Founding deed and statute of an unrecognised cultural association (Italy)
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This document is in Italian
The PDF you download is in Italian — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For anyone founding a non-profit cultural association in Italy: the founding deed in Italian, with the founding members, first board and president, and a standard thirteen-article statute (aims, members, general meeting, board, assets and accounts, dissolution) under arts. 36–38 of the Italian Civil Code. No notary is needed: all founders sign the deed and statute, which are registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate, which issues the tax code. It is not a statute for a third-sector body (APS, ODV) to be entered in the RUNTS register.
- Made for use in Italy
- Last updated October 14, 2026
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When to use this document
- You and some friends want to found a cultural association in Italy for concerts, theatre or reading.
- The bank has asked for the association's statute before opening an account.
- Your group has met informally for years and you want to turn it into a proper association.
- You need a founding deed and statute for a cultural association without going to a notary.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Date of the meeting
- Place of the meeting
- Founding members: for each, full name, codice fiscale, place and date of birth, address
- Name of the association
- Seat of the association (municipality and address)
- Term of the governing board (e.g. three years)
- First governing board: names and roles
- President elected (full name)
- President's codice fiscale (Italian tax code)
- Membership fee for the first year (amount)
- Aims and activities of the association
- City
- Date
Common questions
- Is a notary needed to set up a cultural association in Italy?
- No: for an unrecognised association a private deed is enough, the founding deed and statute signed by all founders. They are then registered at an office of the Agenzia delle Entrate, paying the fixed registration tax of €200 and stamp duty, and the association's tax code is requested with form AA5/6. A notary is needed only to obtain legal personality, which requires a public deed and recognition by the Prefettura or the Region.
- Who answers for the debts of an unrecognised association in Italy?
- Third parties can look to the association's common fund for its obligations; in addition, the people who acted in its name and on its behalf, usually the president and whoever signs contracts, are personally and jointly liable (art. 38 of the Italian Civil Code). Ordinary members are not liable with their own assets. The statute states this in article 11; anyone taking on significant commitments for the association should have them approved by the board.
- Can this statute be used to enter the association in the RUNTS as an APS or ODV?
- No. To become a third-sector body, for example a social promotion association or a volunteer organisation, and to be entered in the national third-sector register (RUNTS), the statute must contain the clauses required by the Italian Legislative Decree 117/2017, which this model does not include. It is a statute for an ordinary unrecognised cultural association. For a sports club there is the amateur sports association model, with the clauses specific to sport.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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