The deed of purchase relative to a property in Italy is kept by the Notary Public before whom the parties have signed it. This act is public and, therefore, accessible to everyone by law. The copy of the deed may be useful to verify the ownership of a property, possible irregularities, planimetric variations, the price at which it was purchased, if special conditions were inserted in the contract, specific matters relating to the condominium, etc. In addition to the above, the deed (so-called act of origin) is required in case you want to buy the property in question.
How to obtain a copy of a deed
The copy of the deed may be useful to verify the ownership of a property, possible irregularities, planimetric variations, the price at which it was purchased, if special conditions were inserted in the contract, specific matters relating to the condominium, etc. In addition to the above, the deed (so-called act of origin) is required in case you want to buy the property in question (usually in this case it is the seller who provides the Notary with a copy of the act).
A Notary has an obligation to keep the documents received and those deposited at his office, including deeds, both when requested by the parties or when established by law.
Therefore, if you want to request a copy of a deed of purchase relative to a property in Italy in which you were not involved, you will need to know who the Notary (before whom the parties have signed it) is, and then go to his office and ask him for a copy. The Notary might ask you for a very small sum of money to cover copying expenses.
Otherwise, if you are able to write your request in Italian, you can save time by sending the Notary your request via e-mail, or even better via PEC (posta elettronica certificata)n1. You could also consider asking an Italian professional to request the copy from the Notary on your behalf. In this case, the Notary should send you (or the professional) a scanned copy of the contract within a few days.
If the Notary who drew up the deed has retired or moved to another notary district, the copy of the deed can only be requested from the Notarial Archives (Archivio Notarile) of the district where the notary was working at the time of the signing (for example Archivio Notarile di Roma, Milano, Torino, etc.). It is possibile to use the search system Archinota, on the website of the Ministry of Justice, to find out in which notarial archive the act you are interested in is located.
If the applicant does not have the information related to the act he/she may request, on the basis of the information available to him/her, that the competent Notarial Archive search for the act of interest in the database. The request can be filed by mail, fax, e-mail, or PEC. Otherwise, it is always possible to research for the deed you are interested in at the Real Estate Registry (“Conservatoria“) either by going to the Office or onto its website, or online where there are many dedicated websites.
If you need more information please send an email to assistance@vademecumitalia.com or fill in the Contact us form.
David
Hello Looking to search copy of property deed to establish current ownership of my parents family home. Please advise of how I go about this
I am in the process of having to sell my parents property in Italy. Can you explain which documents I need to have in order to proceed with listing the sale of house and properties.
Dear Lucia,
I sent you an email a few minutes ago.
Regards,
D.
Hi David, i would like to know who owns a particular building in Sardegna, which we believe is my Uncles. I have the address, and do not need the whole deed document, so is there a quick way to search for ownership of the building? I have tried to use the sites you mentioned above, but my italian is not good enough to know exactly where to go after being on the Italian website.
many thanks – your site is useful.
Salva,
I didn’t receive your answer to my email yet.
David.
Hi David,
I have a copy of Catasto Terreni of our property in Italy.
I don’t really understand what it stands for or meaning. Is this the deed?
There are two owners, can one owner change the document without the other partners’ knowledge?
Thank
Dear Ala,
Catasto is the Italian system of land registration. Therefore, the document from the Catasto is not the deed. The deed is the contract with which one party sells the property and the other one purchases it.
If you have specific questions, please send an email to assistance@vademecumitalia.com.
Thank you,
David.
Good evening David;
My family with surname De Rosa still are aware of owning only a small portion at Via Porta Valle # 16. This is part of what was the “Palazzo De Rosa” In San Lorenzo Maggiore Benevento Italy.
How can I find out what they actually owed, to whom and how the other part of it was passed to others or even if it was claimed by others?
Thanks in advance, for your help;
Pia De Rosa
Dear Pia,
Can you please send an email to assistance@vademecumitalia.com explaining your case?
We will then answer as soon as possible.
Thank you
Hi David
Was wondering if you could help, im trying to retrieve deedd to some land in italy which was my fathers who passed away 2years ago
Is this something you could help with
Many thanks
Roberto
Hi,
Yes, but please send an email to info@vademecumitalia.com
Thank you
Ive tried to email this address but wont go through
Where can we get the copy of the original deeds of land in Rome Italy
Hi,
I am sorry but your request is too vague.
Please send an email to info@vademecumitalia.com with more details.
We will then asnwer asap.
Thank you
My father passed away and I need a copy of the title deed of his house. How can I obtain a copy of this title deed?
Hi,
please send an email to info@vademecumitalia.com with more details
We will answer as soon as possible.
Thank you
I have a sister who died and the property is under probate. There are people in the home that say they bought it. Could it have been sold?
Dear Donna,
I am very sorry but we are not able to answer generic questions when we have no specific elements to consider.
Hi David my wife and myself own a house at Via Al Piano n2 San Siro, Localita of Santa Maria Rezzonico 22101 and I need to get a copy of the title deed can you help.
Mike
Hi Mike,
We will send you an email as soon as possible.