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2026-09-05

Compulsory inheritance registration ― how to tell an inheritance you can register yourself from one you should hand to a professional

Inheritance registration (相続登記) has been compulsory since April 2024. This article sets out the deadline and the fine, the typical cases where applying yourself is enough, and the line beyond which you should hand the matter to a professional without hesitation, from the practical viewpoint of an administrative scrivener (行政書士).

About this translation ― This page is an English translation of an article originally written in Japanese by KuraLab's operator, a licensed real-estate transaction specialist (宅地建物取引士) and administrative scrivener (行政書士) in Japan. The Japanese original is the authoritative text; where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. The article explains Japanese law and procedure in general terms as of the date shown. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice for your situation ― please confirm with a licensed professional in Japan. Japanese terms are kept in parentheses so you can search for them. Read the Japanese original

"I got a quotation from a judicial scrivener and was told 110,000 yen. How much if I do it myself?" That was the first question of a man who had lost his mother. The property was one house, the heirs were the man and his sister, and they had agreed on the division. When I answered, "If you do it yourself, the registration and licence tax of 32,000 yen and a few thousand yen for the family registers," he said, "Then I will do it myself," and in fact finished it with two trips to the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局). This article is about why that man's inheritance was one "you can do yourself," and why the next client's was one "you should delegate."

When you inherit real estate, the procedure for rewriting the title from the deceased to the heir is "inheritance registration" (相続登記). For more than 120 years since the Real Property Registration Act was enacted in 1899 (Meiji 32), this registration remained optional; from 1 April 2024, applying became compulsory. If you do not apply within three years of the day you learned that you acquired real estate by inheritance, you are subject to a non-penal fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen unless there is good reason. Inheritances that occurred before the enforcement date are also covered, with a deadline of 31 March 2027.

From "optional" to "compulsory": in 1899 the Real Property Registration Act was enacted, with inheritance registration optional. On 1 April 2024 inheritance registration became compulsory, with application within three years and a non-penal fine of up to 100,000 yen for breach. On 31 March 2027 the transitional deadline falls, both for applications relating to inheritances before enforcement and for the exemption for land valued at 1,000,000 yen or less.

Behind the duty is the problem of "land with unknown owners." Land whose registration has been neglected for generations takes years just to find the owner, and stalls public works, disaster recovery and even the sale of the neighbouring plot. In the matters I handle as an administrative scrivener, land "still in the grandfather's name" is not unusual, and there are cases where the heirs exceed twenty and agreement is practically impossible. The duty is a system to make people act before that happens.

Does that mean every inheritance registration must be entrusted to a professional? No. There are inheritances where applying yourself is quite enough, and inheritances that end up faster and cheaper if handed to a professional from the start. There are three points for telling them apart.

First, the composition of the heirs. Only a spouse and children, or only children, all living and contactable, and the division already agreed. If these conditions are met, collecting the documents and preparing the application is realistic for a lay person. The Legal Affairs Bureau has a registration consultation desk, and the application forms and sample entries are published.

Second, whether the inheritance is a single step. If it has become a "successive inheritance" (数次相続), where the father also died while the grandfather's inheritance was left unregistered, the parties multiply at once and assembling the documents becomes complex. Where an heir is missing, has doubtful capacity due to dementia and the like, or is a minor, family court proceedings are involved, and that is professional territory.

Third, whether there is a will and in what form. With a notarised will the procedure is relatively simple, but a holographic will in principle requires probate (検認) at the family court (except one kept under the Legal Affairs Bureau's custody system). If some heirs are unhappy with the will, discussion or mediation is needed before registration, and this too is hard to pursue alone.

If you choose to apply yourself, the documents to collect fall into three groups. For the deceased: a continuous set of family registers from birth to death, and the cancelled resident record proving the last address. For the heirs: current family registers and resident records. For the property: the fixed asset tax valuation certificate. If the person taking the property was decided by division, attach the estate division agreement signed and sealed with registered seals by all heirs, together with everyone's seal certificates. To avoid submitting the registers again and again, you can also use the system under which the Legal Affairs Bureau issues copies of the "legal heir information chart" (法定相続情報一覧図).

The main cost is the registration and licence tax, 0.4 per cent of the fixed asset tax valuation. For a valuation of 10,000,000 yen, that is 40,000 yen. However, land valued at 1,000,000 yen or less is exempt until 31 March 2027, and there is also an exemption for registration where the deceased died before becoming the registered owner. Check the latest conditions in the guidance of the Legal Affairs Bureau and the Ministry of Justice.

For the case where "agreement cannot be reached within the deadline," a simplified system called "heir declaration registration" (相続人申告登記) was also provided. Simply by notifying the Legal Affairs Bureau that you are an heir, you are treated as having met the duty for the time being. Later, when the division is agreed, you do the proper inheritance registration. It is not a delaying tactic but a legitimate means of continuing discussions while avoiding the fine.

Finally, what I always say in consultations. With inheritance registration, "some day" is the most dangerous answer. Every time the heirs increase by one, one more set of registers and seal certificates is needed, and the difficulty of discussion grows not by addition but by multiplication. While you can still sort things out with the current family, at least draw up the family relationship chart and the list of properties. That alone greatly changes the burden on the next generation.

Applying the three tests to the man's inheritance. First, the heirs: only two children, both living, in contact, and agreed. Second, a single step: the property was registered in the mother's name, and only the mother's inheritance was involved. Third, a will: none, handled by an agreement. All three on the "do it yourself" side. The documents collected: five family registers from the mother's birth to death, the cancelled resident record, the registers and resident records of the man and his sister, the fixed asset tax valuation certificate, the agreement and two seal certificates. The cost: registration and licence tax of 8,000,000 yen × 0.4% = 32,000 yen, plus about 4,500 yen in fees for registers and the like, 36,500 yen in total. Two visits to the Legal Affairs Bureau: the day the consultation desk checked the application, and the day of filing. One correction: the agreement lacked a tally seal across the pages, which was added on the spot. The difference from the judicial scrivener's 110,000 yen quotation was about 73,500 yen.

Another consultation the same week was the opposite. Land in the grandfather's name; while the grandfather's inheritance was neglected, the father died, and one of the father's siblings had also died. Counting the heirs gave eleven, two of whom had unknown addresses. A successive inheritance, with missing persons, needing family court proceedings for an absentee's property administrator. On the first and second of the three tests, this was on the "to a professional" side. This inheritance was handed to a judicial scrivener from the start. The fee was about 280,000 yen, the registration and licence tax about 60,000 yen for three parcels, with the family court costs separate. Had they tried it themselves, the registers alone would have exceeded thirty, and contacting and reaching agreement with eleven people would have taken years.

The danger of "some day," in numbers. The grandfather of that land died 32 years ago. At that time the heirs were five: the grandmother and four children. The grandmother died, two of the children died, their children (grandchildren) joined, and in 32 years it became eleven. Exactly as I wrote, each additional heir adds a set of registers and seal certificates; had it been done when there were five, it would have been within the range of applying yourself.

The Inheritance Registration Navi tool (相続登記ナビ) on this site assumes the "do it yourself" cases described in this article: enter the heirs and the properties, and it sets out in order the family relationship chart and statutory shares, the steps to registration, an estimate of the registration and licence tax and whether an exemption applies, and a draft application. It can also be used to organise the issues before consulting a professional.

The man who came with the 110,000 yen quotation finished for 36,500 yen. The next client paid 280,000 yen and handed it to a judicial scrivener. Both were the right choice; the only difference was which side of the three tests they were on. I wrote above, "at least draw up the family relationship chart and the list of properties." With that one sheet, you know which side you are on before you ask for a quotation.

Written by: 長澤 湊（licensed real-estate transaction specialist, administrative scrivener, assistant surveyor）　Content checked on: 2026-10-14

This article is a general explanation of Japanese rules and procedures, not advice on an individual case. Figures and rules are as of the date shown. For your own situation, consult a lawyer, judicial scrivener, tax accountant or administrative scrivener in Japan.

Official sources

The rules and figures in this article can be checked against the following official pages (in Japanese).

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