What is the certified list of statutory heirs? A system usable in place of a bundle of family registers, and how to apply

In short: the certified list of statutory heirs is a list of the statutory heirs identified from the family register entries, and is a system usable in place of a bundle of family registers in various inheritance procedures. Under the statutory inheritance information certification system, an application to a registry office (Legal Affairs Bureau) yields a copy with a certification statement added by the registrar. However, what the list proves is only "who the statutory heirs are"; it does not prove the content of the estate division or the result of a renunciation of inheritance. An administrative scrivener can prepare and apply for the list as an agent under a commission. Inheritance registration is handled by a judicial scrivener and inheritance tax filing by a tax accountant.

What is the statutory inheritance information certification system?

The statutory inheritance information certification system began at registry offices (Legal Affairs Bureaus) nationwide on 29 May 2017. When you submit to a registry office the bundle of family register and removed family register certificates of the deceased together with a list showing the inheritance relationship (the certified list of statutory heirs), the registrar checks the content and issues a copy of the list with a certification statement added.

Using this copy lets you reduce the work of submitting the same bundle of family register and removed family register certificates repeatedly in later inheritance procedures. In inheritance procedures the same family registers are often submitted to multiple offices, so reducing the work of repeated submission is the purpose of this system.

Note that the list may span multiple pages depending on the number of heirs and the family register relationships. In addition, some addressees may require documents other than the copy of the list.

The difference between the certified list of statutory heirs and the "copy with a certification statement"

The terms are confusing, so let us clarify.

• Certified list of statutory heirs: a list of the heirs prepared by the applicant based on the family register and removed family register certificates.
• Copy of the list with a certification statement: a copy that the registrar issues after confirming that the list matches the family register and removed family register certificates, with a certification statement added to the list.

What is actually used in inheritance procedures is the latter — the "copy with a certification statement".

What the list proves and what it does not prove

What the certified list of statutory heirs proves is "who the statutory heirs were at the time of the deceased's death". It clarifies the statutory heirs based on the family register and removed family register certificates.

It does not prove the following:

• the content of the estate division (who acquired which asset);
• whether someone in fact does not become an heir as a result of a renunciation of inheritance or an estate division agreement.

Therefore, even if someone no longer has a share as a result of a renunciation of inheritance or an estate division agreement, that person's name is still recorded on the list. A person excluded from being a presumptive heir is not recorded because their right of inheritance has been extinguished.

How it differs from a diagram of the inheritance relationship

The names are similar, but their roles and nature differ.

Comparison item	Certified list of statutory heirs	Diagram of the inheritance relationship
What it does	A list used for an application under the statutory inheritance information certification system	An explanatory document showing the range of heirs clearly
Certification	The registrar issues a copy with a certification statement	No certification (prepared voluntarily)
Main use	In inheritance and pension procedures, in place of a bundle of family registers	To show the inheritance relationship in applications such as inheritance registration

A diagram of the inheritance relationship is prepared voluntarily, in the form of a family tree based on the collected family registers. The certified list of statutory heirs differs in that an application is made to the Legal Affairs Bureau and it receives the registrar's certification.

Who can apply? What an administrative scrivener can do

The applicant is the deceased's heir (or their heir). An application can also be made through an agent appointed by the applicant. As an agent under a commission, the applicant may appoint a relative, or an attorney, judicial scrivener, land and house investigator, tax accountant, certified social insurance and labour consultant, patent attorney, maritime procedure agent, or administrative scrivener (Legal Affairs Bureau).

In other words, an administrative scrivener can collect and read the family registers, and also prepare and apply for the certified list of statutory heirs as an agent under a commission. Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office guides you through collecting the family registers and preparing and applying for the list as a single flow. For how to collect the family registers, see Where to start with an inheritance.

Where to apply, and application and delivery by post

You can choose to apply to a registry office having jurisdiction over any of the following:

• the deceased's registered domicile (at the time of death);
• the deceased's last address;
• the applicant's address;
• the location of real estate registered in the deceased's name.

The application and delivery of the copy of the list (including the return of the family register and removed family register certificates) can be done in person or by post. If you want delivery by post, state this in the application form and enclose a return envelope and postage stamps.

The statutory inheritance information number (started 1 April 2024)

From 1 April 2024, the delivered copy of the list carries a "statutory inheritance information number" assigned by the registrar to identify the statutory inheritance information.

In real estate registration applications and other procedures carried out at the Legal Affairs Bureau, stating this number in the application can make it possible to omit attaching the copy of the list (the certified original).

However, the statutory inheritance information number can be used only in real estate registration applications and other procedures carried out at the Legal Affairs Bureau. In procedures outside the Legal Affairs Bureau — bank inheritance procedures, inheritance tax returns, pension procedures and so on — the number cannot be used in place of the copy of the list. In such cases, submit the copy of the list or follow the addressee's requirements.

Recording the heirs' addresses is optional

Whether to record the heirs' addresses on the list is optional. If you record an address, attach to the application a "document proving the address (such as a copy of the certificate of residence)" for that heir.

Using a copy of the list with the addresses recorded can make it possible to omit attaching a document proving the address in a later application such as inheritance registration. On the other hand, once a list has been delivered, you cannot re-apply to remake the list merely because an heir's address changed after delivery.

Is five years the validity period? Retention and re-issue of the list

The certified list of statutory heirs is kept for five years from the year after the date of application. These five years are not the "validity period" of the delivered copy, but the period during which the Legal Affairs Bureau keeps the list and can re-issue it.

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A re-issue can be obtained by the original applicant (the person named as "applicant" in the original application form). Other heirs cannot, in their own capacity, obtain a re-issue. If an agent applies for a re-issue, confirm the necessary documents such as a power of attorney from the original applicant. A re-issue is applied for at the registry office where the original application was made.

Note that a paper copy of the list already delivered does not automatically become invalid after five years. However, some addressees may require a newer copy.

When the heir is a foreign national or lives overseas

If, because the deceased or an heir does not hold Japanese nationality, the required family register or removed family register certificates cannot be submitted, this system cannot be used (Legal Affairs Bureau).

Living overseas alone does not make the system unusable. The point is whether the required family register and removed family register certificates can be obtained and submitted. If there is a foreign national or overseas heir, the scope of the family registers and documents must be confirmed individually. For obtaining family registers and removed family registers when there is an overseas heir including Taiwan, see Where to obtain a Taiwanese removed family register.

Cases where the list alone is not enough

A copy of the certified list of statutory heirs can be used in inheritance procedures and pension procedures arising from the deceased's death, but not every procedure is completed with the list alone.

• If the estate has been divided, documents such as an estate division agreement are also required, separately from the list (Can you prepare an estate division agreement yourself?).
• Handling differs depending on the addressee, such as a financial institution or a government office.

Therefore, when using a copy of the list, it is reliable to confirm in advance with the addressee what documents other than the list are required.

Relationship with wide-area delivery of family registers

The premise of the certified list of statutory heirs is collecting the family registers. Under the wide-area delivery of family registers that began on 1 March 2024, the person recorded in the family register, or their spouse, lineal ascendant or lineal descendant, can request family register, removed family register and revised original family register certificates at a municipal counter other than the municipality of the registered domicile.

However, wide-area delivery is outside the scope of requests by an agent, third-party requests and occupational requests. When an administrative scrivener collects family registers by a commission or occupational request, the scrivener requests them individually from the municipality of the registered domicile. For details, see Where to start with an inheritance?.

How inheritance procedures proceed in Bunkyo

Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (Kohinata, Bunkyo, about five minutes' walk from Myogadani Station) guides you in stages from collecting family registers and identifying heirs to preparing and applying for the certified list of statutory heirs, the asset list, and the estate division agreement. Consultation is free. For the flow of engagement, see Engagement Flow; for fees, see Fee Schedule; and for the whole picture, see Inheritance, Wills and Trusts.

If the applicant's address is in Bunkyo, the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau (head office) can be chosen as the place of application. Note that the place of application is chosen from a registry office having jurisdiction over the deceased's registered domicile (at death), the deceased's last address, the applicant's address, or the location of real estate registered in the deceased's name.

For the sale and management of inherited real estate, see Complete Guide to Inherited Real Estate (Yotsuba Real Estate). Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. handles this as a separate business under a separate contract from Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office.

FAQ

Q. Can I prepare the certified list of statutory heirs myself?
A. The Legal Affairs Bureau publishes forms and examples, and you can apply if you collect the family registers and prepare the list. However, misreading the family registers causes errors in the list, and the registrar may ask for corrections or return the documents. An administrative scrivener can act on your behalf from collecting the family registers to preparing and applying for the list.

Q. Once I have the list, do I no longer need the family registers?
A. It can be used in place of the bundle of family register and removed family register certificates, but handling differs by addressee. If the estate has been divided, documents such as an estate division agreement are required separately. Confirm in advance with the addressee what is required other than the list.

Q. Does a copy of the list have a validity period? Until when can it be re-issued?
A. There is no statutory validity period for the copy itself. It is kept for five years from the year after the date of application, and during that period the original applicant (the person named as "applicant" in the original application form) can obtain a re-issue. Some addressees may require a newer copy.

Q. Is a person who renounced the inheritance still recorded on the list?
A. Yes. The list clarifies the statutory heirs based on the family registers, so a person who no longer has a share as a result of a renunciation of inheritance or an estate division agreement is still recorded. A person excluded from being a presumptive heir is not recorded.

Sources (Primary Information)

• Legal Affairs Bureau, "Specific procedure of the statutory inheritance information certification system" (updated 1 April 2024)
• Sapporo Legal Affairs Bureau, "About the statutory inheritance information certification system" (updated 12 November 2021)
• Legal Affairs Bureau, "Preparation, retention and delivery of the certified list of statutory heirs (statutory inheritance information number, recording of addresses, etc.)"
• Bunkyo City, "Wide-area delivery of family register certificates (accepted until 16:00)" (updated 9 April 2026)
• Administrative Scrivener Act, Article 1-3 (scope of business: preparation of documents concerning rights and obligations or proof of facts)
• Civil Code (range and shares of heirs)
• Real Property Registration Act, Article 76-2 (obligation to apply for inheritance registration; in force 1 April 2024)

This article provides general information and does not guarantee the permissibility, procedure or effect of any individual inheritance. Individual judgements are made by a qualified professional after an interview. Inheritance registration is handled by a judicial scrivener, inheritance tax by a tax accountant, contentious matters by an attorney, and real estate by a licensed real estate brokerage, each as an independent business under a separate contract. Our office receives no referral fee. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Administrative Scrivener and Real Estate Transaction Specialist).