Apostille or Legalisation for Japan From Australia

Australian documents for Japan need a DFAT apostille, not Japanese embassy legalisation: as of our last check, the Convention has been in force for Japan since 27 July 1970. Check the HCCH status table on the day. The harder parts are elsewhere: a marriage certificate no Australian registry issues, seal-based paperwork, and translation into Japanese.

Key takeaways

• A DFAT apostille is the Australian step for documents within the Convention's scope. The Japanese embassy does not legalise it afterwards.
• To marry in Japan you usually need a Certificate of No Impediment from the Australian Government, not a notary.
• Japan uses registered seals and signature certificates. The Australian Government does not issue signature certificates, so a notarised signature with an apostille is the usual substitute from Australia.
• Japanese offices generally work in Japanese. Ask what translation they accept, and whether the apostille needs translating too.
• For a Japanese visa, see the separate visa page; this one covers documents used in Japan generally.

Japan and the Apostille Convention

The HCCH status table records Japan's signature on 12 March 1970 and ratification on 28 May 1970, with the Convention in force from 27 July 1970. For an Australian document within the Convention's scope, the certificate Japan expects is an apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Membership is a live fact, so confirm it on the table the day you start.

An apostille confirms the signature and seal on an Australian public document, such as a registry certificate or a notary's certificate. It says nothing about the contents. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia; a notary cannot. See how the Hague Apostille Convention works.

The usual chain

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is private: a power of attorney, an affidavit, a board resolution or a notarised copy of a degree.
2. DFAT apostille on the original public document or the notary's certificate.
3. Japanese translation, if the receiving office requires one, usually after the apostille so it can be translated too.

Australian public documents, such as registry-issued certificates, court orders and national police checks, can usually go to DFAT directly without a notary. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists them. DFAT refuses laminated documents and ceremonial marriage certificates. For university documents, DFAT apostilles an original only after the university has verified it, and a notarised copy must say that the original was verified with the institution.

Marriage in Japan: the Certificate of No Impediment

This is the point most specific to Australians. The Australian Embassy in Tokyo explains that Japanese authorities require a foreign national to produce a certificate from their own government stating that it knows of no impediment to the marriage. That is a Certificate of No Impediment, or CNI (kon'in mushōgai shōmeisho). Australian law does not require one for marriages here; Japanese law does for foreigners marrying in Japan.

What the embassy's guidance said, when we last checked:

• It can be issued in Australia or in Japan. DFAT offices in Australia and the Australian missions in Japan could issue a CNI. Applying from Australia, the application form had to be witnessed by someone approved to witness a Commonwealth statutory declaration. The Attorney-General's Department keeps the list of approved witnesses.
• Some city offices want a Japan-issued one. The embassy said some city offices asked for the CNI to be issued by an Australian mission in Japan. Ask your city office before you apply.
• Keep both documents. City offices generally wanted the application form as well as the certificate. If you apply in Australia, make sure both come back to you.
• Both need translating. City offices generally required a Japanese translation of both. The embassy does not translate, though it published templates to help.
• Timing. The embassy said a CNI does not expire, but that Japanese city offices recognised it only for a limited period after issue, which it gave as three months. Check the current position with the embassy and your city office, and time the application to your wedding.
• The wrong name for it. If a city office asks for a kon'in yōken gubi shōmeisho, the embassy said it does not issue one. The CNI is what it issues.

Notice what is missing: an Australian notary. For most Australians marrying in Japan, the key document comes from DFAT or the embassy. Some city offices may also ask to see a birth certificate or translations of identity documents, so ask for the complete list. This is also the one place a Justice of the Peace may be enough, because the CNI application is witnessed as a Commonwealth statutory declaration, not a document going overseas in its own right.

Seals and signature certificates

Japan uses a registered personal seal (inkan or hanko) where Australia uses a signature. For property, vehicles, company registration and many bank matters, a Japanese office asks for a seal registration certificate, or, from someone without a registered seal, a signature certificate (sign shōmei).

The Australian Embassy in Tokyo has been direct about its limits. When we last checked, it said the Australian Government keeps no register of citizens' signatures, so its missions cannot issue signature certificates or any "verification of signature" document, including for buying property or a vehicle. Its consular notarial services covered only documents that are Australian or intended for use in Australia; it would not witness Japanese forms made for use in Japan. It pointed people to a Japanese notary public (kōshōnin) and to specialist lawyers, and could certify a copy of an Australian passport or driver licence for identity purposes.

So: if you are in Japan, a Japanese notary is the route. If you are in Australia, the usual alternative is to sign before an Australian notary, who certifies your identity and witnesses your signature, and then obtain a DFAT apostille on the notarial certificate. Whether a particular Japanese land registry, bank or judicial scrivener (shihō shoshi) accepts that in place of a signature certificate is their decision. Ask them, in writing, what they accept from a signatory overseas, and use the Japanese wording they give you. See document notarisation.

Translation into Japanese

Japanese offices work in Japanese. Unlike some countries, Japan does not generally run a sworn-translator system that foreign applicants must use, so what counts as an acceptable translation depends heavily on the office. Ask before you pay anyone.

If the apostille must be translated, the translation comes after DFAT. An Australian NAATI translation is a professional translation with a named, credentialled translator, which many Japanese offices find reassuring, but the receiving office decides what it accepts. Our document translation page covers the Australian side.

Commercial and company documents

Documents for a Japanese company registration, a Japanese bank or a Japanese counterparty commonly include certified company extracts, board resolutions and powers of attorney. Before notarising, get the Japanese side's list, its preferred wording, and its answer on whether a signature needs separate verification. DFAT lists ASIC documents among the government commercial documents it can legalise, but a printout of a downloaded PDF is not an ASIC-issued document; ask DFAT what it accepts. If you are signing a document in Japanese that you do not read, tell the Australian notary in advance. The notary must be satisfied you understand what you are signing and may ask for a translation.

Documents commonly needed

Document	Typical use in Japan	Australian route
Certificate of No Impediment	Marriage at a Japanese city office	From DFAT or an Australian mission; no notary
Power of attorney	Property, inheritance, vehicles, banking	Notary, then DFAT apostille; Japanese text from the recipient
Signature evidence	In place of a seal or signature certificate	Notarised signature, then DFAT apostille, if the office accepts it
Birth, marriage, divorce documents	Family registration and residence matters	Registry certificate or court document to DFAT directly
Degree, police check	Work and study; see the visa page	University verification, then DFAT; police check to DFAT directly

For work and study visas, including the Certificate of Eligibility process, see Japan visa documents. Many visa lists do not ask for apostilles at all, so read the list before authenticating anything.

Coming the other way

A Japanese document for use in Australia, such as a family register extract (koseki), is authenticated in Japan, not by DFAT. For an Australian visa, Home Affairs usually wants a certified copy rather than an apostille, with a translation made in Australia by a NAATI-credentialled translator, or overseas with the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications. An Australian notary cannot vouch for what a Japanese office issued. See documents from overseas for use in Australia.

What does not work for Japan

• Asking the Australian embassy in Tokyo to witness Japanese forms. It said it is not authorised to.
• Expecting the Australian Government to issue a signature certificate. There is no signature register to issue one from.
• A Justice of the Peace copy for use in Japan. A JP certification is not accepted overseas and cannot be apostilled. The CNI application witness is a different thing.
• Adding embassy legalisation after DFAT. The apostille ends the Australian chain.
• Applying for the CNI months early. The city office may not accept it by the wedding date.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Brisbane man inherits his late mother's share of a small flat in Osaka. The Japanese judicial scrivener handling the transfer asks for his seal certificate. He has no Japanese seal, so the scrivener instead sends a Japanese-language statement for him to sign, with a request that his signature be notarised and apostilled. He asks for an English translation first so he understands it, then signs before an Australian notary, who checks his passport and attaches a notarial certificate. DFAT apostilles it, and he couriers the original to Osaka. The scrivener had confirmed in writing that it would accept this.

In short

Japan takes an apostille, on our last check, so there is no embassy legalisation after DFAT. For a wedding, the CNI comes from the Australian Government, not a notary. For property and banking, a notarised and apostilled signature usually stands in for a signature certificate, if the Japanese office agrees. More on the Australian steps is at apostille and authentication.

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