What is this Italian legal document you received?
Italian criminal documents arrive in Italian, and each carries its own deadline running from service — not from the day you understood it. This page identifies the ones that actually arrive and tells you how many days each one gives you. If it is not on the list, the safest assumption is that it is urgent.
Documents from the investigation stage
| Document | What it means | Your deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Informazione di garanzia | You are under investigation; an act involving your lawyer is coming | None, but appoint a lawyer |
| Invito a comparire | Invitation to attend before the prosecutor | The date given |
| Decreto di perquisizione | Search order | Ten days to challenge a seizure |
| Verbale di sequestro | Record of what was taken | Ten days |
| Avviso di conclusione delle indagini | The investigation is closed | Twenty days to file submissions |
| Decreto di archiviazione | The case has been closed | None; for victims, twenty days to object |
The notice closing the investigation is the most under-used document in the whole system. Those twenty days allow submissions, documents and a request to be questioned, at the moment when the prosecutor has not yet decided. After it, the ground is much harder.
Documents that mean you are being prosecuted
| Document | What it means | Your deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Richiesta di rinvio a giudizio | The prosecutor asks for you to be sent to trial | The preliminary hearing date |
| Decreto di citazione a giudizio | You are summoned to trial | The hearing date |
| Decreto penale di condanna | A conviction without a hearing, with a financial penalty | Fifteen days to object |
| Ordinanza di custodia cautelare | A precautionary measure has been imposed | Ten days for review |
| Sentenza | Judgment | Appeal deadlines run from filing of the reasons |
The decreto penale deserves particular attention because doing nothing is a decision. If you neither pay nor object within fifteen days it becomes final, and it is a criminal conviction that goes on the record. People treat it as a fine and discover years later that it was not.
The article numbers you will see
Italian documents cite the provision rather than naming the offence, so the number is often the only clue to what is alleged.
| Reference | Subject | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 73 D.P.R. 309/1990 | Drug offences | Special statute |
| Art. 74 D.P.R. 309/1990 | Association for drug trafficking | Special statute |
| Art. 186 Codice della Strada | Drink driving | Highway Code |
| Art. 582 c.p. | Personal injury | Criminal Code |
| Art. 624 and 624-bis c.p. | Theft, and theft in a dwelling | Criminal Code |
| Art. 337 and 341-bis c.p. | Resisting and insulting a public official | Criminal Code |
| Art. 416-bis c.p. | Mafia-type association | Criminal Code |
| Art. 415-bis c.p.p. | Notice closing the investigation | Procedure |
c.p. is the Criminal Code, c.p.p. the Code of Criminal Procedure. A reference to a Presidential Decree or a Legislative Decree means the offence sits in a special statute outside the code.
You are entitled to a translation
Written translation of the essential documents is a right, not a favour: the notice of investigation, precautionary orders, the notice closing the investigation, summonses to trial and judgments must be translated for a person who does not understand Italian, free of charge.
Ask for it early and in writing. It also matters later: whether you actually knew about the proceedings is the question on which the rules about being tried in your absence turn.
If it arrived at an address outside Italy
A document served abroad still starts the deadline. Ignoring it does not suspend anything, and the remedies available afterwards are narrower and harder than acting within the period. If you have received something and are not in Italy, the first step is identification and counting, and neither requires you to travel.
Frequently asked questions
What is an avviso di garanzia?
Notice that you are under investigation and that an act involving your lawyer is about to take place. It is not a charge and does not mean you will be prosecuted.
I received a decreto penale di condanna. Can I ignore it?
No. If you neither pay nor object within fifteen days it becomes final, and it is a criminal conviction that goes on your record.
Do the deadlines run even if I do not read Italian?
Yes, they run from service. You are entitled to free written translation of the essential documents, and you should request it in writing straight away.
What does 415-bis mean on my document?
It is the notice closing the investigation. You have twenty days to file submissions, produce documents or ask to be questioned before the prosecutor decides.
If a document has arrived
Identifying it and counting the days takes minutes and decides what is still possible. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege.