Marriage Registration (Kon-in Todoke)

When a Japanese citizen legally marries abroad, they must submit the Marriage Registration so that it reflects on their Family Registry. Once you are legally married, please submit your Marriage Registration as soon as possible.

Dual citizens will need to submit the Marriage Registration as a Japanese citizen.

Signatures must be written in Japanese by the person submitting the Marriage Registration. Non-Japanese spouses are not required to sign the forms.

 Effective April 1, 2022, the legal age of marriage for women has been raised to age 18, making it consistent with the legal age for men.


For Marriages Between Japanese Citizens

Required Documents

 

1.	Two Marriage Report Forms (Original)　 - Sample - Report forms cannot be downloaded. Please or request it by mail.
2.	Two County-Issued Marriage Certificates (One original, one copy)
3.	One Translation Form of the Marriage Certificate (Original)　 - Anyone can fill this out in Japanese.
4.	A copy of Each spouse’s Japanese passport AND proof of legal status in the U.S. - Green card, visa, etc.
5.	One Contact Information Sheet - Include your address, e-mail, and phone number. Please be sure that this phone number has voicemail and that the voicemail box is not full.

 

Important Information

 

1. If you wish to change your Registered Domicile (Honseki-chi), you will need to confirm with the municipal office whether the new Registered Domicile can be used.
2. It is no longer required to use a seal (inkan) or imprint your thumbprint. In the signature space provided, write your own name in Japanese. In the left margin, write your own name in Japanese vertically (see sample). Do not initial/sign each error.
    
3. If you make errors, do not use white-out. Please correct the error by drawing two horizontal lines through it.
    
4. If the name on the Marriage Certificate is different from the name on your family registry, please explain in「その他」（E.g.,「英文婚姻証明書に記載のジョンは当地での山田次郎の通称である。」）
    
5. If you are married by the Japanese method, you will need 2 witnesses to sign your Marriage Report Form and provide their IDs. However, if you have plans to live in the U.S., this may not be the best option for you. When you are asked to submit a Marriage Certificate in the U.S., you will need to obtain a new Family Registry (issued within 3 months) each time and apply for a Marriage Certificate issued by the Consulate/Embassy. Furthermore, since the Consulate/Embassy name will show under marriage location, you will have to explain why you did not marry in the U.S. by U.S. methods. If you are married by U.S. methods, you will not need witnesses.
    
6. If you are married by U.S. state methods, please explain in「その他」(E.g.,「令和○年○月○日アメリカ合衆国カリフォルニア州の方式により婚姻成立、同州ロサンゼルス郡登録官発給の婚姻証書添付。」)
    
7. Do not abbreviate the Registered Domicile to 「1－2」. Instead, write exactly as it shows on the Family Registry, such as「1丁目2番地」.
    
8. Please send all required documents by mail. The U.S. postal system may have mail delivery issues and there have been cases where they lost mail. We recommend you use Certified Mail or a Tracking Number to monitor your mail. You may contact us a few days after delivery to confirm that we received your documents. We will only contact you if there are any issues with your submission.

 

For Marriages Between a Japanese and Foreign Citizen

Required Documents

 

1.	Two Marriage Report Forms (Original)　 - Sample - Report forms cannot be downloaded. Please obtain it at our window or request it by mail.
2.	Proof of Citizenship for Foreign Spouse - 1 certified copy of the foreign passport valid at the time of marriage OR 1 original of the birth certificate
3.	One Translation Form of Proof of Citizenship (for U.S.) (Original)　 - Anyone can fill this out in Japanese.
4.	Two County-Issued Marriage Certificates (One original, one copy)　 - You will need to provide at least 1 original (or 1 notarized copy).
5.	One Translation Form of Marriage Certificate (Original)　 - Anyone can fill this out in Japanese.
6.	A copy of Japanese spouse’s passport AND proof of legal status in the U.S. - Green card, visa, etc.
7.	One Contact Information Sheet - Include your address, e-mail, and phone number. Please be sure that this phone number has voicemail and that the voicemail box is not full.

Additionally, you may submit the following registration:
 
<Registration to Change Surname Due to Marriage to a Foreign Citizen>

If you wish to change your last name on the family registry to your foreign spouse’s last name, you will need to submit this registration within 6 months of your marriage date. Once the deadline has past, you will need to get approval from the Family Court in Japan to change your last name. 

 

 

Important Information

 

1. If you wish to change your Registered Domicile (Honseki-chi), you will need to provide 1 additional copy of each required document. (The additional Report Form must be an original. Copies of additional Family Registry, Proof of Citizenship, Marriage Certificate, and Translation Form may be accepted.) Furthermore, you will need to confirm with the municipal office whether the new Registered Domicile can be used.
2. If you are married by U.S. methods, you will not need witnesses.
    
3. On the Marriage Registration Form, please write all spaces provided in Japanese. The foreign spouse’s name should be written in the order of last name, then given name, in Katakana. For Chinese or Korean citizens, if you have official documents showing proof of your name in Kanji characters, please submit a copy of such documents. You may write the name using Kanji characters on the Marriage Report Form; however, only the Japanese form of the Kanji can be used.
    
4. Please write clearly. Differentiate between smaller and larger letters, such as ィ or イ（E.g., デイビッド, ディビッド）and especially when writing ア or マ, ヌ or ス, ツ or シ and ソ or ン. 
    
5. If the foreign spouse has a name suffix, such as Jr. or III, please include this in their given name, after their first and middle name. You will write in Katakana, such as ジュニア or サード.（E.g., John Albert Smith, Jr. → スミス　ジョンアルバートジュニア）. Do not include the comma ( , ) before the name suffix.
    
6. It is no longer required to use a seal (inkan) or imprint your thumbprint. In the signature space provided, write your own name in Japanese. In the left margin, write your own name in Japanese vertically (see sample). Do not initial/sign each error.
    
7. If you make errors, do not use white-out. Please correct the error by drawing two horizontal lines through it.
    
8. If you have an alternative name written on the Marriage Certificate that is different from the name on your family registry, please explain in「その他」（E.g.,「英文婚姻証明書に記載のジョンは当地での山田次郎の通称である。」）
    
9. If you are married by U.S. state methods, please explain in「その他」(E.g.,「令和○年○月○日アメリカ合衆国カリフォルニア州の方式により婚姻成立、同州ロサンゼルス郡登録官発給の婚姻証書添付。」)
    
10. Do not abbreviate the Registered Domicile to 「1－2」. Instead, write exactly as it shows on the Family Registry, such as「1丁目2番地」.
     
11. Please send all required documents by mail. The U.S. postal system may have mail delivery issues and there have been cases where they lost mail. We recommend you use Certified Mail or a Tracking Number to monitor your mail. You may contact us a few days after delivery to confirm that we received your documents. We will only contact you if there are any issues with your submission.

 

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