Issuing body & pre-requisites for Company Bylaws
A company's bylaws, or statuto, are drawn up by the company itself at formation, usually as part of a notarial deed a notary records at that time. The Prefettura di Napoli – Ufficio Legalizzazioni, at Piazza del Plebiscito 22, 80132 Napoli, does not apostille this particular paper, since a notarial act sits outside its remit entirely. First-time applicants often start at the wrong desk for exactly this reason.
Judicial and notarial acts instead go to the Procura della Repubblica at the court in whose district the act was formed, while administrative documents go to the Prefettura. A set of bylaws counts as a notarial act, which is why the Procura, not the Prefettura, applies the apostille for this specific document. A diploma or a bank letter, by contrast, is administrative and goes to the Prefettura instead.
Apostilling Company Bylaws from Naples
Once the notarial deed is in hand, the Procura della Repubblica checks it and applies the apostille confirming the notary's own signature and seal are genuine. This office never drafts bylaws itself; it only certifies a deed the company and its notary have already produced. Knowing how to apostille Company Bylaws starts with understanding this one distinction between the two offices.
Italy has taken part in the Hague Convention since 1978, so a deed stamped in Naples needs no further consular step in another member state. A foreign registrar reading the sealed copy can trust it without a call back to the company or the notary who drew it up. A missing seal, by contrast, sends most foreign readers straight back with a rejection.
Cost & turnaround
The apostille costs €16 per document as a tax stamp, and some papers are exempt from that charge entirely. This is the apostille cost for Company Bylaws in Naples at the Procura's own counter, separate from any fee the notary originally charged to draw up the deed. Card acceptance still varies by counter on a given day.
Ordinary apostille processing runs 2–10 business days, with the exact pace shifting from one week to the next. Building that full window into a foreign registration or bank onboarding deadline avoids a late scramble, since a foreign reader often wants a set of bylaws that still matches the company's current structure. An old deed predating a structural change may not satisfy that same reader.
Common uses abroad
Stamped bylaws most often travel abroad to register a foreign branch or subsidiary of the Naples company, since a local registrar wants to see the constitutional document before accepting the filing. A foreign bank opening a corporate account asks for the same proof of how the company is structured. A supplier vetting the company before a large contract sometimes asks for the same stamped deed too.
Some companies also carry the stamped deed into a foreign investor's due-diligence file, where a reviewer checks the seal once and files it. The same certified copy can then support more than one submission abroad, since the apostille itself does not expire. A second reader rarely needs a fresh apostille while the underlying deed remains current.
Translation & acceptance notes
A destination reading a different language usually wants a sworn translation alongside the sealed original. That oath is registered at the Tribunale di Napoli – Ufficio Asseverazioni, Centro Direzionale, Isola E/5, 80143 Napoli, or before the Giudice di Pace di Napoli at Via Foria 92, 80137 Napoli. Either desk can swear the translator's own declaration over the finished work.
Neither translation counter applies the apostille itself, which stays with the Procura throughout. A courier should never carry a company's only stamped deed where a copy will do instead: a fresh certified copy of the underlying notarial deed can be requested again if a second file needs one, so the sealed original never travels alone. Keeping one scanned copy on file avoids a repeat request later.