Divorce in Italy: Procedures, Paths, and Cross-Border Rules

Divorce in Italy usually takes place in two stages: spouses first obtain a legal separation, then wait six months (if they agree on terms) or twelve months (if they don’t) before a court can grant the divorce itself. The framework comes from Law 898/1970, was shortened by Law 55/2015, and was streamlined again by the Cartabia Reform that took effect on March 1, 2023. How long the whole thing takes, and how much it costs, depends on whether you and your spouse agree, whether minor children are involved, and whether either of you is a foreign national.

The Two-Stage Timeline

For the standard route, separation comes first. The clock on the waiting period starts running from a specific event, and which event depends on how the separation was reached:

Consensual separation: six months from the date the spouses appeared before the court president, or six months from the date of a separation agreement reached through assisted negotiation or before a civil registrar.
Contested (judicial) separation: twelve months from the date the spouses appeared before the court president.¹

A contested separation that turns consensual mid-proceeding drops to the six-month timeline.² If the spouses resume living together during the waiting period, the clock resets.

When Separation Can Be Skipped

Italian law lets a spouse petition directly for divorce, with no prior separation, in a narrow set of cases. Those include a conviction of the other spouse for certain serious offenses (an intentional-offense prison sentence exceeding fifteen years, sexual abuse or incest, or murder or attempted murder of the spouse or a child); a marriage that was never consummated; a legal change of gender by one spouse; or a foreign spouse who has already obtained an annulment or new marriage abroad.² Most divorces still go through the separation-first route.

Filing Separation and Divorce in One Petition

Since March 1, 2023, new Article 473-bis.49 of the Code of Civil Procedure lets spouses file a single petition asking for both separation and divorce, instead of running two separate lawsuits.³ The waiting period does not disappear. The judge pronounces the separation first, waits for the six or twelve months to elapse and the separation decree to become final, and only then rules on the divorce within the same file. The saving is procedural: one case number, one set of filings, one legal team engagement.

The Three Procedural Paths

Italy gives couples three ways to handle both the separation and the divorce, and eligibility narrows as the process gets simpler.

Judicial Proceedings

If the spouses disagree on custody, finances, or property, the case goes before the court with jurisdiction. Court filing fees generally run from €43 to €286 depending on the nature and value of the case.² Attorney fees typically add €1,000 to €3,000 for a consensual proceeding and more for contested cases.

The first hearing is before the President of the Court, who tries reconciliation one more time. If it fails, the judge issues temporary orders on housing, finances, and children, then schedules further hearings. The gap from first hearing to final decree can run from six months to two years depending on court backlogs and how contested the terms are. The final decree is transmitted to the Civil Status Office and recorded in the marriage registry.

Assisted Negotiation

Introduced by Decree 132/2014, negoziazione assistita lets the spouses reach a separation or divorce agreement through their lawyers, without a courtroom appearance. Each spouse’s attorney handles the negotiation, the parties sign at the law firm, and the lawyers authenticate the signatures. The agreement then goes to the public prosecutor and to the municipality where the marriage was registered. This route can handle cases involving children and property transfers, and real estate transfers connected to the agreement are exempt from the registration tax. Most files close in two to three months.

Municipal Divorce Before the Mayor

If there are no minor children, no dependent adult children, and no property to transfer, the spouses can complete the divorce directly before the Mayor at the local Comune. Both must agree on all terms, and neither can be represented by a lawyer during the proceeding itself, though consulting one first is sensible.²

How Assets Get Divided

Property division depends almost entirely on the matrimonial regime the couple chose, or defaulted into, when they married. Italy’s default is comunione dei beni (community of property) under Article 177 and following of the Civil Code.⁴ Couples can opt out into separazione dei beni (separation of property) through a public deed or a declaration in the marriage record.

Under community of property, everything acquired during the marriage belongs to both spouses equally, debts included. The exceptions are property owned before the marriage, assets received by inheritance or gift, items for personal use, and tools needed for one spouse’s profession. On dissolution, the shared pool is split fifty-fifty, which in practice often means one spouse buying the other out of the family home.

Under separation of property, each spouse keeps what they individually bought during the marriage. Only jointly purchased assets get divided, at fifty percent or whatever share the couple agreed to. Neither regime relieves a spouse of contributing to family expenses during the marriage.⁵ Inherited property and personal gifts generally stay with the spouse who received them under either regime, though the wording of a specific gift deed or will can change that.

Support and Custody

The Divorce Allowance

Post-divorce financial support (assegno divorzile) is governed by Article 5 of Law 898/1970. In decision no. 18287/2018, the Supreme Court’s Joint Sections held that the allowance has a compensatory and equalizing function, not just a self-sufficiency function. Judges weigh the two spouses’ comparative economic positions, the length of the marriage, the requesting spouse’s age and earning capacity, and the extent to which that spouse gave up professional opportunities for the family. The allowance is not designed to preserve the standard of living the couple had during the marriage.⁶

Child Custody

Law 54/2006 made shared custody the default, on the principle that children have the right to a balanced and continuing relationship with both parents after separation.⁷ The family home is typically assigned to the parent with primary physical care, and both parents share educational and medical costs in proportion to their incomes. Sole custody is granted only when the court finds one parent unfit or that shared custody would harm the child. Failure to pay court-ordered child support can bring criminal charges under Article 570 of the Penal Code, with fines up to €1,032 or imprisonment up to one year.⁸

International Couples: Which Court Hears the Case

For couples connected to more than one country, jurisdiction is set by EU Regulation 2019/1111 (Brussels II ter), which replaced Brussels II bis on August 1, 2022 without changing the core rules.⁹ Italian courts have jurisdiction when:

Both spouses are habitually resident in Italy;
The spouses last lived together in Italy and one still resides there;
The respondent is habitually resident in Italy;
Either spouse is habitually resident in Italy in a joint application;
The applicant has been habitually resident in Italy for at least one year before filing, or at least six months if they are an Italian national.¹⁰

Italian Law 218/1995 adds jurisdiction where the defendant is domiciled in Italy or has an authorized representative there.¹¹ Where more than one country could hear the case, the country of filing can affect applicable law and timing, so the choice is worth thinking through before filing.

Documents from Abroad

The petition (ricorso) lists both spouses and their counsel, and is filed with birth certificates and marriage extracts from the Civil Status Register at the local Comune, along with recent tax returns. Italian filings use the Modello 730 for employees and retirees or the Redditi PF form (formerly Unico) for other filers.¹² Foreign birth or marriage certificates need an apostille (for Hague Convention countries) or consular legalization, followed by a certified Italian translation. Certified English-to-Italian translations of legal documents typically run €20 to €60 per page. Authentication is where international files most often stall.

Residency Permits After Divorce

Non-EU spouses on a family reunification permit do not automatically lose their status when the marriage ends. Under Article 12 of Legislative Decree 30/2007, a non-EU spouse who has completed more than five years of residence and holds a permanent residence card keeps the right to stay.¹³

Below the five-year threshold, the permit can still be maintained or renewed if the marriage lasted at least three years with at least one spent in Italy; if the non-EU spouse has custody of the couple’s children and keeps them in Italy; or if the non-EU spouse is a victim of domestic violence by the Italian spouse and is involved in the related criminal proceedings. In each case, the spouse must show employment, self-employment, or sufficient resources (alimony included) to support themselves and any children. A family permit can also be converted to a work or study permit after divorce or the death of the sponsoring spouse.¹⁴

A foreign spouse who already holds Italian citizenship acquired through marriage does not lose it on divorce. But if the divorce becomes final while a citizenship application is still pending, the application fails, because the applicant must still be married when citizenship is granted.

Recognition Across Borders

A foreign divorce does not automatically update Italian records. If the marriage was celebrated in Italy or registered with an Italian municipality, the foreign judgment has to be transcribed into the Italian civil status register: obtain the final decree, add an apostille or consular legalization, get a certified Italian translation, and file the package with the competent consulate or Comune. Within the EU, recognition follows Regulation 2019/1111.⁹ For non-EU judgments, Law 218/1995 governs.

In the other direction, Americans divorcing in Italy should know that the United States has no treaty with any country on the recognition of foreign divorces. Whether a U.S. state honors an Italian decree turns on that state’s own law, and courts generally look at whether both parties had notice and the chance to participate, and whether at least one party actually lived in Italy when the divorce was granted.¹⁵

1
Ministero della Giustizia. Coppie di Nazionalita Diverse: Separazione e Divorzio
2
European e-Justice Portal. Divorce and Legal Separation
3
Studio Legale Bianucci. Separation and Divorce Together: Single Appeal Cartabia Reform
4
European e-Justice Portal. Matrimonial Property Regimes
5
LEGALE.de. The Italian Matrimonial Property Law
6
The Cardozo Electronic Law Bulletin. The Parabola of Fault in the Italian Law of Separation and Divorce
7
Lirias KU Leuven. Italian Legal Frame for Separation, Divorce, and Child Custody
8
The Legal Atlas for Street Children. Italy – Is It Illegal for a Child to Run Away
9
EUR-Lex. Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111
10
EUR-Lex. Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 – Article 3
11
University of Macerata. Decree Number 218, May 31, 1995, The Reform of the Italian System of International Private Law
12
Agenzia delle Entrate. How and When to File a Tax Return
13
Italian Dual Citizenship. Italian Citizenship After Divorce – Everything You Need to Know
14
European Commission. Family Member in Italy
15
U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs. Divorce