Under Italian law, Italian citizens have a duty to update their civic status by promptly registering vital events such as birth, marriage, divorce, and death.

When any of these events take place outside the territory of Italy, and a foreign vital record is therefore created by the local, foreign (i.e., non-Italian) authority, the Italian citizen has nonetheless the duty to register his/her own foreign birth/marriage/divorce or the death of an Italian immediate family member in Italy through the competent consular office, more specifically through its “Vital Record” [in Italian: “Stato Civile”] Department. Said office will review your record(s) and, if deemed complete, will transmit on your behalf the foreign vital record(s) to the local Comune in Italy where ultimately the foreign record(s) will be registered (a process technically known under Italian law as “trascrizione”.)

For residents of Arizona, the competent consular office where to register foreign (i.e., non-Italian) vital records is the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, California whose web site has an entire section specifically dedicated to “Vital Record” also available through this link: https://conslosangeles.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-italiano/stato-civile/

We kindly invite you to read the pages of the General Consulate of Italy in Los Angeles’ web site dedicated to the “Vital Records/Stato Civile” procedures and formalities before contacting this office for clarifications and guidance, as all procedures are illustrated with detailed clarity.

The Italian Honorary Consulate in Phoenix is nonetheless available to provide basic information and/or to provide with the correct forms to those who do not have access to internet. Please call or write us (by email or by regular mail) if you need the forms.

When you send your original records to the General Consulate of Italy in Los Angeles, we recommend that you chose a traceable method such as FedEx, UPS or USPS Priority Express/certified mail. The address is the following:

Consulate General of Italy
Attn.: Vital Records Department
12424 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA 90025