Has broad-area issuance made collecting family registers for inheritance easier? Where can't you use it?

In short: broad-area issuance of family registers, which began on 1 March 2024 (Reiwa 6) (Family Register Act, Article 120-2), lets you request certified copies (full-record certificates) of registers from several domiciles together at the counter of a municipality near your home or workplace (other than the domicile), even if the domicile is far away. However, only the person, their spouse, direct ascendants and direct descendants can request; requests by post or by an agent are not possible; and a photo ID is needed at the counter. Some non-computerised registers and removed registers, and part-record certificates and individual-record certificates, cannot be obtained by broad-area issuance. This article is general information organising the scope; whether it can be obtained is decided by the municipal counter.

What is new about broad-area issuance of family registers?

Broad-area issuance of family registers is a system that took effect on 1 March 2024 (Reiwa 6) (Family Register Act, Article 120-2), based on the Act Partially Amending the Family Register Act (Act No. 17 of 2019). Previously, a certified copy of a family register could only be obtained at the municipality of the domicile, and where the domicile was scattered across places, you had to request separately from each.

	Previously	Broad-area issuance (from 1 March 2024)
Where to request	Each municipality of domicile	Request together at a nearby counter other than the domicile
What you can obtain	Various certificates of registers and removed registers	Certified copies (full-record certificates) of registers and removed registers (some are out of scope)
How to request	Counter, post	Counter only (the person attends in person)

In inheritance, you need a continuous set of registers from the decedent's birth to death. If the domicile was moved many times, you end up collecting registers across several municipalities, and this was the first burden of the inheritance procedure. Broad-area issuance eases the burden of this "collecting" stage. The whole picture of collecting registers and investigating heirs is summarised in Collecting registers and investigating heirs.

Who can request, and who conversely cannot use it?

The people who can request using broad-area issuance are limited by law.

Who can request	Broad-area issuance
The person	Yes
Spouse	Yes
Direct ascendants (parents, grandparents, etc.)	Yes
Direct descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.)	Yes
Siblings, nephews, nieces, etc.	Not by broad-area issuance (by request to the domicile, etc.)
An agent or third party with a power of attorney	Not by broad-area issuance

Those who can request registers by broad-area issuance are the person, their spouse, direct ascendants and direct descendants. Siblings are not direct relatives, so a sibling's register cannot be obtained by broad-area issuance. Where siblings become heirs in inheritance, this point is a practical dividing line. The basics of who becomes an heir should be confirmed together with The legal-inheritance-information list diagram and the order of heirs.

What kinds of registers cannot be obtained by broad-area issuance?

Broad-area issuance cannot obtain every register. Knowing in advance what cannot be obtained prevents doing the work twice.

What cannot be obtained	Content
Some non-computerised registers and removed registers	Reformed original registers and removed registers kept on paper before digitisation, etc.
Part-record certificate	A certificate recording only part of the register
Individual-record certificate	A certificate recording only a specific individual's matters in the register (a so-called abstract)

What is issued by broad-area issuance is, in principle, certified copies (full-record certificates) of registers and copies of removed registers. Part-record certificates and individual-record certificates are out of scope for broad-area issuance. Also, some non-computerised registers and removed registers cannot be obtained by broad-area issuance, because they cannot be retrieved together on the system. As for a copy of the register's supplementary record (fuhyō), including whether it is in scope, please confirm with the guide of your municipality. Whatever could not be obtained is requested separately from the municipality of the domicile.

Can you request by post or through an agent, and how do you combine it with the conventional procedure?

Broad-area issuance also has constraints in terms of method.

• Requests by post are not possible. The person must attend the counter in person.
• Requests by an agent (a person with a power of attorney) are not possible.
• At the counter, a photo ID such as a driving licence, My Number card or passport is needed.

So where you live far away and cannot attend the counter, you need a sibling's register, or you need a pre-digitisation reformed original register, you combine it with the conventional request to the municipality of the domicile (including by post). Obtaining what is available at a nearby counter, and what is not at the domicile, is the basic practical division. The collected registers then lead to preparing a relationship-of-heirs diagram and the legal-inheritance-information list diagram. To see the inheritance procedure from the start, also see Engagement Flow.

To whom do you hand the collected registers for registration and tax?

Collecting registers is the entrance to the inheritance procedure, and beyond it the work splits into several fields. The roles are divided as follows.

• Collecting registers, preparing the relationship-of-heirs diagram, the application for the legal-inheritance-information list diagram, and support for preparing the estate-division agreement → Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (administrative scrivener)
• Agency for the application of real-estate inheritance registration and preparation of the registration application, etc. → a judicial scrivener or an attorney
• Filing and calculating inheritance tax → a tax accountant
• Disputes over the estate and individual legal judgement → an attorney
• Consultation on selling or utilising inherited real estate → Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.

The collected registers are handed, for inheritance registration, to a judicial scrivener or an attorney as in The flow of inheritance registration, and for inheritance tax, to a tax accountant. Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office and Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. are separate businesses, and selling or utilising inherited real estate is handled by The inherited-real-estate desk (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.). Our office provides support for collecting registers and preparing documents as an independent business, and registration, tax and disputes are contracted or consulted separately with each qualified professional. Our office receives no referral fee. For the scope an administrative scrivener can handle in inheritance, see Inheritance procedure support; for fees, see Fee Schedule.

FAQ

Q. Can I obtain a sibling's register by broad-area issuance too?
A. No. Those who can request by broad-area issuance are the person, their spouse, direct ascendants and direct descendants, and siblings are not direct relatives. Where siblings become heirs, handle it by a request to the municipality of the domicile (including by post). Confirming the scope of the registers needed at the start, based on who becomes an heir, is important.

Q. I live far away and cannot attend the counter. Can I request broad-area issuance by post?
A. No. Broad-area issuance is a system where the person requests at the counter; requests by post or by an agent are not possible. A photo ID is needed at the counter. If you cannot attend the counter, combine it with the conventional postal request to the municipality of the domicile.

Q. Can I obtain old reformed original registers together by broad-area issuance?
A. Some non-computerised registers and removed registers (reformed original registers kept on paper before digitisation, etc.) may not be obtainable by broad-area issuance. Whatever could not be obtained is requested separately from the municipality of the domicile. Which registers are in scope is confirmed at the counter.

Q. With registers obtained by broad-area issuance, can I proceed to inheritance registration myself?
A. Obtaining registers is the entrance to inheritance. Agency for the application of inheritance registration and preparation of the registration application, etc. is the business of a judicial scrivener or an attorney, and filing inheritance tax is the field of a tax accountant. Our office handles collecting registers and support for the relationship-of-heirs diagram and the application for the legal-inheritance-information list diagram, and registration and tax are contracted separately with each qualified professional.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search, "Family Register Act" (Act No. 224 of 1947), Article 120-2 (broad-area issuance) (accessed 2026-09-09)
• Ministry of Justice, "About the Act Partially Amending the Family Register Act (in force 1 March 2024)" (those who can request = the person, spouse, direct ascendants and direct descendants; requests by post or agent not possible; a photo ID is needed; some non-computerised registers and removed registers, and part-record and individual-record certificates, are out of scope) (accessed 2026-09-09)
• Ministry of Justice, materials related to the "Act Partially Amending the Family Register Act (Act No. 17 of 2019)" (accessed 2026-09-09)

This article is general information and does not guarantee whether broad-area issuance can be used in an individual case or which registers can be obtained. Because eligibility, required documents and the operation of identity confirmation may differ by municipality, confirm at the counter or the official page before requesting. Agency for the application of real-estate inheritance registration and preparation of the registration application, etc. by a judicial scrivener or an attorney; filing inheritance tax by a tax accountant; and disputes over the estate and individual legal judgement by an attorney, each as an independent business under a separate contract or consultation. Selling or utilising inherited real estate is handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (a separate business). 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.