Ministero della Giustizia

Practical information – Certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings

The certificato dei carichi pendenti [certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings] states all criminal proceedings being carried out against a person, as well as relevant appeals if any.

At present, pending the activation of the Casellario nazionale dei carichi pendenti [National Register of Outstanding Criminal Proceedings], the certificate has to be requested to the Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale [Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic] of the place of residence of the person concerned and contains the proceedings outstanding before the Court attached to that Prosecutor’s Office and those outstanding before the Procure distrettuali antimafia (“DDA”) once communicated. It is not forbidden to ask the certificate to any Procura della Repubblica different from that of residence: in such case the certificate issued will only mention the criminal proceedings outstanding before the Court attached to that Prosecutor’s Office.

The certificate can be requested by:

• the person concerned, or by someone delegated by them;
• a pubblica amministrazione [public administration] or gestore di pubblico servizio [authority/company managing a public utility or service], if they need the certificate for the performance of their activities;
• the criminal judicial authorities, which access directly to it; or
• by the defence counsel of the victim or witness of the offence.

The application for a certificate has to be made on the relevant application form and submitted either by the person concerned or by someone delegated by them, carrying a valid identity document.

The person concerned may submit the request either in person or by post. In the latter case they shall enclose a copy of their identity document.

Non-EU citizens without a passport will have to show a copy of their permesso di soggiorno [permit of stay].

 

Special cases:

• minor/ child under 16: the request is submitted by the person having parental authority over them, if the child has not turned 16;
• interdetto [conservatee]: the request is submitted by the conservator, who has to produce their decreto di nomina [decree of appointment];
• prisoner or person staying in a therapeutic community: the request can be submitted by the person concerned by post, or by someone delegated by them; if the person concerned has no identity documents, the request must be countersigned by the Prison Director [direttore del carcere] or by the Prison’s Ufficio Matricolare;
• request from abroad: the request can be submitted by the person concerned by post, or by someone delegated by them.

The certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

 

Cost of the certificate:

Each certificate requires payment, by means of duty stamps, of the following sums:

• € 3.92 for diritti di certificato [certificate fee];  and
• € 16.00 for marca da bollo [stamp duty] (n.b.: one stamp duty every two pages of the certificate)

Certificates to be issued on the same day of the request require the additional payment of:

• € 3.92 for diritto d’urgenza [urgency fee]

Please note that the certificate is issued free i.e. exempt from payment of both marca da bollo [stamp duty] and diritti di certificato, but with payment of the diritto d’urgenza [urgency fee] if applicable, if needed, among others, for the following purposes:

• proceedings concerning adoption and fostering of children (Art. 82 of Law 184/83)
• disputes concerning labour, or mandatory welfare and social security matters (Art. 10 of Law 533/73)
• proceedings where the person concerned has been granted legal aid (art. 18 of D.P.R. 115/2002).
• an application for riparazione dell’errore giudiziario [judicial redress] (Art. 176 of code of criminal procedure - enforcement provisions)

However, if the certificate is needed for any of the purposes indicated in Annex B to the Decree of the President of the Republic no. 642/72 it is exempt only from payment of marca da bollo [stamp duty]

Anyone entitled to being issued a certificate  with exemption from payment of marca da bollo  [stamp duty] and diritti di cetificato [certificate fee] must prove such entitlement through evidence (e.g. file number of the proceedings in case of legal separation legal aid or labour disputes; a declaration by the President of the Non-Profit Organization stating that the certificate requested by a private citizen is related to an activity of that organization).

Nota bene: Pursuant to Art. 40 of the Decree of the President of the Republic 28 December 2000 no. 445 (as amended by Article 15, paragraph 1, of Law 12 November 2011 no. 183) a certificate issued at the request of the person concerned cannot be produced before a public administration or gestore di pubblico servizio [authority/company managing a public utility or service], to which instead, in compliance with Article 46 of the Decree mentioned above, a dichiarazione sostitutiva della certificazione [statement in substitution for a certificate] shall be produced.

WHERE

At present, pending the activation of the Casellario nazionale dei carichi pendenti [National Register of Outstanding Criminal Proceedings], the certificate has to be requested to the Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale [Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic] of the place of residence of the person concerned and contains the proceedings outstanding before the Court attached to that Prosecutor’s Office and those outstanding before the procure distrettuali antimafia (“DDA”) once communicated. It is not forbidden to ask the certificate to any Procura della Repubblica different from that of residence: in such case the certificate issued will only mention the criminal proceedings outstanding before the Court attached to that Prosecutor’s Office.

A certificate concerning a minor/child under 18 has to be requested from the Procura della Repubblica [Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic] attached to the Tribunale per i minorenni [Juvenile Court].

Please note that the opening hours of the offices may vary between them, so it is advisable to check them directly with the Offices concerned.

• Contact informaton of judicial offices/Courts

FAQ

Does the applicant need to state the reason why they are applying for a certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings?
No, it doesn’t. But the applicant must indicate the purpose for which they request it if they are applying for it free of charge, i.e. with exemption from payment of any duty and fee, or with exemption from payment of marca da bollo [stamp duty].

When is a certificate issued free of charge, i.e. with exemption from payment of any duty and fee?

A certificate is issued free of charge if it is requested for use in:

• disputes concerning labour, or mandatory welfare and social security matters (Art. 10 of Law 533/73);
• in proceedings concerning adoption and placement of children (Art. 82 of Law 184/83);
• in proceedings where the applicant has been granted legal aid (art. 18 of D.P.R. 115/2002);
• in an application for riparazione dell’errore giudiziario [compensation for judicial error] (Art. 176 of the code of criminal procedure - enforcement provisions)

 

When is a certificate issued with exemption from payment of marca da bollo [stamp duty]?
A certificate is issued with exemption from payment of stamp duty in the cases indicated in the list of annex B to the D.P.R. 642/72.

 

Does the certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings issued to the person concerned mention all the criminal proceedings in which that person is a imputato [defendant]?
No, it doesn’t. Article 27 of the Consolidation Law on the Judicial Records Register [Testo Unico del Casellario] provides that the national certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings and appeals shall not mention some of the data contained in the Register such as, for example,

• convictions that have not yet become final and which have been granted the benefit of “non menzione”, i.e. “non disclosure” in the certificate;
• judicial measures ordered by a giudice di pace;
• convictions that have not yet become final relevant to offences punishable only with a fine.

 

Does the certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings mention all the criminal proceedings outstanding against a person throughout Italy?
No, it doesn’t. It mentions only the criminal proceedings and relevant appeals outstanding before the Court attached to the Procura della Repubblica [Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic] to which the request is made.
In order to know about proceedings outstanding before several courts, separate requests to each relevant Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic are to be made (a national certificate will be available upon activation of the national register of outstanding criminal proceedings).

 

If the certificate contains a mistake, how can the person concerned get it corrected?
The person concerned can make an application to the Court of their place of birth to correct the mistake.

 

If the certificate is requested by a person not born in Italy, which is the court competent over their certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings and the information contained therein?
The competent court is the Tribunale di Roma [Court of Rome]

 

Can the public prosecutor or the defendant’s defence counsel request a certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings concerning the victim or the witness of the offence?
Yes, upon authorization by the judge carrying out the relevant criminal proceedings. In this case the certificate will disclose all the information registered about the person concerned.

 

Can the amounts for the diritti di urgenza [urgency fee], the diritti di certificato [certificate fee] and the marca da bollo [stamp duty] cancelleria [court charges] due for obtaining the certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings be paid in cash ?
No, never.

All the amounts due for issuing the certificate have to be paid by means of marche da bollo [duty stamps] that have to be affixed on the application form.

Even when the certificate is requested from abroad, the amounts due must be paid according to the methods prescribed for the country from which the certificate is requested.

 

Can a certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings be requested from abroad?
Yes, it can. Anyone living outside Italy can ask the certificate to any Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale [Office of the Prosecutor of the Republic] throughout Italy: in such case the certificate issued will only mention the criminal proceedings outstanding before the Court attached to that Prosecutor’s Office.

The application, in writing, must specify the following:

1. the personal details of the person concerned (i.e. the person to whom the certificate relates), stating clearly – in block capital letters - their family name/surname and forename(s)/given name(s), as well as their place (town and country) and date of birth;
2. the address where the certificate is to be sent; and
3. if the certificate is requested with exemption from payment of any duty and feeadoption proceedings, labour disputes, legal aid applications, judicial redress) or with exemption from payment of marca da bollo [stamp duty] (for applications, documents, certificates of Non-Profit Organizations, scholarship), the purpose for which it is requested proving entitlement to the exemption.

The application must be signed by the person concerned and specify if is for a certificato del casellario giudiziale [certificate from the judicial records] or a certificato dei carichi pendenti [certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings].

Certificates are issued in the Italian language and in the German language if issued by the Office in Bolzano/Bozen.

The cost of each certificate issued is of € 19.92   (of which € 16 for marca da bollo [stamp duty] and € 3.92  for diritti di certificato [certificate fee]).

If the certificate is exempt from the payment of the marca da bollo [stamp duty], only € 3.92 diritti di certificato [certificate fee]) are to be paid.

In addition, also the postage costs by ordinary mail are to be paid. These are: € 0.90 for mailing to European countries, € 2 to non-European countries and € 2.50 to Oceania.

Please note that the acceptable payment methods (eg. international bankers draft, postal cheque, eurogiro etc) of the amount due for issuing a certificate (stamp duty and/or certificate fee and postage costs) differ according to the country from which the certificate is requested and relevant applicable Conventions. It is therefore necessary to ask the Ufficio del casellario [Judicial Records Office] to which the application is going to be sent what is the appropriate payment method to use.

Do not send cash

Applicants must enclose the following in their request:

1. a copy of a valid identity document of the person concerned (eg. ID card, passport, international driving licence)
2. proof of payment of the total amount due for issuing the certificate (i.e. stamp duties and/or certificate fee and postage costs)
3. an envelope already bearing the address where the certificate is to be mailed to, without stamps.

 

FORMS

The forms below are to be used in any Procura della Repubblica throughout Italy:

• Application by the person concerned for a certificate from the judicial records register, a certificate of outstanding criminal proceedings or a statement of the data entered into the judicial records register - FORM 3
• Appointment of a proxy to request a certificate or statement from the judicial records register - FORM 5

 
Last update: 24 august 2021