Declaration of Value (Dichiarazione di Valore) Service in London
A Declaration of Value — in Italian, Dichiarazione di Valore — is an official document issued by an Italian Consulate that describes a UK qualification: its level, duration and awarding institution. Edward Young Notaries & Lawyers, a Faculty Office-regulated notarial practice at 19 Wigmore Street, manages the whole UK-side process on a fixed fee: university verification, certified copy, FCDO apostille, Italian translation and consular submission.
How Do I Make My UK Degree Valid in Italy?
If you are planning to study, work or register professionally in Italy, your British degree in Italy has no automatic status — Italian authorities need formal documentation before they can assess it. Validating your UK award starts with the Declaration of Value. You will usually be asked for one when you are:
The receiving Italian university, employer or public authority uses the Declaration of Value to make its own decision — the document describes your qualification but does not itself grant equivalence or recognition. Ask the Italian institution to confirm its requirement in writing; we can review that response and confirm the right route. We act for clients worldwide — you do not need to be in the UK, or ever set foot in London, to use our service.
Our Fixed Fees
One clear price, agreed before any work begins. Both tiers are inclusive of VAT and disbursements.
Regular Service
£750
Inclusive of VAT and disbursements
We verify the award directly with the issuing university or professional body, issue a notarial certificate confirming the verification, arrange the official Italian translation and obtain the FCDO apostille. You then handle the consular submission yourself.
Premium Service — Fully Managed
£1,000
Inclusive of VAT and disbursements, including consulate handling
Everything in the Regular Service, plus: we complete the Consulate’s Declaration of Value application form and related documentation, organise payments to the Consulate, and set up secure delivery and return of your documents. You receive back a document containing your Declaration of Value.
School qualifications such as A-levels are priced per certificate — the Consulate requires a separate certification and Declaration of Value for each one. GCSE and A-level certificates must be verified with the Exam Board — school verifications are not accepted. We set out a fully itemised quotation before you commit.
Start Your Declaration of Value
Send us a scan of your qualification, where it will be used and your deadline — we will confirm the route, the tier and the fixed fee before you commit. No obligation.
How Does the Declaration of Value Process Work?
The route runs from document review to consular application in a fixed sequence — and because the UK and Italy are both party to the Hague Apostille Convention, a single FCDO apostille replaces traditional legalisation. We run every stage in-house so nothing is prepared in the wrong order.
Send Us Scans
Email scans of your qualification and transcript. Verification with the university starts immediately — before your originals even arrive.
We Verify, Notarise, Translate & Apostille
Award verified with the issuing institution, notarially certified, translated into Italian and apostilled — all in the correct sequence, all under one roof.
Consular Application
Regular: we return your apostilled pack, ready for you to submit. Premium: we prepare the application, handle Consulate payments and manage secure delivery and return.
Honest timing note: the slowest step is verification with the issuing university — typically around two weeks, and dependent on how quickly the institution responds. The Consulate remains responsible for issuing the final document. Starting from scans is how we buy that time back.
What Is a Declaration of Value?
The Dichiarazione di Valore — which simply means “Declaration of Value” in English — is a certificate from the Italian Consulate confirming that your qualification (a degree certificate, diploma or school qualification — titolo di studio britannico) is valid and genuine, and describing its value within the education system where you earned it. It is the first stage of having a UK award recognised in Italy.
A Declaration of Value contains:
For academic qualifications such as Bachelor’s, Master’s, MPhil and PhD awards, the Consulate requires an English-to-Italian translation; GCSE, AS and A-level qualifications do not require one. The apostille itself is never translated — the sequence matters, which is why we run certification, apostille and translation as one coordinated process.
Declaration of Value or Statement of Comparability?
These two documents are often confused, and they are not interchangeable. A Declaration of Value is issued by an Italian Consulate and describes the status and characteristics of your qualification within the UK education system. A Statement of Comparability is a separate credential-evaluation product produced through a different assessment route.
Which one you need depends entirely on the receiving authority’s written instructions — some Italian institutions accept either, others insist on one. If you are unsure, send us the institution’s requirements and we will tell you which route applies before you spend anything.
Why Are A-Levels and School Qualifications Different?
This is where the Declaration of Value catches people out, and where the right notary earns their fee. Two issues that are not obvious from the outside:
Which Italian Consulate Handles My Application?
Consular jurisdiction depends on where the qualification was obtained. The Italian Consulate General in London (Harp House, 83–86 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4BL) covers Southern England and Wales; the Consulate General in Manchester covers northern and central English counties; and the Consulate General in Edinburgh covers Scotland and Northern Ireland. We check the correct route rather than assuming every UK qualification belongs in London.
Note that the London Consulate can only issue a Declaration of Value for qualifications awarded by officially recognised UK institutions — if your degree was obtained in another country, the Italian consulate in that country is the competent authority. Country-by-country requirements for other destinations are in our legalisation country guide.
Why Choose Edward Young for Your Dichiarazione di Valore?
Recent Declaration of Value Cases
Two real, anonymised examples of Declaration of Value work handled by our notaries. Client details have been changed to protect confidentiality.
A UK degree recognised in Italy, from abroad, against an employer’s deadline
Our client, a UK graduate living in Rotterdam, was taking up a role with an Italian employer who needed the degree formally recognised before a start date could be confirmed. Three complications: the client was overseas, so everything ran by tracked international post; the process is a multi-step chain (university verification, notarisation, translation, apostille, consular preparation); and the originals were still in transit when we were instructed.
On our fixed-fee Regular Service (£750 all-in), our notary began the university verification straight away from scanned copies — putting the slowest step, which typically takes around two weeks, in motion while the originals were still in the post. We then handled certification, translation and the FCDO apostille in-house and returned the finished, apostilled pack to Rotterdam by tracked post.
Outcome: the client satisfied their Italian employer’s recognition requirement and confirmed their start date — the entire UK side managed end-to-end, from a client who never set foot in London.
A-levels for a place to read Dentistry in Italy — and the trap most people miss
A UK student had won a place to read Dentistry at Sapienza University of Rome and needed a Declaration of Value for three A-levels, each from a different examination board (AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel). Two issues most providers don’t mention: GCSE and A-level certificates must be verified directly with the issuing Exam Board — school verifications are not accepted by the Consulate — and the Consulate does not permit certificates to be bundled, so each one needs its own certification and its own Declaration of Value.
We flagged both issues before the client committed a penny, explained plainly why school qualifications behave differently from a degree, and set out a fully itemised, fixed-fee quotation on a per-certificate basis, plus the apostille and return options — the true total, not a headline that unravels later.
Outcome: an honest, expert assessment of what the Consulate will and will not accept for school qualifications, and a transparent path forward with no hidden per-certificate surprises.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Declaration of Value and when do I need one?
It is an Italian Consulate document describing the level, duration and status of a qualification awarded outside Italy. You need one when an Italian university, public authority, professional body or employer specifically requests it for your UK qualification.
How much does a Declaration of Value cost in London?
Our Regular Service is £750 (verification, notarial certificate, translation and FCDO apostille — you handle the consular submission). Our Premium Service is £1,000 fully managed, including the consular application and consulate handling. Both are inclusive of VAT and disbursements. School qualifications are quoted per certificate.
How long does a Declaration of Value take?
The slowest step is verifying the award with the issuing university, which typically takes around two weeks and depends entirely on how quickly the institution responds. We start verification from scanned copies so that clock begins immediately. The Consulate’s own processing time is outside any provider’s control — start as early as your Italian institution allows.
Can you handle A-levels and other school qualifications?
Yes — and this is where expertise matters. GCSE and A-level certificates must be verified directly with the issuing Exam Board (such as AQA, OCR or Pearson Edexcel) — school verifications are not accepted. Each certificate must carry its own certification and Declaration of Value rather than a bundled set. We explain the compliant route and itemise the per-certificate cost before you commit.
Do I need a Declaration of Value or a Statement of Comparability?
The receiving Italian institution decides. The two documents are produced by different bodies and are not automatically interchangeable — get the requirement in writing and we will confirm the correct route.
Can you help if I live outside the UK?
Yes. The entire process runs by scan, email and tracked international post — we regularly complete Declarations of Value for clients in Italy, the Netherlands and further afield who never visit London.
Can the London Consulate issue a Declaration of Value for a degree obtained outside the UK?
No. The Italian Consulate General in London only issues Declarations of Value for qualifications awarded by officially recognised UK institutions within its jurisdiction. For a degree obtained in another country, you must apply to the Italian consulate in that country.
Dichiarazione di Valore a Londra — informazioni in italiano
Come far riconoscere un titolo di studio britannico in Italia?
Il riconoscimento di un titolo di studio britannico in Italia inizia con la Dichiarazione di Valore, rilasciata dal Consolato Generale d’Italia a Londra (Harp House, Farringdon Street). Assistiamo cittadini italiani a Londra, in Italia e nel resto del mondo con l’intero processo: verifica del titolo con l’università, copia autenticata da notaio inglese, apostille FCDO, traduzione in italiano e presentazione della domanda al Consolato.
Offriamo due servizi a tariffa fissa: £750 per la preparazione completa dei documenti (la presentazione al Consolato resta a vostro carico) oppure £1.000 per il servizio completamente gestito, inclusa la pratica consolare. Potete contattarci in italiano o in inglese.
Edward Young Notaries & Lawyers — a Faculty Office-regulated notarial practice and member of The Notaries Society, with a STEP-qualified practitioner. About our team · Contact us
19 Wigmore Street, London W1U 1PH · +44 (0)20 7499 2605 · notary@notarypubliclondon.co.uk · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:30
Need a Declaration of Value for Italy?
We handle the complete UK-side process — university or awarding-body verification, notarisation, translation and the FCDO apostille — on a clear fixed-fee basis, wherever in the world you are.