The certificate the register prints
The Italian paper is the certificato del casellario giudiziale, drawn from the national register of convictions. It is printed by the casellario office at the Procura della Repubblica, the prosecutor's office attached to the court. So how to legalize a Criminal Record Check starts inside the courthouse rather than at the town hall.
Ask in your own name, with an identity paper. Someone else can collect for you with a signed authority, though the counter decides on the day. Note that a few foreign desks also want the certificato dei carichi pendenti, a separate print about open cases. Ask the receiving office whether they need both before you queue.
Issued and stamped in the same building
Here is the piece of luck in this document. Italy sends administrative papers to the Prefettura, the state's provincial office, and judicial ones to the Procura. A casellario record is judicial, and the Procura is also the office that printed it. One building therefore covers both steps, which saves you a trip across town.
Consular legalization of a Criminal Record Check in Italy depends on that Procura stamp being in place. Ask for it during the same visit rather than on a second one. Say plainly that the paper is going abroad, so the clerk knows the legalization stamp is wanted as well as the print. Bring the €16 marca da bollo with you.
Taking it to the mission
After the courthouse the file goes to the destination's own mission. The embassy legalization of a Criminal Record Check in Genoa is completed at that consulate in Italy, which stamps over the Procura mark. Most missions want an appointment, the original and an identity paper. Some ask for a translation, so put the question to them in writing.
Whether the embassy attestation of a Criminal Record Check in Genoa is needed at all rests with the destination. Some accept a single-step certification and never involve their consulate. Others treat a file without the consular stamp as incomplete. The employer, licensing body or visa section abroad can settle it in one message, so ask them before you spend anything.
Why a recent print matters
These certificates are read as a snapshot. An employer abroad usually wants one printed within a short window, and the window is theirs to set rather than ours. Ask for it in writing, then order the print and legalize a Criminal Record Check in Genoa inside that period. Starting with an old certificate wastes the whole chain.
Duty, timing and who asks
A €16 marca da bollo covers the Italian duty. Beyond that only the consulate can quote you, because the fee is theirs to set. Most files close inside 10–15 business days, and a rush job runs 3–5. Because the print and the first stamp share one office, the mission's counter usually decides the real date.
Work visas are the commonest reason, followed by residence files and applications for a licence to practise. Adoption papers and some tender packs ask for it as well. Whoever wants it will also name the form they accept, so read their instruction closely. If it mentions open cases as well as convictions, order both prints at once.