Inherited farmland requires a notification to the agricultural committee: the procedure under Article 3-3 of the Agricultural Land Act

In short: if you acquire farmland by inheritance, a notification to the agricultural committee is required separately from the ordinary inheritance procedure. The basis is Article 3-3 of the Agricultural Land Act: a person who acquires rights to farmland by inheritance, estate division, comprehensive testamentary gift and the like must notify the agricultural committee of the municipality where the farmland is located within roughly ten months from the time they become aware of the acquisition. Unlike the permission under Article 3 of the Agricultural Land Act required for sale or lease of farmland, this notification is a way for the agricultural committee to grasp acquisitions that do not require permission, and notifying does not create the effect of acquiring the rights. This article organises the deadline, documents, disadvantages of failing to notify, and the order relative to inheritance registration, inheritance tax and sale. Individual applicability is confirmed by the agricultural committee.

Why does inherited farmland require a separate notification to the agricultural committee?

When rights are transferred by the parties' intention, such as by sale, gift or lease of farmland, permission of the agricultural committee and others is required under Article 3 (permission for transfer of rights) or Article 5 (permission for transfer of rights for conversion purposes) of the Agricultural Land Act.

By contrast, inheritance, estate division, comprehensive testamentary gift and acquisition by prescription are not transfers by the parties' intention, so the permission under Article 3 is not required. But when permission is not required, the agricultural committee cannot grasp the change in the rights holder of the farmland. Article 3-3 of the Agricultural Land Act therefore obliges a person who has made such an acquisition without permission to notify the agricultural committee. For the notified farmland, the committee confirms the intention regarding its use and connects it to brokerage of lending and borrowing.

Notification is required when the object is farmland or land for grazing and mowing. Whether it is farmland is judged by the actual condition, not by the registered land category. If it is residential land, it proceeds as an ordinary residential-land inheritance dealt with in the Complete Guide to Inherited Real Estate (Yotsuba Real Estate).

By when and with what documents do you notify?

The deadline and documents are as follows. Forms are prepared by each municipality's agricultural committee.

Item	Content
Person obliged to notify	A person who acquired rights to farmland by inheritance, estate division, comprehensive testamentary gift, prescription and the like
Deadline	Roughly ten months from the time of becoming aware of the acquisition
Where to notify	The agricultural committee of the municipality where the farmland is located
Main documents	The notification under Article 3-3, paragraph 1 of the Agricultural Land Act, and documents confirming the acquisition (certificate of registered matters, estate division agreement, etc.)

The names, number of copies and attachments of documents differ by agricultural committee. Even with multiple heirs, each person who acquired farmland notifies. Within the scope of administrative-scrivener work, Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office supports the preparation of the notification, the organisation of attachments and confirmation with the agricultural committee counter. Acceptance of the notification and the judgement of applicability as farmland are made by the agricultural committee.

What are the disadvantages of failing to notify?

If you fail to notify or make a false notification, under the Agricultural Land Act you may be subject to a non-penal fine of up to 100,000 yen. A non-penal fine is not a criminal penalty leaving a criminal record, but it may be imposed as an administrative order-maintaining penalty.

Also, if you do not notify, the agricultural committee cannot grasp the rights holder, and the farmland may be excluded from the target of brokerage of lending and borrowing and of use coordination in the area. The notification is unrelated to the effect of acquiring the rights, but leaving it undone also delays the organisation of the inheritance registration, inheritance tax and sale procedures below. The deadline of roughly ten months is close to the inheritance tax filing deadline (within ten months from the day after learning of the commencement of inheritance), so managing them together makes omissions less likely.

How do inheritance registration, inheritance tax and sale relate in order?

The notification to the agricultural committee does not replace other inheritance procedures. The following procedures are separately required.

• Inheritance registration: under Article 76-2 of the Real Property Registration Act, an heir who acquires real property (including farmland) by inheritance has an obligation to apply for inheritance registration within three years from the day of learning of the acquisition (effective 1 April 2024). Failure without justifiable grounds may be subject to a non-penal fine of up to 100,000 yen. The agency of the registration application is the work of a judicial scrivener or attorney. For the flow, see How to proceed with inheritance registration.
• Inheritance tax: farmland has its own issues, such as valuation and the tax-deferral special provision, and the tax calculation and the judgement of whether filing is required are the field of a tax accountant. For the whole picture of deadlines, see A guide to inheritance procedure deadlines.
• Sale and lease: selling or letting farmland as-is requires permission under Article 3 of the Agricultural Land Act, and converting it to residential land for sale requires the permission or notification under Articles 4 and 5, separately; finding a counterpart and brokerage are the role of the real estate company.

The notification to the agricultural committee (Article 3-3) is "notification of acquisition by inheritance", inheritance registration is "change of the registered title", and the permission under Articles 3 and 5 of the Agricultural Land Act is "permission to sell, lease or convert from now on"; the purposes differ. No single one of them suffices.

When keeping or letting go of farmland, what to consider next?

After completing the notification, the options broadly divide into "keep", "let", "sell" and "release".

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• Keep or farm it yourself: the burden of property tax and management continues.
• Let or sell: as farmland, permission under Article 3 of the Agricultural Land Act is a precondition. Finding a buyer or lessee and brokerage are handled by the real estate company.
• Convert and use or sell: within an urbanisation promotion area, a notification to the agricultural committee; in an urbanisation control area and the like, permission of the prefectural governor and others (Articles 4 and 5 of the Agricultural Land Act) — the treatment changes by area.
• Revert to the national treasury: land meeting certain requirements may be eligible for the system for reversion of inherited land to the national treasury. For details, see What to do with unwanted inherited land.

Whichever path, the starting point is first to fix the title and rights holder with the Article 3-3 notification and the inheritance registration. If you are considering acceptance or renunciation of the inheritance, the relation to the consideration period matters, so please also check What to know before considering renunciation or qualified acceptance.

Notification, registration, tax, dispute and sale: who to ask for each?

Inheriting farmland crosses several fields of expertise. The roles are divided as follows.

• Preparation and submission support of the Article 3-3 notification, and preparation of the permission and notification documents for farmland conversion (Articles 4 and 5) → Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (administrative scrivener)
• Agency for the inheritance registration application (change of title) → a judicial scrivener or attorney
• Inheritance tax, valuation of farmland and tax deferral → a tax accountant
• Negotiation, mediation and adjudication where the estate division is in dispute → an attorney
• Finding a counterpart and brokerage for the sale or lease of farmland or converted land → Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office and Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. are separate businesses. Our office handles only support for the notification and conversion documents as an independent business, and registration, tax, disputes and sale are contracted separately with each qualified professional. Our office receives no referral fee. For the whole picture of inheritance work, see Inheritance, Wills and Trusts; for the flow of engagement, see Engagement Flow; and for fees, see Fee Schedule.

FAQ

Q. Do I need the agricultural committee's permission when I inherit farmland?
A. Acquisition by inheritance does not require permission under Article 3 of the Agricultural Land Act. Instead, a notification under Article 3-3 is required; notify the agricultural committee of the municipality where the farmland is located within roughly ten months from the time of becoming aware of the acquisition. Permission and notification are separate procedures.

Q. What happens if I do not notify?
A. If you fail to notify or make a false notification, under the Agricultural Land Act you may be subject to a non-penal fine of up to 100,000 yen. It is not a criminal penalty but may be imposed as an administrative order-maintaining penalty. The notification is unrelated to the effect of acquiring the rights, but leaving it undone may exclude the farmland from the target of use coordination.

Q. If I complete the inheritance registration, is the notification to the agricultural committee unnecessary?
A. No. Inheritance registration is a change of the registered title under Article 76-2 of the Real Property Registration Act, with a deadline of three years from the day of learning of the acquisition. The notification to the agricultural committee (Article 3-3) is a separate procedure to grasp the change in the farmland's rights holder; both are required.

Q. I inherited farmland but have no plan to farm it. What should I do?
A. First fix the rights holder with the Article 3-3 notification and the inheritance registration. Then options include letting or selling it as farmland (permission under Article 3 of the Agricultural Land Act is a precondition), converting and using or selling it (Articles 4 and 5), or, if certain requirements are met, considering the system for reversion of inherited land to the national treasury. Finding a counterpart and brokerage are with the real estate company, and the permission and notification documents with the administrative scrivener, each contracted separately as a separate business.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search, "Agricultural Land Act" (Act No. 229 of 1952), Articles 3, 3-3, 4 and 5 (accessed 2026-08-23)
• e-Gov Law Search, "Real Property Registration Act" (Act No. 123 of 2004), Article 76-2 (application for registration of transfer of ownership by inheritance and the like; effective 1 April 2024) (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "On the sale, lease and conversion of farmland" (including the explanation of the notification of farmland acquisition by inheritance) (accessed 2026-08-23)
• Municipal agricultural committees (Sakata City, Joetsu City and others), "Notification under Article 3-3 of the Agricultural Land Act" guidance and forms (accessed 2026-08-23)

This article is general information and does not guarantee the individual need for notification, applicability as farmland, deadlines or the application of the non-penal fine. Acceptance of the notification and the judgement of applicability as farmland are made by the agricultural committee. Confirm the forms, attachments and acceptance procedures of each municipality on the relevant agricultural committee's official page. The agency for the inheritance registration application (change of title) is handled by a judicial scrivener or attorney; inheritance tax, valuation of farmland and tax deferral by a tax accountant; negotiation, mediation and adjudication where the estate division is in dispute by an attorney; and brokerage of the sale or lease of farmland or converted land by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., each as an independent business under a separate contract. 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.