminate time.
  2. Special Power of Attorney: with this document the person concerned entrusts the attorney or agent with the management of part of his/her affairs. The Special Power of Attorney is valid only up to the conclusion of the specified affair.

Link to the relevant section of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s web site

 

WILL AND TESTAMENT
Among the usual activities of a Notary Office in a Consulate is the drafting of documents concerning the Last Will and Testament of citizens living abroad. The public testament is a declaration of the will of its maker made before an authorized notary official in the presence of two witnesses and written down on paper. In a secret will and testament the functions of the Notary Office are limited to formally receiving the document (whose contents remain secret) in deposit. Lastly, the holographic will does not need to be drafted by an official from the Notary Office and can be deposited anywhere and with anyone. It is usually deposited in a Notary Office to avoid possible loss and to ensure immediate publication upon the death of the will maker.

Link to the relevant section of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s web site

 

PUBLIC ACT
Legal acts (e.g. an act of donation) for which the law foresees a public act.

Link to the relevant section of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s web site

 

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION
Certificates of Authentication are normally drafted by a Consulate official but can also be done by an official from the Notary Office, particularly in the following cases:

  1. SIGNATURE AUTHENTICATION: a public official swears that a document originates with the person who signed it. In order to have a signature authenticated it is necessary to come in person to the Notary Office with a valid identity document and tax code number.
  2. AUTHENTICATION OF A PHOTO: In order to have a photo authenticated it is necessary to come in person to the Notary Office with a valid identity document and three identical photos.

Link to the relevant section of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s web site

 

SELF-CERTIFICATION

Link to the relevant section of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s web site