Japan Apostille Service

Certify documents issued in Japan for official use in Europe and abroad.

Certify documents issued in Japan for international use

Apostilles in Japan can be obtained for official documents such as Koseki Family Register Certificates, birth death and marriage certificates, Police Certificates, Certified Copies of the Commercial Register, Japanese University diplomas and high school certificates, and documents certified by a Japanese notary, including powers of attorney.

Jamaican Apostille stamps are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Documents needed for submission in non-apostille countries will need additional attestation by the embassy of the recipient country in Tokyo.

  • Apostilles on Japanese documents are normally processed in 3 business days
  • Documents cannot be more than 3 months old (except documents which are issued only once, such as university diplomas).
  • We attest Japanese documents at the UAE, Vietnamese and Qatar Embassies, the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office and other major embassies in Tokyo.
  • We can obtain Kosekicertificates, birth, death and marriage certificates locally in Japan for clients needing an Apostille Stamp or legalization.
  • We offer a full range of certified translation services in Japan for documents required for submission overseas.

Right arrowFAQs - Japan Apostille Services

Right arrowGet a Quotation to Apostille Japanese Documents

Right arrowCertify international documents for use in Japan

Japanese Documents that can be authenticated with Apostille Stamps

  • Apostille Japanese Koseki and birth certificates

    Koseki, birth, death and marriage certificates

    Apostille Japanese Family Registration certificates, birth, death and marriage certificates issued by Japanese Municipal Offices and Legal Affairs Bureau. Birth and marriage certificates issued by Japanese Consulates abroad are not valid for Apostilles.
    Isarey can obtain Koseki and other certificates for overseas clients needing Apostille Stamps from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
    Right arrowJapanese birth, death and marriage certificates
  • Police Certificates

    Apostille Japanese police certificates - Certificates of criminal record issued by the Prefectural Police. The certificate must remain unopened to be valid for an Apostille.
    Japanese criminal record certificates can be obtained in Japan from the Police Prefecture where you are resident (or previously resident if now overseas), or from Japanese Embassies and ConsulatesExternal link (opens in new tab) abroad. Note that applications for Japanese Police Certificates (in Japan or at consulates) must be made by in person by the applicant only (no representatives) and must be justified by a showing a requirement for a certificate from a foreign embassy or immigration authority.
  • Apostille Japanese university diplomas

    University Degrees

    Apostille Japanese university diplomas, course transcripts and school certificates. Apostilles are issued for certificates issued by non-incorporated national and public universities and for diplomas which were issued by national and public universities prior to their incorporation. Certificates issued by incorporated national and public universities, private universities, Colleges of Technology, private high schools, junior high schools, elementary schools and private vocational schools must be notarized before they can be authenticated with an Apostille Stamp or legalized for attestation by foreign embassies in Tokyo.
  • Notarized Documents

    Powers of Attorney, Affidavits, certified passport copies, contracts and other private documents certified by a notary in Japan.
  • Incorporation Documents

    Certify Japanese corporate documents including certificates of incorporation, certificates of good standing, articles of association, board resolutions for use abroad.
  • Trade documents

    Apostille Japanese certificates of origin, certificates of free sale, commercial invoices, product health certificates, GMP certificates and other trade documents
  • Medical Certificates

    Apostilles can be obtained for medical documents issued by national and public hospitals or Red Cross hospitals. The certificate must include the hospital’s official seal and date of issue, as well as the name of the hospital and doctor.

Isarey provides document attestation services in Japan to private, corporate and institutional clients worldwide. To find out about certifying Japanese documents for use in Europe and abroad, use our online quotation form or email us a scan or description of the documents you need to certify. We will get back to you directly with a quotation and details of how to proceed:

6 steps to certify document issued in Japan

  1. Upload the documents you need attested or send them to us by email.
  2. Our experts will pre-check your documents to ensure that they are eligible for Apostille certification or consular legalization in the country where they are issued, and we’ll assist you locally in preparing them if required.
  3. We’ll send you a quotation with the total cost of the process (final price including all fees, certified translation when required and courier costs) and an estimation of how long the process will take to complete.
  4. We’ll arrange a secure courier to collect your original documents (where electronic versions are not sufficient).
  5. As soon as we receive your documents, we will confirm your order and proceed with the attestation process. Where appropriate, we will arrange certified copies for the attestation process so that we can return your originals directly.
  6. We return the attested documents to you by secure international courier.

Legalize Japanese Documents

Japanese documents can be legalized for cross-border use by means of Apostille Certification or Consular Legalization

Apostille Certification

An Apostille Stamp is a simplified procedure of international attestation. When affixed to documents, Apostilles are directly recognised by the authorities of over 120 countries (Signatories of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents Hague Apostille ConventionExternal link (opens in new tab)) as certifying the document’s validity, without requiring additional certification.

Since Japan is a signatory to the convention, Isarey can assist by obtaining Apostille Certification for Japanese documents so that they are valid for official use in other signatory countries, including: NL NetherlandsNetherlands - ES SpainSpain - IT ItalyItaly - PT PortugalPortugal - GR GreeceGreece - CY CyprusCyprus - FR FranceFrance - GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom - SA Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia - US United StatesUnited States - DE GermanyGermany - CN ChinaChina

Consular Legalization
Consular Legalization is required when a document from Japan is to be used in a non-signatory country. In this case, following authentication by authorities in Japan, the document must be certified a second time in Japan by the embassy representing the country where the document is to be used.

Countries which do not recognise Apostille certification and require consular legalization include: QA QatarQatar - KW KuwaitKuwait - AE United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates - TW TaiwanTaiwan - VN VietnamVietnam

Certified Translation

Where Japanese documents are to be used abroad and where the receiving country has a different official language, certified translation may also be required. Isarey takes care of any certified translations required as part of the document attestation process, ensuring that translations are carried out and certified in accordance with local regulations.

Note that a certified translation on its own only provides assurance that the translation itself is accurate and true; it does not confirm the authenticity of the original document. The original document must be legalized for a certified translation to carry equivalent legal weight.

Japan Document Resources

External resources and news about Japanese documents, apostilles and certification procedures.

JP
Japan Document Resources
Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates
Guidance: When someone dies in Japan
Guidance: When someone dies in Japan
Right arrowwww.gov.uk

The process when a British national dies in Japan including registering the death, funerals and cremations, and bringing the person’s body to the UK.

Homepage of each Legal Affairs Bureau
Right arrowhoumukyoku.moj.go.jp

Links to the homepages of each Legal Affairs Bureau and Regional Legal Affairs Bureau (website in Japanese)

What to do after a British person dies in Japan
What to do after a British person dies in Japan
Right arrowwww.gov.uk

This guide gives advice about the death of a British person in Japan, including information on burial, cremation and repatriation.

Death of a U.S. Citizen in Japan
Right arrowjp.usembassy.gov

What to do when a U.S. Citizen dies in Japan

Criminal Record Certificates
How to apply for Certificate of Criminal Record (Tokyo)
How to apply for Certificate of Criminal Record (Tokyo)
Right arrowwww.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) will issue a police certificate when you are required by foreign authorities (an embassy, immigration agency, etc.). To apply for the certificate, you must be either a registered as a resident of Tokyo or previously registered as a resident of Tokyo but now living overseas. Applications must be submitted in person.

Police Certificates
Right arrowwww.uk.emb-japan.go.jp

Police certificates from the Japanese National Police Agency are issued only when requested by certain authorities as required by law.

Procedure to apply for a criminal record certificate (Osaka)
Right arrowwww.police.pref.osaka.lg.jp

A Police Clearance Certificate is issued only when you are required to submit a criminal record certificate by your destination country. Applications are accepted (in person only) from Japanese nationals or foreign nationals who have current or previous resident registration in Osaka Prefecture.

Government Admin
Embassies and Consulates in Japan
Right arrowwww.mofa.go.jp

Contacts of foreign embassies and consulates in Japan

Notary Services
How to make good use of Japanese Notaries (PDF)
Right arrowwww.koshonin.gr.jp

The duties of a notary include creation of notarial instruments, authentication of private documents and articles of incorporation, and the attachment of officially-attested dates to documents.

The above links are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; Isarey bears no responsibility for the accuracy, content or policies of external websites.

Get a Quotation for your Documents

We price each certification process individually, depending on the type and quantity of documents to be attested, the country of issue, the country of use and intended purpose, urgency, whether certified translations are required as part of the process and courier costs.

To receive a quote, you can upload your documents using our online quotation form or send us your documents by email. After reviewing your documents and requirements, we will get back to you with a quotation:

If you don’t have the documents available, just describe the documents you need to certify, and we will get back to you with an estimation of cost and delivery times.

Using our quotation form, your documents will be uploaded over a secure connection and immediately encrypted on our server. For added protection, you can upload password-protected files (PDFExternal link (opens in new tab), Microsoft Office 365: Save a password protected document to prevent unauthorized people from opening it. Office DocumentsExternal link (opens in new tab), WinRAR Encryption Frequently asked question (FAQ) RAR foldersExternal link (opens in new tab)) and provide us with the passwords separately.

PERSONAL DATA: If your documents contain personal data belonging to people outside your household, please ensure that you are authorised to share this data before uploading your documents. If your documents contain sensitive personal data, such as biometric data, medical data or data on criminal convictions, please ensure that you indicate this when prompted, upon submitting your documents. For further information on our processing of personal data contained in uploaded documents, please see:
Privacy Policy (Customer Inquiries)

For further information on confidentiality in our handling of document content please see:
Confidentiality (Client Content)

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