Apostille Information - The Hague Convention:

The Apostille authenticates the signatures and stamps appearing on a document.

Documents issued in one country (USA for example) which need to be used in another country (Italy) must be authenticated or legalized before they can be recognized as valid by the Italian government for dual citizenship.

The Apostille is the legalization provided by the Office of the Secretary of State of the State where the document/certificate is issued.
Please note: it is not a stamp on the certificate. It is a legalization, a document stapled to the birth/marriage/death certificate by the Secretary of State.

With this certification by the Hague Convention Apostille, the document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use (Italy), and no certification by the Authentications Office or legalization by the embassy or consulate of the foreign country where the document is to be used is required.

Birth / Marriage / Death records related to the Italian side must bear an "Apostille" (according to Hague Convention of Dec. 5, 1961) , except for the Certificate of Naturalization and/or similar documentation.

DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR AN APOSTILLE FOR ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP

Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records:

All certificates must be in “CERTIFED COPY” a.k.a. “LONG FORM” or “FULL FORM” (not “certification” or “abstract”). Said forms can be obtained at the Vital Statistics Office of the State in which the birth/marriage/death took place. Certificates reporting only the “County” of birth can not be accepted. You must request the Vital Statistics Authority to state the CITY OF BIRTH. The document must contain a legible signature from the county clerk as well a have a raised seal in order to be authenticated and not be more than one (1) year old.

Additional Requirements Regarding New York City Documents for Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorces:

New York City Vital Record Documents must first be notarized and then have the notary's signature certified at the county clerk's office where the notary is qualified. For this to occur the original document must be presented to the County Clerk's Office in the county where the document was obtained so that the signature of the clerk may be verified and so that a Letter of Exemplification may be attached .

When requesting your Certified vital record document you should request that it be Exemplified by the county clerk’s office, that they affix a certified seal and that the document contain a legible signature.