Translation of Marriage Certificate: You may be required to submit one or more of the following documents together with your English translation.
Leave the English translation of your Japanese marriage certificates (and vice versa) and other official documents in the capable hands of Samurai Translators. All our certificate translations come with a Certificate of Translation stamped with our company seal and signed by the translator in charge of your translation. You can also submit our translations with your visa applications with confidence.
| Certificate of Registered Matters in Family Register (Marriage) Kosekitodokegakikisaijiko Shomeisho:Marriage Japanese to English Translation 13,200 yen |
| Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage Konintodoke Jurishomeisho Japanese to English Translation 6,600 yen |
| Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage or Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage Koninyoken Gubi Shomeisho Japanese to English Translation 6,600 yen |
| Family Register Koseki Tohon Japanese to English Translation from 6,600 yen |
For more information, please visit our Family Register page. ⇒ Family Register Translation
Turnaround: Standard delivery is within 5 business days of receipt of payment. Earlier delivery made by the following day is available (express translation fees will apply)
See here for more information on our delivery times. ⇒ Translation Delivery Methods and Times
Our certificate translations come with a Certificate of Translation attached with our company seal and the signature of the translator in charge of your translation. Our Certificate of Translation Service is widely accepted. You can rest at ease that translated documents submitted with your visa application will be accepted as authentic.
Many marriage certificate translations are required to be notarized so be sure to check the requirements of the institution you are submitting your documents to before placing your translation order.
For more on notarization, visit our “Notarization Page“.
Many people who are instructed to submit translations of their marriage certificates and translations of other documents by an institution are confused about which of the documents issued in Japan they are required to submit.
For example, in the United States and other predominantly Christian countries, the ritual of marriage is performed before a Christian priest who witnesses the commitment of marriage between the two people and issues a certificate (Marriage Certificate) for the marriage.
In Japan, marriage is not a religious institution and when marrying in Japan the parties are required to submit a “Notification of Marriage” to the relevant public office and obtain an “acceptance of the notification” therefrom.
Therefore, the “Marriage Certificate” as seen in Christian countries does not exist in Japan. So what in Japan constitutes this type of marriage certificate which certifies the marriage between two people?
Here we will explain the differences between the Notification of Marriage (Konintodoke), Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage (Konintodoke Jurishomeisho) and Certificate of Registered Matters in Family Register.v
Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage (Konintodoke Jurishomeisho)The most common document we get asked to translate which serves as a marriage certificate is the 婚姻届受理証明書 “Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage”.
Even though married couples submit a Notification of Marriage to the City Hall (Shiyakusyo), it is the Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage which states that the mayor of the City and the Ward have “actually received and accepted the notification of the marriage between the two people”.
Certificate of Registered Matters in Family Register (Kosekitodokegakikisaijiko Shomeisho)The next commonly requested translation is the “Certificate of Registered Matters in Family Register”.
This is essentially a “copy” of the Notification of Marriage filled in by the applicant. However, even though we could essentially call this a “copy”, it is in fact not simply a copy. It is a copy of the submitted Notification of Marriage affixed with a seal of receipt and which contains a statement from the City Major attesting to the effect that “this copy of the notification of marriage is are a true and accurate representation of the facts entered in the family register”.
As this document contains the all information including the notice of marriage and the acceptance thereof, having this document and a translation thereof is considered to be the best option. But saying that getting your hands on this document is difficult as described below.
Family Register (Koseki Tohon)Some people also submit their “Family Register” as a marriage certificate.
The above matters concerning marriage registered in the family register are entered in the marriage column of the Family Register. In some cases the Family Register is also used as a birth or death certificate. For this reason, we receive many requests for the translation of Family Registers. However, because the Family Register is often reformatted, information may be omitted so please be careful. For more on our Family Register translations, visit our separate “Family Register Translation” page.
WWe have also had clients who request us for a translation of a copy of their Notification of Marriage (not the Certificate of Registered Matters in Family Register but the notice prior to submission to the public office). However, as the notification form is freely available and the details are entered by the individual concerned, this will in no way serve as a certificate. As explained above, a marriage in Japan is established by submitting a notification of marriage and receiving a notice of acceptance so any forms, etc. prior to submission to the public office will not be treated as a certificate. Those who wish to submit a translation of the copy of their Notification of Marriage should use a Certificate on Registered Matters in Family Register (Marriage Certificate) which contains the facts in the notification. Please note that the Certificate of Registered Matters in Family Register will after a certain period of time be transferred to the legal affairs bureau having jurisdiction over the address listed as the registered domicile and the legal affairs bureau will issue the certificate and charge you a fee.
If you are in an international marriage and have married abroad, you may be required to provide a translation of the marriage certificate issued by the overseas country when submitting a notification of your marriage to a public office in Japan. We translate marriage certificates issued in any country most commonly in the United Sates and the Philippines. To marry a foreigner in Japan, you may also be required to present a marriage license, Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage, Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage and other documents together with a translation from English to Japanese. Samurai Translators handles a large number of translations of Japanese official documents into English as well as translations of official documents issued overseas into Japanese so do not hesitate to take advantage of our translation service if you need to translate your marriage documents into Japanese.
In the case of international marriages, the documents required will vary depending on whether the couple is married in Japan or overseas and if a couple marries overseas; Japanese citizens will still generally need to submit a notification of their marriage to a public office in Japan after their marriage.
When marrying abroad, in many cases a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage issued by the Japanese government will be required together with an English translation. Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage certifies that according to the Family Register, the party to the intended marriage (the Japanese partner) is single and there is no legal impediment under Japanese law to the marriage with his/her partner. When the certificate is issued, the marriage partner must also be entered on the certificate and a generic certificate is not available. (However, recently due to emergence of countries which accept same-sex marriages, versions for same-sex marriages in which the partner is not stated are also becoming available.)
When marrying in Japan, the marriage is established by notifying the marriage to the City Hall and receiving acceptance thereof. In order to make notification of the marriage, where one of the parties to the marriage is a foreigner, a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (an affidavit or Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage) and a translation thereof is required.
As countries overseas do not adopt a system like the Family Register, many countries accept a sworn statement made by the person concerned to be authenticated by the staff at the Public Office or notary publics, etc. instead of above certificates as evidence of no impediment to marriage. In Japan generally self-translated documents are accepted, however, if you want to have a translation company handle your translation to be sure, please contact us.