Can a 335 petition have a negative outcome even if an investigation is ongoing?

Yes, it can happen. A negative outcome means that no proceedings are shown in the Article 335 certificate as being registered against the person (the certificate is “blank”). However, this does not guarantee with absolute certainty that no investigations are underway. The main reasons may be two:

• Delay in registration: it may be that the report of a crime (complaint/criminal report) has been transmitted to the authorities but has not yet been formally entered in the register at the time the request is made. There is often a natural delay in registrations, so if the application is filed very soon after the reported facts, there is a risk of obtaining a “provisional” negative result. In this case, it is advisable to submit the request again after a few weeks, allowing the Prosecutor’s Office time to update its records.

• Investigative secrecy: in certain situations, especially for particularly serious offences (e.g. mafia association, terrorism, homicide), the Public Prosecutor may order, by a reasoned decision, that the registration in the register of crime reports not be disclosed for an initial period not exceeding three months, in order to protect investigative needs. During this period of secrecy, even if an investigation is actually ongoing, an application pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure may have a negative outcome or provide no information to the applicant.

What does a negative Article 335 result mean?

In short, a certificate pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with a negative outcome means that, at the time, there are no registrations against the person in the register of crime reports. However, this does not exclude the possibility that a registration may occur later; therefore, it may be appropriate to submit the application again after a certain period of time.

If the Public Prosecutor intends to request dismissal of the case, the complainant is informed, provided that they have previously stated their wish to receive such notice, in order to be able to lodge an objection to the dismissal request.

From the suspect’s perspective, an application pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure submitted after the proceedings have already been dismissed—upon request by the Public Prosecutor and order of the investigating judge (GIP)—can only result in the wording: “no registrable entries subject to disclosure are found.”

Can I submit a 335 petiton  if I am abroad?

Yes. It is not necessary to be physically in Italy to request a certificate pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. If you are abroad and wish to know the status of proceedings in Italy (for example, because you filed a complaint while you were in Italy, or because you fear you may have been reported), you can still submit the application.
In practice, there are two options: appoint a trusted lawyer in Italy to file the application on your behalf, or submit it yourself remotely. In any case, it is advisable to be guided by a lawyer familiar with the practices of the relevant Prosecutor’s Office—especially if you do not speak Italian—to avoid the request being rejected due to formal defects.

If I am abroad, how are notifications of criminal procedure documents carried out?

Even if you are abroad, notifications of documents in criminal proceedings can still be carried out, but the methods vary depending on your procedural status (injured party or suspect/defendant).

If you filed a complaint in Italy as the injured party, you are usually asked to indicate an address for service, which may also be elected at the office of a trusted lawyer. If no address for service in Italy is elected, communications may be sent to the foreign address provided, often by international registered mail; in some cases, the authority may invite you to elect an address in Italy to facilitate subsequent notifications.

Conversely, for suspects or defendants, the law places particular importance on the declaration or election of domicile (Articles 161 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure). If the suspect or defendant has not declared or elected a suitable domicile, the authority proceeds with notifications in accordance with the rules set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Only if the recipient is deemed untraceable, following the prescribed searches, does the law allow certain documents to be served by deposit with the court registry or the Prosecutor’s Office, with formal validity of service.

It may happen—especially when a person resides permanently abroad—that notifications do not actually reach the recipient due to postal difficulties or the absence of an elected domicile in Italy. For this reason as well, it may be useful to submit an application pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Through the Article 335 certificate, it is possible to verify whether a criminal proceeding has been registered and, if so, to take timely action—for example by appointing a defence lawyer in Italy and electing domicile—in order to obtain information and review documents that may not have been physically received.

What does “RG” mean in criminal proceedings?

“RG” is the abbreviation for Registro Generale (General Register). Each criminal proceeding has its own identifying number, known as the general register number of the offence. Essentially, it is the protocol number assigned to the case file by the judicial office.
On the certificate pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if a proceeding is recorded, the relevant RG number is indicated (along with other information). For example, one might read “Proc. no. RG 1234/2025”: that number is the unique code by which the Prosecutor’s Office identifies the specific case.

What information does a positive Article 335 certificate contain?

If the Article 335 application has a positive outcome, it means that at least one criminal proceeding has been registered. In that case, the certificate issued by the Prosecutor’s Office will generally contain:

– The number of the criminal proceeding – i.e. the RG (general register) number of the case file;

– The competent authority (namely, the Prosecutor’s Office with which the application was filed) and the Public Prosecutor in charge of the investigation;

– The personal details of the injured party (if the request is made by the victim) or of the suspect (if made by the suspect) – in order to link the registration to the person concerned;

– The legal classification of the alleged offence – i.e. the provision of law considered to have been violated and a brief description of the offence under investigation (e.g. “aggravated theft, Article 624 of the Criminal Code”).

In essence, a positive Article 335 certificate will tell you what is being investigated, by which Prosecutor’s Office, under which case number, and who the responsible Public Prosecutor is. It does not include detailed information about the investigation (such as evidence or the names of other suspects); for that, it will be necessary to access the case file through a defence lawyer.

If the 335 petition shows that there is a criminal proceeding, what should I do?

If the certificate pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has a positive outcome, it means that the complaint has resulted in an ongoing criminal proceeding or that you are formally registered as a suspect. In this situation, it is strongly advisable to appoint a trusted lawyer, if you have not already done so.

Once the appointment is filed with the Prosecutor’s Office, the defence counsel will be officially included among the recipients of communications relating to the proceedings and will be able to access the case file when permitted by law, particularly from the conclusion of the preliminary investigations onward. In this way, the lawyer:

– will be promptly informed of developments in the proceedings (e.g. a request for dismissal, notice of conclusion of investigations, committal for trial);

– will be able to protect your rights by submitting briefs, applications, and defence documents during the investigation phase, within the limits allowed;

– if you are the injured party, will be able to monitor the progress of the investigations and, where appropriate, prompt the Prosecutor’s Office or oppose a request for dismissal;

– if you are a suspect, will be able to establish a defence strategy from the outset, including by conducting defence investigations to gather evidence in your favour.

In summary, a positive outcome of an application pursuant to Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure makes the immediate assistance of a defence lawyer advisable, in order to participate knowingly in the proceedings and avoid the risk of missing communications or opportunities to protect your rights.