Professions supervised by the Ministry of University and Research

The Ministry of University and Research is the competent authority for the recognition of professional qualifications obtained abroad, limited to the professions under its supervision, so that they may be practised in Italy. Such qualifications may have been awarded in the European Union or in a third country, to Italian or foreign nationals.

Which professions fall under it

The following professions of the architecture area and of the socio-educational area come under the Ministry of University and Research:

• architect
• town planner
• landscape architect
• conservator of architectural and environmental heritage
• junior architect and junior planner
• pedagogist
• socio-pedagogical professional educator

The professions of the architecture area register with the Order of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects and Conservators, divided into Section A and Section B under Presidential Decree 328/2001. The pedagogist and the socio-pedagogical professional educator belong to the socio-educational area, governed by Law 55/2024.

When recognition is required

Recognition is required for the holder of a foreign professional qualification that, in the country of origin, gives access to a regulated profession and who intends to practise it in Italy or to make use of the corresponding title. Activities that the law does not reserve to members of the register remain permitted, subject to the prohibition on using the regulated title.

Regulated and unregulated professions

A profession is regulated where access to it, or its practice, is subject to holding particular qualifications. The holder of a foreign qualification giving access to a regulated profession must obtain its recognition from the competent Italian authority. Unregulated professions, by contrast, may be practised without formal recognition.

The procedure in brief

The application is submitted to the Ministry of University and Research in Italian, on the official forms, which differ according to whether the qualification was obtained in the Union or in a third country. The architect and the professions of the architecture area are sectoral professions of the directive: qualifications obtained in the Union that comply with the harmonised minimum training requirements benefit from automatic recognition, without a fresh examination of the course of study, and for them a Declaration of Value is not required.

For qualifications obtained in non-EU countries the general system applies, with the Declaration of Value, official translations and legalisation or an Apostille of the documents, together with any compensation measures. The procedure for non-EU qualifications is normally concluded within three months, and the decree is the precondition for registration with the register, which for the architecture area takes place with the territorially competent Order. Distinct from establishment is the free provision of services on a temporary and occasional basis, for which a prior declaration is required.

The profession pages

Each profession has a dedicated page, with the applicable procedure, the required documentation and the specific features of the individual case.

Legal references: Directive 2005/36/EC, Directive 2013/55/EU, Legislative Decree 206/2007, Legislative Decree 15/2016, Presidential Decree 328/2001, Law 55/2024.