Italian is the working language of San Marino’s public administration, legal acts, the PA Portal, the Bollettino Ufficiale, schools, cultural institutions and public media. The Roman alphabet is used. The Dipartimento Affari Esteri can provide translation or interpreting support for international administrative work, but concrete costs and standard processing times for language services are not established in the available information. Documents submitted by foreign non-residents generally need to be in Italian or accompanied by an asseverata translation, meaning a formally certified translation. The Autorità per l’Omologazione accepts documents and communication in Italian or English. In certain entry, residence or expulsion decisions, people who do not understand Italian receive a short translation in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese or Arabic. The Gendarmeria can arrange an interpreter through its relevant office for foreigners. San Marino’s state education system, from early childhood education through secondary education, vocational training and university, is Italian-speaking. Italian-language schooling can also provide a recognized language record for certain procedures. For naturalisation, the usual language requirement is at least B1 Italian under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, together with the test on Sammarinese history and institutions. An approved certificate or at least five years of Italian-language schooling can serve as proof. Exceptions include applicants aged 80 or older, people with a certified physical or psychological impediment, and certain minors. The test is held in Italian, and the applicable right-of-practice fee is not specified in the available information. Italian remains dominant in everyday public communication and participation. Evening courses for 2025/26 include English, Spanish, Russian, German, French, Chinese, Japanese, Italian as a foreign language and Italian Sign Language. These courses provide language access or integration support; they do not create co-official languages. The 2025/26 course period runs from 3 November 2025 to 29 April 2026. The local dialect is called dialetto sammarinese and belongs to the Romagnol language area. Local forms include San Marèin and San Maroin. It is mainly used informally and as part of local cultural identity. Speaker numbers are declining, and the variety is critically endangered. No documented official status or regular use in schools, administration or media has been established. San Marino has no documented general minority-language regime equivalent to a formal national-minority framework. Authorities have reported that there are no national minorities under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and no specific national-minority language provisions or comprehensive language statistics were identified. Citizenship figures therefore do not show the languages spoken: in 2025, the resident population included 28,154 Sammarinesi, 5,179 Italians and 839 people of other citizenships, but these figures are not a language census. San Marino RTV is a public-service broadcaster and is expected to use Italian appropriately and correctly. Media rules protect freedom of expression and information, access and protection against discrimination based on language or national minority status. A regular Sammarinese-dialect programme has not been documented. In cultural life, the dialect mainly functions as an informal local identity practice, and no official local documentation or protection programme has been established.
Language in San Marino
San Marino’s language landscape is centered on Italian, the country’s only official language for administration, laws, education, culture and public media. The local Sammarinese or Romagnol dialect remains mainly an informal and cultural variety, with declining speaker numbers and no documented official, regular school, administrative or media status. English and other foreign languages support international and practical access, but they do not have co-official status.
Tip
Treat Italian as your operational default for public services, education, formal documents and everyday participation in San Marino. Use English where an institution expressly accepts it, but do not assume that English replaces Italian or a certified translation in every procedure. Treat Sammarinese or Romagnol as an informal and cultural resource rather than as a language for official transactions.