Online submission of certificates of pregnancy and interruption

Doctors must submit pregnancy and interruption certificates online to INPS (Article 21, Italian Legislative Decree no. 151 of 26 March 2001 - Testo Unico [Consolidated Act] on maternity and paternity, modified by Italian Legislative Decree no. 179 of 26 August 2016 - Digital administration code).

Thanks to the online transmission of the certificate by the doctors, the individual concerned is no longer liable to submit the pregnancy or interruption certificate to INPS in paper format, ensuring that the pregnant worker and the employer have the opportunity to consult the certificate transmitted through the dedicated service.

The service is intended for certifying doctors, pregnant female workers (even in the event of interruption) and employers.

Doctors may complete and send medical certificates of pregnancy or interruption to the INPS online by using the dedicated service.

The application makes it possible not only to complete and submit the certificate, but also to consult and cancel it. 

When filling in the form, the doctors must include the following information in the pregnancy and/or interruption certificates:

• the worker’s personal details;
• the week of gestation on the date of the visit;
• the estimated date of birth.

In case of interruption, the date on which the pregnancy is terminated shall also be entered in the certificate.

The certifying doctors must issue the unique certificate number assigned by the system to the individual concerned, who may also be able to provide a paper copy of the medical certificate of pregnancy or interruption thereof and the respective certificates, without needing to note the week of gestation.

In the event of incorrect transmission of a certificate, the doctor may cancel it through the same service as was used for transmission. Cancellation is only permitted before midnight on the day following the date of transmission.

In this period of time, the electronic certificate is therefore to be considered as not being consolidated and cannot give rise to administrative effects.

After this deadline, the logical cancellation of the certificates acquired by INPS will only be possible upon presentation of the cancellation claim to the territorially competent INPS office.

The claim, which must be in a written format, must be adequately justified and signed by the certifying doctor. It may be presented by the doctors themselves or by a person they trust with an express delegation, or by the woman to whom the certificate has been issued.

Cancellation is only allowed and accepted by the INPS when the errors in the certificate refer to the details of the pregnant woman or her tax code. It is not possible to accept claims for cancellation of certificates that the same or another doctor intends to issue again with a different expected date of birth (Article 21, paragraph 1, Italian Legislative Decree 151/2001).

In the event of cancellation, the competent INPS office will be responsible for checking and reviewing any benefits provided on the basis of the certificate for which the cancellation claim was received, which must be properly filed.

Through the service, workers can consult and print the certificates and receipts for the transmission of certificates, while employers can only consult and print the prognosis only certificates.

However, INPS provides assistance to individuals concerned, available by phoning the Contact Centre on +39 803 164 (free from Italian landlines) or +39 06 164 164 from mobile phones.