戸籍謄本 / 戸籍抄本
Certified English translation of your Japanese family register (koseki)
The koseki is Japan's civil register — the document that proves birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, and death. Immigration authorities, foreign registries, and courts routinely require a certified English translation of it.
$21.95 per pageVertical-format (pre-1994) registers: +$10 per page
Certificate of accuracy included · Delivered within 48 hours
We translate every entry — including the registry annotations that generic translation services often summarize or skip. The translation mirrors the layout of the original register, so officers can match each field against the source document.
Both current-format registers (横書き, Certificate of All Matters / Individual Matters) and older vertical-format registers (改製原戸籍, handwritten pre-1994 records) are supported. Vertical-format registers involve reading older script and take more work, which is reflected in a small per-page supplement.
Names are romanized to match your passport or existing official documents — tell us the official spelling in the order form, and it is applied consistently across the register.
Asked for a Japanese birth certificate? Japan does not issue standalone birth certificates — the family register records births and serves that role. A certified English translation of the koseki (or of a birth registration acceptance certificate) is what USCIS and other authorities accept as the Japanese birth certificate equivalent.
Common questions
Which koseki document do I need — tohon or shohon?
The receiving authority decides. Tohon (Certificate of All Matters) covers the whole family unit; shohon (Individual Matters) covers one person. Immigration authorities usually ask for the full register (tohon). We translate whichever you obtained.
My register is handwritten and vertical. Can you read it?
Yes. Pre-1994 registers (kaisei genkoseki) are written vertically, often by hand. We translate them regularly; they carry a +$10 per-page supplement for the additional deciphering work.
How many pages is a typical koseki?
Most current-format registers are 1–3 pages. The price is per page of the original document, so a 2-page register is 2 × $21.95.
Does the translation include a certification?
Yes — a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy in the format required by USCIS, UKVI, and the Australian Department of Home Affairs is included with every order. For IRCC (Canada), a notarized affidavit is prepared instead, quoted per order.
More in the general FAQ, including certification requirements by country.