Professions supervised by the Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is the authority competent for the recognition of professional qualifications obtained abroad, limited to the professions under its supervision, so that they may be practised in Italy. The qualifications may have been obtained in the European Union or in third countries, by Italian or foreign nationals.

Which professions fall under it

The following professions governed by an order come under the Ministry of Justice, among others:

• lawyer
• engineer, in the civil and environmental, industrial and information sectors
• chartered accountant and accounting expert
• surveyor and graduate surveyor
• social worker and specialist social worker
• journalist
• agricultural technician, actuary, geologist, agronomist and forestry doctor, agricultural expert, industrial expert, food technologist and stockbroker

A national list of biomedical and clinical engineers is also established at the National Council of Engineers, under Ministerial Decree 60/2020, likewise within the competence of the Ministry of Justice.

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. For certain professions, as an alternative to recognition, passing the State examination is allowed.

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 Justice in Italian, on the official forms, and reconstructs the academic and professional background starting from the foreign academic qualification, with the transcript of examinations, which is not required for the profession of lawyer. For qualifications obtained in the European Union the declaration of conformity issued by the country of origin applies, in place of the Declaration of Value. For non-EU qualifications the Declaration of Value is required or, alternatively, the qualification legalised or apostilled with an official translation. For non-EU nationals a residence permit is also necessary.

Where a training deficiency emerges in the fundamental subjects, the decision may make recognition subject to a compensation measure, consisting of an aptitude test or an adaptation period, within the competence of the national council of the profession. The procedure takes on average four months and concludes with a decree without expiry, published for about ninety days on the Ministry’s website with official value. Recognition allows the subsequent registration on the register.

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, Presidential Decree 394/1999 Articles 39, 49 and 50, Presidential Decree 334/2004, Ministerial Decree 60/2020, Law 69/1963.