About the Italian Certificate Positive/Negative

It is not uncommon to discover that first and last names are different from the original spelling found in the Italian vital records. Inconsistencies can also be found in the date of birth; US records (birth, marriage, death and naturalization records) may list different birthdates.

Although US records can be amended, with the exception of the Naturalization records that cannot be amended for someone who is deceased, it helps (and often it is required) to have the Italian town hall issue a certification known as Certificate Positive/Negative, or Certificate of Esatte Generalita’.

The Italian town hall will certify that there was only one person (listing the original first and last name, date of birth, place of birth, parents’ names and Birth Act No.) born there, while other individuals with incorrect name spellings (listing exactly which misspellings are found in the US documents) and incorrect birth dates (listing exactly which other dates are found in the US documents) were NOT born in that town.  

NOTE: This Certification does not replace the requirement of “amending” US records. For more information on how to amend US vital records, READ OUR ARTICLE 

Ready to order your Italy-born Ancestor's CERTIFICATE POSITIVE/NEGATIVE record for the purpose of Italian Dual Citizenship application? CLICK HERE!