How to Make a Notarial (Public-Document) Will: Witnesses, the Notary's Fee, and the Flow up to the Day

In short: a notarial will is a will made when the testator, in the presence of two or more witnesses, states the gist of the will to a notary who records it (Article 969 of the Civil Code). Because a notary is involved and the notary's office keeps the original, it is less likely to be invalid for a defect in form, and after the testator's death there is no need for family-court probate (kennin). The notary's fee is set by the Notary Fee Order: it is calculated per person who receives property, by applying the "object value" each person receives to a table and totalling, and where the total of the object values is 100 million yen or less, a will-addition is added. Witnesses have disqualifications: presumptive heirs, beneficiaries and their spouses and lineal relatives cannot serve (Article 974 of the Civil Code). This article is general information and does not make the final legal judgment of who should receive what property. The administrative scrivener of the Yotsuba group handles, as an independent business, support for drafting the will, collection of the necessary documents, scheduling with the notary's office and arranging witnesses. Where there is a dispute among heirs, or for the final legal judgment, the field is a lawyer; registration of inheritance and bequest after the will is executed is for a judicial scrivener; estimates of inheritance tax and funds for payment are for a tax accountant; and the sale of inherited real estate is for a real-estate agent, a separate business, each contracted separately.

What makes a notarial will more certain than a holographic will?

A notarial will is distinctive in that a notary, a legal professional, is involved in making it. Article 969 of the Civil Code sets the method: the attendance of two or more witnesses, the testator's oral statement (koju) of the gist of the will to the notary, the notary's recording and reading-back (or inspection), the signing and sealing by the testator and witnesses, and the notary's note, signature and seal. Because the original is kept by the notary's office, there is no worry of loss or alteration, and the risk of invalidity for a defect in form is small.

Item	Notarial will	Holographic will
Making	A notary is involved (Civil Code Article 969)	The testator writes the whole text, date and name by hand and seals it
Witnesses	Two or more required	Not required
Keeping	The notary's office keeps the original	Kept at home, or the Legal Affairs Bureau's storage system
Probate (kennin)	Not required	In principle required (not needed if stored at the Bureau)
Cost	A notary's fee applies	No cost for making it as such

A holographic will is easy but leaves concerns about defects in form and about safekeeping. The difference between the two and the Legal Affairs Bureau's storage system are organised in The difference between a holographic will and a notarial will. Which suits you depends on the content of the property, the situation of the heirs and your view on cost. Please also see our Inheritance and Will guidance.

How is the notary's fee determined by the amount of property?

The notary's fee is an official, publicly set fee under the Notary Fee Order (Article 9, appended table): it is calculated per person who receives property by inheritance or bequest, by applying the value that person receives (the object value) to the table, and totalling. The figures after the revision of 1 October 2025 (Reiwa 7) are as follows.

Object value	Fee
1 million yen or less	5,000 yen (3,000 yen for 500,000 yen or less)
Over 1 million up to 2 million yen	7,000 yen
Over 2 million up to 5 million yen	13,000 yen
Over 5 million up to 10 million yen	20,000 yen
Over 10 million up to 30 million yen	26,000 yen
Over 30 million up to 50 million yen	33,000 yen
Over 50 million up to 100 million yen	49,000 yen
Over 100 million up to 300 million yen	49,000 yen plus 15,000 yen for each 50 million yen in excess
Over 300 million up to 1 billion yen	109,000 yen plus 13,000 yen for each 50 million yen in excess

In addition, where the total of the object values is 100 million yen or less, a will-addition of 13,000 yen is added. Issuance of an authenticated copy/transcript is 2,500 yen per copy in electronic data, or 300 yen per sheet on paper (plus 300 yen per sheet exceeding three sheets of the original). Making the will at the testator's sickbed adds 50% of the fee; where the notary travels to a home or facility, a daily allowance (20,000 yen per day, 10,000 yen within four hours) and travel expenses apply. For example, a will leaving 60 million yen to a spouse and 40 million yen to a son is a guide of 49,000 yen (spouse) + 33,000 yen (son) = 82,000 yen, plus the will-addition of 13,000 yen = 95,000 yen. Because the actual amount changes with the property valuation, it is confirmed at the notary's office before making the will. The valuation of inherited real estate is the field of a tax accountant and real estate, and our Fee Schedule is set separately.

Who can be one of the two witnesses, and who cannot be a witness?

A notarial will needs the attendance of two or more witnesses (Article 969 of the Civil Code), but not just anyone can be a witness. Article 974 of the Civil Code sets the following persons as disqualifications for a witness or attendant.

Item	Person who cannot be a witness
Item 1	A minor
Item 2	A presumptive heir, a beneficiary, and their spouses and lineal relatives
Item 3	The notary's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree, clerk and employee

In short, family members in the position of receiving property, and their spouses and children, cannot be witnesses. Where no suitable person is close at hand, the notary's office may introduce a witness. The administrative scrivener of the Yotsuba group, bound by a duty of confidentiality, can undertake to arrange witnesses or to attend as a witness. Because who can be a witness is tied to confirming the range of presumptive heirs and beneficiaries, it is practice to proceed together with organising the inheritance relationships.

What documents do you gather by the day, and what is the flow at the notary's office?

A notarial will is made by firming up the draft, consulting the notary in advance, and making it on the day with the attendance of two witnesses. You prepare documents such as the following in advance (this differs by notary's office).

Category	Main documents
The testator	An identity document such as a seal-registration certificate
When leaving property to an heir	Family register(s) showing the relationship between testator and heir
When bequeathing to a non-heir	A certificate of residence of the beneficiary, etc.
Property documents	Certificate of registered matters and fixed-asset valuation certificate of real estate; documents for deposits, etc.

On the day, the testator states the gist of the will to the notary, the notary reads back or shows what was recorded to the testator and witnesses, and if there is no error, everyone signs and seals. From 1 October 2025 (Reiwa 7), the revision of the Notaries Act (Act No. 53 of 2023) digitised the procedure for making notarial documents, and at designated notary's offices the use of web conferencing (remote method) and making/issuing in electronic data became possible in stages. Whether it is available is confirmed with the notary's office. The administrative scrivener of the Yotsuba group handles drafting support, collection of necessary documents and scheduling with the notary's office.

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If you change your mind after making it, can the will be rewritten?

A will can be rewritten at any time, even after it is made. Article 1022 of the Civil Code provides that a testator may at any time revoke the whole or part of the will in accordance with the method of a will. Where a prior will and a later will conflict, the conflicting part is deemed revoked by the later will (Article 1023 of the Civil Code).

Situation	Treatment (basis)
You want to change the content	You can revoke/change at any time with a new will (Civil Code Article 1022)
A prior and later will conflict	The conflicting part is deemed revoked by the later will (Civil Code Article 1023)
Revoking a notarial will	You can revoke with a new will (notarial or holographic)

To revoke a notarial will, you do not need to physically destroy the earlier notarial document; you show your intention with a new will. The order of priority where a revocation or multiple wills coexist is organised in Revocation and conflict of wills and the priority of multiple wills. Whether a rewrite is needed is best reviewed periodically in light of changes in the family and property.

Who do you ask for what in drafting, registration, tax and disputes (division of roles)?

Because the professionals involved differ, the basis is that you contract with each as an independent business, separately. The administrative scrivener of the Yotsuba group handles, as an independent business, support for drafting the will, collection of the necessary documents, scheduling with the notary's office and arranging witnesses.

Who to ask	Main role
Administrative scrivener (our office)	Drafting support, document collection, scheduling, witness arrangement
Notary	Making the notarial will and keeping the original
Lawyer	Response where there is a dispute among heirs; the final legal judgment
Judicial scrivener	Registration of inheritance and bequest after the will is executed
Tax accountant	Estimates of inheritance tax and funds for payment
Real-estate agent (our company, a separate business)	Consultation on sale and use of inherited real estate

The final legal judgment on "who receives what property" in a will is a field for a qualified professional; an administrative scrivener does not judge or guarantee it on your behalf. Where the sale of inherited real estate is involved, you may use the consultation desk for inherited real estate run by a separate-business real-estate agent. Please also see our Engagement Flow. You contract with each professional as an independent business, and we receive no referral fee from one another.

FAQ

Q. If I make a notarial will, does probate after death become unnecessary?
A. Yes. Because a notarial will is made by a notary and the original is kept by the notary's office, family-court probate (kennin) is unnecessary. A holographic will in principle requires probate, but it becomes unnecessary if you use the Legal Affairs Bureau's holographic-will storage system. Whether probate is needed depends on the method and the way of keeping.

Q. Is the fee determined by applying one rate to the total value of the property?
A. No. Under the Notary Fee Order, the fee is worked out per person who receives property by inheritance or bequest, by applying the value that person receives to the appended table, and totalling. Where the total of the object values is 100 million yen or less, a will-addition of 13,000 yen is added, and issuance of copies and travel incur separate charges. The exact amount is confirmed at the notary's office based on the property valuation.

Q. Can I ask a family member to be a witness?
A. A presumptive heir or beneficiary who receives property, and their spouse and lineal relatives, cannot be witnesses (Article 974 of the Civil Code). Minors and the notary's close relatives also cannot. Where no suitable person is available, the notary's office may introduce a witness, and an administrative scrivener bound by confidentiality can also undertake to arrange witnesses or to attend.

Q. Can I change a notarial will I once made?
A. You can. A testator may at any time revoke the whole or part in accordance with the method of a will (Article 1022 of the Civil Code). If you make a new will that conflicts with the prior one, the conflicting part is deemed revoked by the later will (Article 1023). You need not destroy the earlier notarial document; you show your intention with a new will.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search / Ministry of Justice, "Civil Code", Article 969 (method of a notarial will: attendance of two or more witnesses, oral statement, recording, reading-back or inspection, signing and sealing), Article 969-2 (method for a person who cannot speak, etc.), Article 974 (disqualifications for witnesses and attendants: a minor; a presumptive heir, a beneficiary, and their spouses and lineal relatives; the notary's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree, clerk and employee), Article 1022 (revocation of a will) and Article 1023 (conflict between a prior and a later will, etc.) (accessed 2026-10-07)
• e-Gov Law Search / Ministry of Justice, "Notary Fee Order", Article 9 appended table (fee per object value); will-addition (13,000 yen added where the total of the object values is 100 million yen or less) (accessed 2026-10-07)
• Japan Notaries Association, guidance on "Notarial Wills" and "Fees for Making a Notarial Will" (fee amounts under the Notary Fee Order, will-addition 13,000 yen, issuance fees for copies/transcripts [electronic data 2,500 yen per copy; paper 300 yen per sheet], travel allowance and additions; after the revision of 1 October 2025 (Reiwa 7)) (accessed 2026-10-07)
• Ministry of Justice, Civil Affairs Bureau, "On the Digitisation of a Series of Procedures for Notarial Documents" (by the partial revision of the Notaries Act [Act No. 53 of 2023], effective 1 October 2025 (Reiwa 7); web conferencing [remote method] and making in electronic data at designated notary's offices, etc.) (accessed 2026-10-07)

This article is general information and does not make the final legal judgment of who should receive what property in a will, or judge or guarantee whether a given will is valid. A notarial will is made by a notary, and the fee is set by the Notary Fee Order. Support for drafting the will, collection of the necessary documents, scheduling with the notary's office and arranging witnesses are handled by the administrative scrivener of the Yotsuba group as an independent business; response where there is a dispute among heirs and the final legal judgment are by a lawyer; registration of inheritance and bequest after the will is executed is by a judicial scrivener; estimates of inheritance tax and funds for payment are by a tax accountant; and the sale and use of inherited real estate is by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business, each contracted separately. Our office receives no referral fee. Individual judgements are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real estate broker.