HowtogetmarriedinItalyasaforeigner:civil,religiousorsymbolic?

Working out how to get married in Italy as a foreigner starts with a question most couples skip: do you want the legal marriage to happen here, or only the celebration? Everything else follows from that answer: the paperwork, the booking, the hour of the ceremony and, in the end, the photographs.

You do not need to live in Italy to marry here; Florence, for example, runs a dedicated procedure for foreign citizens who are neither resident nor domiciled in Italy. But the system is built around the town hall and documents from your own country, and it rewards couples who start early.

How to get married in Italy as a foreigner: the four routes

1. A civil ceremony at the Comune. Legally binding, led by the mayor or a deputy, in the town hall or a site the Comune has designated for weddings.
2. A Catholic ceremony with civil effect. Under the agreement between Italy and the Holy See, a Catholic wedding can also count as a civil marriage, once it is transcribed in the civil register.
3. Another religious ceremony. It carries civil effect only where Italian law provides for it, as it does for a Jewish ceremony led by a rabbi recognised under Law 101/1989.
4. A symbolic ceremony. You marry legally at home, before or after, and the ceremony in Italy carries no legal paperwork at all.

Route one: a civil ceremony at the Comune

A civil wedding needs two witnesses, who may be any nationality but must be over 18 and carry photo ID (U.S. Embassy in Italy). Florence lists rooms in Palazzo Vecchio, Villa Vogel, the Giardino delle Rose, the Museo Bardini and the Santa Maria Novella complex (Comune di Firenze). If a private venue tells you it can host a legally binding civil ceremony, ask the Comune to confirm it.

The law is the same across Italy, but each town hall interprets it slightly differently, so the definitive document list comes from the marriage office where you will marry. Even the order varies. The U.S. Embassy describes documents first, then a declaration of intention to marry before the civil registrar, and only then a date. Florence books the date in advance, then takes the documents at least four days before it and the declaration at least two days before, by appointment.

Three rules to check with the Comune:

• Interpreter. If either of you does not speak Italian, an interpreter must be present at the declaration and at the ceremony. The interpreter cannot also be a witness, and Florence does not provide one.
• Banns. The public notice normally posted before a wedding is waived, or shortened to between a day and a week, when neither of you is Italian or resident in Italy. Florence does not post them at all for non-resident foreigners.
• Local calendars. Florence celebrates Saturday weddings only for its own residents and for Italian citizens abroad registered with the city.

The documents, nationality by nationality

These papers apply whenever the legal marriage happens in Italy; a symbolic ceremony needs none of them.

Every foreign spouse needs a nulla osta, required by article 116 of the Italian Civil Code: a statement from your own country's authorities that nothing in its law prevents this marriage (Ministero della Giustizia). Alongside it, Comuni usually ask for your passport, a birth certificate and, if either of you was married before, proof that the marriage ended.

Documents issued outside the EU usually need legalisation or an apostille, and a translation into Italian. Public documents from another EU country, such as birth certificates and certificates of capacity to marry, are exempt from legalisation and apostille under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, and an EU multilingual standard form can replace the translation if the Comune accepts it. The U.S. Embassy notes that public documents from outside the EU are valid for only six months from issue, so order them too early and you will order them twice.

Under article 89 of the Civil Code, a woman whose previous marriage ended less than 300 days before the wedding usually needs an Italian court's authorisation first; the article has exceptions, so raise it with your Comune early.

United States

Americans need two sworn statements. The dichiarazione giurata is sworn by appointment before a U.S. consular officer in Italy, then legalised at the Prefettura with a €16 revenue stamp. The atto notorio is sworn together with unrelated adult witnesses, at an Italian consulate in the United States or at a court in Italy.

The Embassy recommends doing the atto notorio before you travel, as some Italian courts have long waiting lists; it is valid for 180 days (Consulate General of Italy in Boston). Confirm the number of witnesses with the office you book; official pages differ. Birth certificates and divorce decrees need an apostille from the issuing state's Secretary of State.

United Kingdom

For British nationals the nulla osta is the certificate of no impediment, or CNI (GOV.UK). You apply through the marriage abroad service, and the British Embassy in Rome issues the certificate.

There is no UK marriage certificate for a wedding abroad. The Italian certificate is your record, and the marriage is recognised in the UK if it was lawful in Italy and would be allowed under UK law (GOV.UK).

Nigeria

Ask the Embassy of Nigeria in Rome for its current nulla osta requirements before you book a date. Documents issued in Nigeria must first be legalised by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then by the Italian Embassy in Abuja or the Consulate General in Lagos, depending on the issuing state, and presented with an Italian translation (Embassy of Italy in Abuja). Guest visas, the trad and venue capacity are covered in the guide to planning a Nigerian wedding in Italy.

Israel

Plan for the nulla osta to be the hard part. In a case reported in June 2026, the Embassy of Israel certified that it could issue only an extract from the Population Registry showing marital status, and the couple needed an urgent decree from the court in La Spezia before the Comune would proceed (La Nazione). Ask the Comune early whether it will accept the registry extract, and allow time for a court application if it will not. Afterwards, the marriage is reported to the Population Registry through an Israeli mission, with an apostilled Italian certificate and, if one of you is not Israeli, an apostilled certificate of that spouse's previous marital status (Embassy of Israel in Italy).

Everyone else

Requirements differ by country. In Florence, citizens of Austria, Germany, Moldova and Switzerland bring a certificate of capacity to marry from their home civil registry; citizens of Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Turkey also need one; and Norwegian, Polish and Swedish citizens bring a nulla osta from their home municipality. Start with your consulate in Italy, then confirm with the Comune.

Route two: a Catholic ceremony with civil effect

Under the 1984 agreement between Italy and the Holy See, a Catholic wedding has civil effect once it is transcribed in the civil register, after banns at the Comune (Accord, art. 8). In practice the priest registers the marriage with the civil authorities, so no separate civil ceremony is needed.

You still need the civil documents above, plus baptism and confirmation certificates. For the full church requirements, the U.S. Embassy refers couples to the parish, a step worth taking before you speak to a venue.

Route three: other religious ceremonies

Italy has formal agreements, called intese, with fourteen faith communities besides the Catholic Church, among them the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (Ministry of the Interior).

For a Jewish wedding, article 14 of Law 101/1989 gives civil effect to a ceremony led by a rabbi recognised under that law who holds Italian citizenship, provided the Comune has been involved beforehand and the marriage is transcribed in the civil register. A rabbi who travels from abroad can lead the ceremony, but it is religious only, and the legal marriage happens at the Comune or at home. The chuppah, ketubah and kosher catering are covered in the guide to planning a Jewish wedding in Italy.

No Islamic organisation appears on the Ministry's list, so a nikah is usually a religious ceremony, with the legal marriage as a separate step. Italian law also recognises weddings led by ministers of other faiths whose appointment the state has approved (Law 1159/1929, art. 7).

Unless the Comune has confirmed that your officiant's ceremony will carry civil effect, follow the U.S. Embassy's advice: with non-Catholic clergy, hold the civil ceremony before the religious one.

Route four: a symbolic ceremony, legally married at home

This route removes almost all of the paperwork. You sign the legal part at home, before you fly or after you return, and the ceremony in Italy has no legal status. GOV.UK suggests exactly this to British couples who want a UK marriage certificate.

What you gain is freedom: any venue that allows a ceremony, at any hour it allows, led by anyone you choose. What you give up is that your certificate carries the date at home, not the day in Italy.

Fees and lead times

Town halls charge for the room. The U.S. Embassy quotes €500 to €9,200, depending on the location, the season and the day of the week. Florence charges more for ceremonies outside its standard weekly calendar and refunds the fee only if you cancel at least 30 days ahead.

A sensible order of work:

• As soon as you have a town in mind, ask its marriage office for availability and its definitive document list.
• Within six months of the date, order birth certificates and other foreign documents, with apostilles and translations where needed.
• In Italy, allow several working days for consular appointments, the Prefettura and the declaration at the Comune.
• After the wedding, apostille the Italian certificate at the Prefettura if your country needs it, and register the marriage where you are asked to.

How the route changes the day, and the photographs

A civil ceremony runs on the Comune's calendar, not yours. The slot, the room and often the length are set for you. For photographs, that usually means interior light, a fixed hour and a room you see properly for the first time on the day.

None of that is a problem if it is planned. I treat a town-hall room like any interior: find the windows, choose where I will stand before the ceremony starts, and keep the family photographs for afterwards, outside. A short civil ceremony with two witnesses is, in practice, an elopement, and it photographs like one; my elopement coverage is built for exactly that.

A symbolic ceremony, or a religious one at your venue, hands the clock back to you. In Florence the sun sets just after 9pm on 21 June 2027 (sunrise-sunset.org), and at about 7.30pm in mid-September (September 2027). My own preference is a ceremony that ends while the sun is still above the hills, so there is soft, low light left for portraits before dinner. For a full day built around that timing, see wedding photography in Italy, and the Florence wedding guide for the city itself.

You can also combine the two: a small civil ceremony at the Comune a day or two before, then the celebration with everyone, timed for the light. You can see the kind of light I mean in the portfolio.

Questions to ask before you book

For the Comune:

• Is our date free, and in which room or designated site?
• Which documents do you need from our nationalities, and how many days before the wedding?
• Do you post banns for non-residents, and for how long?
• What is the fee for our date and time, and what is the cancellation policy?

For your venue or officiant:

• What is the latest start time for a ceremony, and is there a curfew?
• Will the religious ceremony carry civil effect in Italy, and under which law?

If you already have a date and a venue, or just a town and a season, send them through the contact page with the route you are leaning towards. I will reply with my availability and a first plan for the day: when the ceremony should start for the light, where the family photographs fit, and how the Comune's timetable shapes the rest.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change — this guide was checked in October 2026. Confirm the details with your consulate and the Comune before you book.