Foreign wills and probate documents for use in Italy: Apostille and translation
Wills, grants of probate, heirs and inventories from abroad for Italy: formalities, Apostille and sworn translation — not a succession how-to.
October 12, 2026 · 3 min
If you already have a will or a probate file formed abroad — grant of probate, letters of administration, heirship affidavit, inventories, powers of attorney — and it must be read in Italy, the documentary path is: document → international formality → translation → receiving authority.
Note
ItaloDocs is a private service specialised in sworn translations. If you already hold the succession file, we can prepare the Italian translation. Drafting the will, accepting the estate and tax matters remain with the competent professionals.
What a foreign probate file may contain
- will (holographic, notarial, international, last will);
- grant of probate / letters of administration (typical in England and Wales and similar systems);
- declaration of heirs or foreign affidavit;
- certificates (death, family) — for an Italian death record see Italian death certificate;
- inventories, if the recipient includes them;
- powers for heirs in Italy — if notarial, foreign notarial document.
Who may receive the file in Italy
Examples: notary; Agenzia delle Entrate (dichiarazione di successione); bank; court. Each may ask for different documents.
Agenzia delle Entrate instructions (Fascicolo 1) deal with a foreign will: it must be attached with an Italian translation by a court-registered expert, sworn (asseverata). A will in international form (Washington Convention, Law 387/1990) does not, according to those instructions, need legalisation or Apostille — but it does need translation into Italian.
That rule is for that tax filing. A notary, for a disposal deed, may still ask for an Apostille on a UK grant of probate even if a tax procedure does not.
Document, Apostille, translation
| Step | Function |
|---|---|
| Complete foreign document | Will, probate, certificates, powers |
| Apostille or legalisation | If the act is public and the State is party to the Hague Convention; otherwise MAECI legalisation — subject to exceptions |
| Sworn translation | When the recipient asks for Italian with a court oath |
Send the complete probate file to request a translation quote.
FAQ
Does ItaloDocs file the Italian succession return?
No. It translates the foreign documents.
Must a UK grant of probate be apostilled?
As a rule it is a public document of the country of origin: a UK Apostille if the Italian recipient asks for it.
Must every foreign will be sworn?
For the dichiarazione di successione, Agenzia delle Entrate expressly indicates a sworn translation. Ask other recipients.
