Ministero della Giustizia

Central Office of Notary Archives – Servizio IV
Administration of Notary Archives
Presidential Decree 445/2000
Consolidated Text of legislative and regulatory provisions in the matter of administrative documentation

General Register of Wills (Registro Generale Testamenti)

The General Register of Wills shows whether a deceased person has made a will in Italy or abroad. Through the Register it is possible  to ask the competent authority of a foreign State that is a party to the International Basle Convention to issue a certificate attesting the recorded documents of last wishes of the deceased person. The States that have ratified the Convention so far are, in addition to Italy:

France, Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg, Spain, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine.

It is possible to ask the General Register of Wills for a certification of recorded documents concerning a deceased person and information on the district notary archive where the wills are deposited, should the notary have ceased their activity.

Given the time required for transmission and acquisition of entries in the database, please note that, with reference in particular to the minutes of publication of holographic wills not formally deposited with public officials - and thus not listed in the Register during the life of the testator - the recent acts in the course of transmission and acquisition may not be included in certificates issued shortly after the death of the testator and the subsequent receipt of the aforesaid minutes of publication.
In relation to finding this type of acts, therefore, to avoid having to request additional certificates, it is suggested users to wait approximately a period of at least three months of the death of the testator.
 

Applications

An application filed with the Register may concern

• one or more certificates of deeds recorded at the Register receiving the application
• one or more certificates of deeds recorded at the register of the competent authority of one or more of the aforesaid States.

The application form, which you can find in the forms section, can also be used to make the self-certifications  prescribed by Presidential Decree no 445 of 28 December 2000.

In case of  absence or presumed death, a copy of the measure ordering the opening of the documents of last wishes of the absentee or a copy of the Declaratory Judgment of Death shall have to be attached to the request.

When requesting certificates of deeds deposited with foreign authorities a death certificate or any other proof of death considered as satisfactory by the  law of  that foreign State shall be provided.

The request form, shown in the modules section of this sheet, allows you to indicate how to issue the requested certificate (whether in paper or electronic format).

The certificate in electronic format, digitally signed, is sent to the e-mail address indicated on the request.

The certificate in paper format  can be collected directly from the Register office, or can be received by mail, paying the mailing costs indicated below.

Fees

For each certificate issued by the Register the following  fee is due:  € 37,16  (equivalent to the sum of € 5.16 as fixed rate  + € 16 as revenue stamp relative to the application + € 16 as revenue stamp relative to the certificate);  if the competent authority of a foreign State is requested to provide the certificate the following fee is due: € 50 (€ 34 as fixed rate  + € 16 as revenue stamp relative to the application).

For example if a request concerns 1 certificate recorded at  the General Register and 1 certificate from the competent authority of France, the total amount due is € 71,16 (equivalent to the sum of € 5.16 as fixed rate  for the Italian certificate + € 16 as revenue stamp for the Italian certificate +  € 16 as revenue stamp relative to the application  +  €34.00 for the foreign certificate).

If you want to receive the certificate by mail in Italy the following amount is also due, depending on the  mail service  chosen by the  applicant:

• € 1,27 by ordinary mail
• € 6,21 by registered mail
• € 7,13 by insured mail

For example, if a request concerns 1 certificate recorded at  the General Register and  the applicant chooses  registered mail, the overall sum due is € 43.37.

We recommend to choose at least the registered mail service.

The following fees apply to send  abroad certificates by post, depending on the postal areas

Payment

Payment can be made:

• in cash, first hand at the Register’s Office
• by Postal slip to current account number 17596008, held in the name of:

Registro Generale Testamenti (General Register of Wills)
Via Padre Semeria 95, 00154 Rome

• by bank or post money transfer on the same current account number as above, using the following information:

Recipient: Registro Generale Testamenti (General Register of Wills)
Address: Via Padre Semeria 95, 00154 Rome
BIC code: BPPIITRRXXX
IBAN code: IT 08 K 07601 03200 000017596008

For money transfers coming from foreign current accounts in some cases an additional charge shall be added to the amount due, as shown by the following table, because of the additional charges due to Poste Italiane S.p.A by the Registro Generale Testamenti (General Register of Wills)

The additional charges due for the deposit of money transfers from foreign current accounts

The application to issue a certification of the deeds recorded at the General Register of Wills or at the competent authority of a foreign State that is a party to the International Basel Convention (France, Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg, Spain, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine) can be made:

• By mail or certified mail respectively to the following addresses registrogeneraletestamenti.ucan@giustizia.it and registrogeneraletestamenti.ucan@giustiziacert.it attaching to the completed form a simple copy of the applicant's identity document if the request concerns exclusively the Italian General Register of Wills
  For certificates issued by foreign organizations, the transmission of the testator's original death certificate is required with one of the following methods
• first hand at the office of the Register, from Mondays to Fridays, from 9 to 13
• By correspondence
• At one of the district notary archives present on the territory, which will forward it to the Register.

The address of the Office of the General Register of Wills is : Via Padre Semeria, 95 – 00154 Roma

Find the District Notary Archives

You can use the following form to apply for a certification of the deeds recorded at the General Register of Wills or at the register of the competent authority of a foreign State that is a party to the International Basle Convention (France, Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg, Spain, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine):

GRW Certification – Application Form (pdf, 79 Kb)