In Italy, the so-called criminal record certificate (also called in English Criminal Record Certificate, Police Certificate, Background Check, Judicial Records Register, PCC, Police Check or Police Clearance Certificate) is actually made up of 2 distinct certificates:

• The CRIMINAL RECORD CERTIFICATE, which reports whether or not final crimes, sentences and convictions in the civil, criminal and administrative fields;
• The PENDING CHARGE CERTIFICATE, which reports whether or not criminal proceedings are underway.

It is therefore good practice to produce both to fully certify your status and to prove the absence of a criminal record in Italy, even for the period of your stay alone.

Many foreign immigration and visa authorities and offices require both (e.g. USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand), while for others the Criminal Record Certificate alone is sufficient.

Effective October 26, 2019, the Italian Criminal Records Certificate also includes an extract from the European Criminal Records Registry [ECRIS] for Italian citizens, completely replacing the old Criminal Records Certificate and Civil Records Certificate.

The VISURA is a complete extract without certification value and without the indication of personal data (i.e. anonymous), which reports all the definitive provisions required by law.

Often these certificates (or sometimes just the Criminal Record) are required for hiring, work needs, competitions, legal matters, airlines, registration in professional registers, political and voting rights, citizenship, immigration, visas, etc.

The release is handled by the competent Public Prosecutor's Office.

The Public Prosecutor's Office requires the following revenue stamps for each certificate:

• €16.00 for the certificate issue €3.92 for the certificate fee (standard issue)

The release is exempt from the €16.00 stamp duty - for example - for:

• Adoption procedures
• Child custody (art. 82 Law 184/83)
• Labor, social security and mandatory assistance disputes (art. 10 Law 533/73)
• Free legal aid (art. 18 Presidential Decree 115/2002)
• Application for reparation of judicial errors (art. 176 provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure)

Our rates (including revenue stamps) per certificate are:

• €69.00 with release within 3 to 5 working days
• €99.00 with release within 1 working day (including additional revenue stamps required)

YES, a criminal record certificate expires 6 months after the date of issue.

Some countries require that it not be issued more than 3 months ago.