How UK citizens can get legally married in Italy

Direct answer

A British national marrying in Italy should start with two checks: the written requirements of the Italian comune holding the legal ceremony and the current Italy result in GOV.UK’s marriage-abroad service. The GOV.UK route changes according to where the applicant lives.

For most British nationals living in the UK, the current route starts with a certificate of no impediment (CNI) from a UK register office and a separate bilingual statutory declaration. A British national living outside the UK is directed to apply through British Embassy Rome. Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey have their own branch. If both applicants are British, each should check the route for their own residence.

Choose the route before ordering documents

Applicant’s residence	Current starting route	Important boundary
Most of the UK	CNI from a UK register office, plus a bilingual statutory declaration before a UK notary	The current GOV.UK Italy result says both documents need an apostille; it also tells the applicant to translate the CNI.
Scotland	CNI through a local Scottish registrar	Scotland’s own guidance gives no Italy-specific validity period. Confirm timing with the registrar and Comune.
Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey	Obtain the local CNI or equivalent, then follow the British Embassy Rome exchange/application instruction	Do not treat this as the general UK-register-office branch.
Outside the UK	Apply online through British Embassy Rome, then use the embassy-appointment or notary-and-post path offered by the service	Use the live service for its current fees, document uploads and timing.

Check the current result The Italian Interior Ministry’s 2015 circular describes the UK-register-office documents and a consular nulla osta as alternatives. The current GOV.UK service now assigns the operational route by residence. Follow the current service and obtain the Comune’s written acceptance rather than treating the old choice as permission to use either route.

Most British nationals living in the UK

The current GOV.UK Italy result directs the applicant to book with a UK register office and say that the CNI is for a marriage abroad. It says the UK CNI must be apostilled and translated before it is submitted in Italy.

The same route requires a bilingual statutory declaration signed before a UK notary public. That declaration also needs an apostille. It is a separate document; having the CNI does not remove it. Use the declaration linked from the current GOV.UK result rather than an old saved form.

The GOV.UK Italy result says a UK CNI is accepted by Italian local authorities for six months. Ask the Comune what issue date it will accept before choosing the register-office appointment, not after the document has been issued.

Scotland

The Scottish Government says a person can obtain a CNI from a local Scottish registrar and should ask that registrar how to get it. Its public page does not give an Italy-specific validity period. Although the GOV.UK Italy result gives a six-month acceptance statement for a UK CNI, a Scottish applicant should confirm the usable dates with both the registrar and the Comune before acting.

Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey

The current GOV.UK Italy result separates these places from the general UK route. It tells the applicant to obtain the local CNI, or the relevant marriage certificate for the Isle of Man, and then use British Embassy Rome to exchange the document for an Italian CNI. It also offers an application through the Embassy.

Use that named branch. Do not assume the England, Wales or Scotland sequence applies unchanged.

British nationals living outside the UK

The current service directs a British national living abroad to apply online through British Embassy Rome. It then offers two fulfilment paths: attend an appointment at the Embassy, or visit a notary in Italy and post the required documents to the Embassy.

Those paths have their own fees, residence evidence, notice period, upload list and delivery choices. Read them in the live GOV.UK result when applying. Copying those operational figures into a planning checklist would make the checklist stale and could put the application on the wrong path.

The order of work

1. Ask the Comune what it will receive

Contact the civil-status or marriage office where the legal ceremony will take place. Give it each applicant’s citizenship, residence and marital history. Ask for the requirements in writing.

The useful questions are specific:

• Which CNI route applies to each applicant?
• Which records need an apostille or translation?
• What form of translation will the Comune accept?
• What issue-date limit applies to each document?
• Are marriage banns or a declaration appointment required for this couple?
• When may the legal ceremony date be fixed?

An Italian consular page for an Italian/British couple, for example, waives translation of the CNI in its own marriage-publications process. That does not establish a translation waiver for two British nationals filing directly with a Comune. Context matters.

2. Run the GOV.UK Italy check for each British applicant

Use the marriage-abroad service with the applicant’s actual residence. Do not use the partner’s answer for both people. Save the public guidance links and note the date checked, but do not start an application until the Comune has confirmed that it needs the document.

The current service uses CNI and nulla osta for equivalent proof that no impediment has been shown. That does not make the UK-register-office and Embassy issuing processes interchangeable.

3. Prepare the documents for that branch

For the usual UK-resident route, keep the CNI, its apostille and translation together. Keep the bilingual statutory declaration and its apostille as a second set. For an Embassy Rome route, follow the live appointment or postal instructions rather than adding the UK-register-office declaration by assumption.

If there was an earlier marriage or civil partnership, ask both the issuing authority and the Comune for the exact record, finality evidence, apostille, translation and date rule. Do not order a generic bundle before they answer.

4. Return the accepted file to the Comune

The Comune controls its declaration process, any banns question, the legal date and the civil ceremony file. The person conducting the ceremony, a venue or a planner may help with logistics, but cannot replace the Comune’s acceptance of the legal documents.

What to keep in one written record

Item	Record before acting
Applicant	Citizenship, current residence and the GOV.UK branch used
Comune	Office, contact, written requirements and submission sequence
CNI	Issuing authority, issue date, acceptance window and apostille status
Statutory declaration	Whether the selected branch requires it, notary and apostille status
Translation	Document, accepted translator or certification route and Comune confirmation
Earlier relationship, if relevant	Exact record, finality evidence, apostille, translation and timing
Ceremony	Declaration appointment, banns decision, witnesses, interpreter and legal date

If an office changes an instruction, update this record rather than trying to reconcile it from memory. Keep the UK-register-office and Embassy Rome paths separate so documents from one do not silently enter the other.

Keep the rest of the Italy plan connected

This Guide covers the British CNI route. Use what your Comune requires for the local file. Check which ceremonies create a legal marriage and where a legal ceremony may take place before treating a venue plan as the legal plan. Keep official local costs, guest entry and certificate use after the wedding as separate checks. If one applicant is a US citizen, use the separate US-citizen process for that person’s documents. You can also start a private planning checklist.

Sources and review

Reviewed 29 August 2026 by the Plan a Wedding Editorial Team. Primary sources: GOV.UK, getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad; GOV.UK, Italy CNI application documents; GOV.UK, Italy bilingual statutory declaration; Italian Ministry of the Interior, Circular 10/2015; Italian Consulate General in London, marriage in Italy and publications; and Scottish Government, marriage outside Scotland. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm every document and appointment with the authorities handling the actual marriage. Read our editorial policy or use our contact page to report a correction.