Quick answer
Historical Italian death records are most often found through the Antenati portal and through FamilySearch’s Italian civil registration collections. Recent deaths are handled by the civil status office (ufficio di stato civile) of the comune where the death was registered.
What exists and from when
- Civil registration: A uniform national system began in 1866, and death registers (atti di morte) were kept by each comune from then on. In several areas, earlier civil registers exist from the Napoleonic period and the pre-unification states. The start date varies by region, so check the specific area. In Sicily and southern Italy, for example, civil registers began earlier than 1866.
- Parish burial records: For deaths before civil registration, Catholic parish registers (libri dei morti) are the main source.
As with births, registers were usually produced in two copies, with one staying in the comune and another going to the court and later the state archive. Online images typically come from the archive copies. See our pillar page on Italian birth records online for how that structure affects searching.
Searching online
Antenati. Choose the state archive, then the comune, the record type (morti) and the year. Some registers have name indexes, and others you have to browse. Many registers include an annual index at the back.
FamilySearch. Search by name in the Italian civil registration collections, or browse by comune and year. A free account is needed, and some collections have viewing restrictions.
Ten-year indexes. Comuni compiled ten-year indexes (indici decennali) that list names alphabetically with a reference to the record. If you know the town but not the year, these indexes can narrow your search quickly.
Searching without a death date
Start with an estimate. Work from:
- A marriage record or a child’s birth record that says a parent was deceased (fu).
- A census, military or passenger record.
- A date from family stories, narrowed to a range of years.
A death in another country may later appear as a marginal note in the Italian birth record, if the news was sent back to the birth comune. Our article on reading Italian death records explains what to look for once you find the entry.
Where did the person die?
An Italian death record was registered in the comune where the person died, which is not always where they were born or lived. If you cannot find an entry in the home comune, check nearby towns and the places where the person worked or was hospitalized.
Recent deaths and certified copies
For records not available online, contact the civil status office of the comune where the death was registered. Provide the person’s full name, the date and place of death if known, your relationship and a copy of your identification. Some offices have online forms, and others take emails or postal requests. Procedures vary, so check the website of the specific comune. For an example of such a request, see birth records in Catanzaro.
Types of documents
- Death certificate (certificato di morte): gives the basic details.
- Extract (estratto dell’atto di morte): a summary that may include marginal notes.
- Full copy (copia integrale dell’atto di morte): a complete copy of the original register entry.
- Multilingual extract: a standard form for use in other countries under international conventions.
For genealogy, the full copy is usually the most informative. If you need it for legal use abroad, ask the receiving authority whether you also need an apostille or a certified translation. See translating Italian birth records for translation basics that also apply to death records. If the documents support a citizenship claim, read how to prove your Italian ancestry as well.
Access and privacy
Italian rules limit access to recent civil records. A commonly cited guideline is that birth records are open after about 100 years, and death and marriage records after about 70 years, but practices can differ, so check the rules on the portal or with the office. Recent records are typically issued only to those with a legal interest.
Parish burial records
If you cannot find a civil death record, look for the burial entry in the parish register. Parish records may name the parents or spouse and give the date of death and burial. Many are written in Latin or Italian. Some are digitized on FamilySearch, and others remain in the parish or diocesan archive. See Italian genealogy church records for more on locating them.
If you cannot find the record
- Browse the register page by page. Indexes are not always complete.
- Widen the year range, since deaths were sometimes registered late.
- Look in neighboring comuni.
- Check the birth record’s marginal notes, which sometimes record the death date and place.
- Contact the state archive or a local researcher.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a copy of a birth certificate from Italy? Ask the comune of birth, with identification and the person’s details. See Italian birth records online.
How do I look up people in Italy? Genealogical research is organized by comune and year, so you first need to identify the place.
What DNA do most Italians have? DNA ethnicity estimates vary by testing company and by region of Italy. They are estimates, not records of descent, and they do not replace documentation; how far back DNA can trace ancestry explains their limits.
What is the biggest cause of death in Italy? Public health statistics are outside the scope of this guide, and historical civil death records usually do not state a cause. See the Italian national statistics office for current figures.