Italian Translation

In Italy a sworn translation is not a status but a procedure. A translator is not permanently sworn; they swear an oath for each individual translation before a court clerk, and that oath is attached to the document.

5 min readLast updated 2 September 2026

Short answer

In Italy a translation becomes official through a procedure called asseverazione: the translator swears before a court clerk or notary that the translation is accurate, the record is attached, and revenue stamps are affixed. There is no permanent list of sworn translators.

System: An oath per translation (asseverazione)
Permanent register: None
Revenue stamps: Required, calculated by page count
Apostille: Italy and Türkiye are both parties

Asseverazione: an oath for each translation

In Germany a translator is sworn in once by a court and works under that status for years. Italy has no such permanent status. For each document translated, the translator goes to a court clerk's office (cancelleria) or a notary, swears that the translation is accurate and signs a record. The record, the source document and the translation are bound into a single file.

01
The translation is prepared
Source and translation are bound together so that the page order cannot be disturbed.
02
The oath record is attached
A page carrying the translator's identity details and the text of the oath is placed at the end of the file.
03
It is signed before a clerk or notary
The translator signs the record in the official's presence; the official stamps it and enters it in the register.
04
Revenue stamps are affixed
Stamps are required at set page intervals. An asseverazione without them is invalid.
05
An apostille is obtained if needed
Where the file is going abroad, it is apostilled as well.

Seen from Türkiye, the upshot is this: a Turkish sworn translation with notarisation and an apostille is accepted by most Italian institutions. Some, however, require an asseverazione carried out in Italy. Do not begin without asking the receiving institution.

Three different birth documents

Italy issues three different documents from a birth record, each carrying different information. When a Turkish institution asks for a birth certificate, which one is needed often remains unclear.

Documents issued from a birth record
Document	What it shows	When it is requested
Certificato di nascita	Name, surname, date and place of birth	Where basic identity details suffice
Estratto di nascita	The above plus parents' details	Where family ties must be shown
Estratto per riassunto	All annotations added to the record since	Where marriage, divorce or name change must be visible
Copia integrale	The full text of the record	Where detailed examination is required

Documents issued from a birth record

The most comprehensive, the estratto per riassunto, is usually the right choice for Turkish procedures, since it also shows changes in marital status. Translating the wrong one costs not only money but time: a new document has to be requested from the municipality.

Codice fiscale: a number calculated from the name

The Italian tax code is not arbitrary: it is calculated from a person's given name, surname, date of birth, sex and place of birth. Those details sit encoded inside its sixteen characters.

Apostrophes in surnames, and accents

Apostrophes are common in Italian surnames: D'Angelo, Dell'Orto, De' Medici. The apostrophe is part of the name and cannot be dropped. Accented letters such as à, è, é, ì, ò and ù also occur in names and are simplified in passports.

Forms encountered in names
Original spelling	In the passport	Point to watch
D'Angelo	D'ANGELO or DANGELO	The apostrophe may be dropped
Dell'Orto	DELL'ORTO	No space; one word
Niccolò	NICCOLO	The accent is dropped
De Luca	DE LUCA	Two parts, one surname
Lo Presti	LO PRESTI	The article is part of the surname

Forms encountered in names

Particles such as De, Del, Della, Lo and La are inseparable parts of the surname; they are not written to a separate field in Turkish records and are never dropped. We note this in the translation, because institutions sometimes take them for a connector between given name and surname.

characters in a codice fiscale: 16characters in a codice fiscale
of document issued from a birth record: 4 typesof document issued from a birth record
permanent registers of sworn translators: 0permanent registers of sworn translators

Italian documents and how we render them

Frequently seen documents
Document	What it is	Our approach
Stato di famiglia	Household record	Shows who lives at one address; not proof of kinship
Casellario giudiziale	Criminal record	Separate from the record of pending charges (carichi pendenti)
Diploma di maturità	School-leaving certificate	An examination result; university entry is separate
Certificato di laurea	Certificate of graduation	A separate document from the diploma
Permesso di soggiorno	Residence permit	Its type and duration are always stated

Frequently seen documents

Frequently asked questions

Will a translation made in Türkiye be accepted in Italy?

By most institutions, yes: a notarised and apostilled Turkish sworn translation is generally accepted. Some require an asseverazione carried out in Italy. One question settles it: do you accept an apostilled translation issued outside Italy?

Which birth document should I request from the municipality?

If the Turkish institution needs family ties or marital status, the estratto per riassunto is the most comprehensive. Where only date and place of birth are needed, a certificato di nascita will do. Ask the institution; translating the wrong one means requesting a new document from the municipality.

Will the apostrophe in my surname be lost in Turkish records?

It should not be; the apostrophe is part of the name. Some systems do not accept the character, however, and D'Angelo can be recorded as DANGELO. The translation shows the original spelling and states that the apostrophe belongs to the name.

Italian and Spanish are close. Can one translator handle both?

Not for an official procedure. A sworn translation requires an oath record for Italian. However related the languages, the legal and administrative terms differ, and the Italian administrative system works with its own concepts.

Will I have to pay for revenue stamps in Türkiye too?

No. Revenue stamps belong to the Italian asseverazione procedure. A translation made in Türkiye follows Turkish practice: sworn translation, notarisation, apostille. The stamp item arises only for procedures carried out in Italy.