Two court papers, and which one to ask for
Italy issues two separate sheets about a person's court history. One is the casellario giudiziale, which lists final convictions. The other is the carichi pendenti, which lists cases still open. They come from different windows and carry different wording, and a foreign desk that asks for one will not accept the other in its place.
Before you order anything, ask the body abroad which of the two it wants, or whether it wants both. Many visa desks ask for the pair, then read them side by side. Guessing here is expensive, because each sheet travels its own chain of stamps. One line in an email from them saves you a second round of fees.
Ordering the record in Palermo
Both sheets come from the courthouse in Palermo, at the casellario window run by the Procura della Repubblica. You can go in person with a passport, or send someone with a signed authority and a copy of your identity page. A tax stamp is due when the sheet is issued, and the clerk will tell you which value applies to your reason for asking.
That is also where the wording matters. Say plainly that the sheet is going abroad. The clerk can then print the version meant for use outside Italy, rather than the short internal one that some public bodies here accept. Knowing how to legalize a Criminal Record Check starts with that single sentence at the window.
The court stamp, then the mission stamp
A record signed inside a courthouse is a judicial paper. Embassy legalization of a Criminal Record Check in Palermo therefore stays at the Procura della Repubblica for its first stamp. The Prefettura (Prefecture) never touches it, because no town-hall clerk put a signature on it. Sending it there loses days and the file comes back untouched.
Consular legalization of a Criminal Record Check in Italy follows straight after. The mission of your destination country looks for the court stamp, then adds its own on the same sheet. Each mission fixes its own fee and its own counter days, so we get both in writing before booking. Expect 10–15 business days end to end, or 3–5 business days on the express route.
Visa, licence and adoption files
People legalize a Criminal Record Check in Palermo mainly for work visas, residence files, adoption cases and licence applications in regulated trades. Each of those bodies keeps the sheet it is given, so order a second copy if two files run at once. A police force or a court abroad may also ask for it in a custody matter.
Keeping the paper fresh enough to use
This is the one paper that ages fast. A record only speaks about the day it was printed, so a desk abroad will often ask for a recent one and set its own limit. Ask them how recent, in writing, then order the sheet to land inside that window. Embassy attestation of a Criminal Record Check in Palermo cannot revive a sheet that has already gone stale.
Whether that final mission stamp is wanted at all rests on the country you are dealing with, so put the question to the office that will read your file. Some accept the court stamp on its own. Others will not open the file without the mission stamp beside it. Their written answer tells us where to stop, and it goes in the folder with the record.