Types of wills and how to choose ― holographic, notarised and secret wills: requirements, costs, and who each suits

There are three forms of will. The holographic will (自筆証書遺言) you write yourself, the notarised will (公正証書遺言) drawn up by a notary, and the rarely used secret will (秘密証書遺言). This article sets out the requirements of each (one missing and it is void), the costs, whether probate is needed and who each suits, and the three things to decide before you write a will: the list of assets, who gets what, and the executor.

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 should make it a notarised will, shouldn't I? I want a proper will." The 74-year-old man came to me before booking an appointment at the notary office. His assets were his home and two bank accounts; the recipients were his wife, his eldest son and his eldest daughter. The division was decided. When I asked what "proper" meant, he said, "It won't get lost, it won't be void, and there won't be a quarrel afterwards." All three can be had for 3,900 yen without a notarised will. This article is about why that man did not go to the notary office.

The way a will is written is fixed by law, and if even one requirement is missing it is void. "My wishes are clearly written" is not enough. There are three forms: the holographic will (自筆証書遺言), the notarised will (公正証書遺言) and the secret will (秘密証書遺言). In practice almost only the first two are used, and this article centres on those two.

A holographic will is one in which the testator writes the entire text, the date and their name in their own hand and seals it. Text typed on a computer is void. A date that cannot be identified, such as "an auspicious day in September, Reiwa 8," is void. Since 2019 only the list of assets may be typed or consist of copies of passbooks, but each page of the list needs a signature and seal. It costs nothing and can be rewritten at any time. Its weaknesses are the risk of loss or tampering, and the need for probate (検認) at the family court after death. What fills these weaknesses is the Legal Affairs Bureau custody system (3,900 yen per will, no probate needed) described in another article on this site.

A notarised will is drawn up at a notary office by a notary (公証人) from the testator's oral statement, in the presence of two witnesses. The original is kept at the notary office, so neither loss nor tampering occurs. No probate is needed either. Because the notary is involved in the legal construction of the contents, it is the form with the lowest risk of being void for defective requirements. If the testator cannot go to the notary office, the notary can travel to a home or hospital (with a surcharge for travel).

The cost of a notarised will is set by the Notary Fees Order according to the value of the assets. The fee is calculated on the value each heir or legatee receives, these are added up, and if the whole is 100,000,000 yen or less a will surcharge of 13,000 yen is added. For example, a will giving 20,000,000 yen to the wife and 15,000,000 yen to the eldest son would be 26,000 + 26,000 + 13,000, about 65,000 yen in notary fees. Add the daily allowance for two witnesses (about 5,000 to 15,000 yen each if the notary office introduces them) and the fee if a professional drafts the text, and in practice the total starts in the 100,000s.

The notary fees for a notarised will (per heir or legatee, under the Notary Fees Order as revised in October 2025): up to 500,000 yen received, 3,000 yen; over 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen, 5,000 yen; over 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 yen, 7,000 yen; over 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 yen, 13,000 yen; over 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 yen, 20,000 yen; over 10,000,000 to 30,000,000 yen, 26,000 yen; over 30,000,000 to 50,000,000 yen, 33,000 yen; over 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 yen, 49,000 yen; and, when the whole is 100,000,000 yen or less, a will surcharge of 13,000 yen.

A secret will is one in which the testator seals a signed and stamped will in an envelope and declares before a notary and two witnesses that "this is my will." It proves only the existence of the will without anyone learning its contents, but since the notary does not check the contents, the risk of defective requirements remains, and probate is needed. It is almost never used.

Comparing the three forms (as of September 2026). How made: holographic, the whole text, date and name in the testator's hand with a seal (the asset list may be typed); notarised, drawn up by a notary with two witnesses; secret, a handwritten or dictated document sealed and declared before a notary and two witnesses. Cost: holographic, 0 yen (3,900 yen for Legal Affairs Bureau custody); notarised, under the fees order (from tens of thousands of yen depending on the assets) plus witnesses and professionals; secret, 13,000 yen plus witnesses. Custody: holographic, at home or at the Legal Affairs Bureau; notarised, the original at the notary office; secret, kept by the testator. Probate: holographic, needed (not if in Legal Affairs Bureau custody); notarised, not needed; secret, needed. Risk of being void: holographic, easily void for defective requirements; notarised, the lowest; secret, remains because the notary does not see the contents.

A guide to choosing. My standard in practice is a combination: finish a holographic will with the support of a professional (an administrative scrivener and the like) into a form that can be deposited, and deposit it under the Legal Affairs Bureau custody system. If the assets are simple, the fee is from about 30,000 yen, and the difference from a notarised will is over 100,000 yen. I recommend a notarised will where the assets are complex with many clauses, where something is given to someone other than an heir (a common-law spouse, someone who cared for the testator, an organisation), or where doubts about the testator's capacity are beginning and you want a record that the notary confirmed their intention. In the last case, it becomes harder to argue afterwards that "they lacked capacity when they wrote it."

Whatever the form, there are three things to decide before writing. One, the list of assets. Identify real estate by the description on the certificate of registered matters, and deposits by financial institution, branch and account number. Prepare it with the name-based property list and the passbooks side by side. Two, who gets what. As set out in another article on this site on the legally reserved portion (遺留分), a distribution below the reserved portion is a seed for claims, so build it with the reserved portion in mind. Three, the executor. A will that does not say who will carry it out needs the cooperation of all heirs at the execution stage, and stalls.

The numbers compared. The notarised version. Assets: the home (valued at 18,000,000 yen) and savings of 22,000,000 yen, 40,000,000 yen in total. The wife receives the home and 6,000,000 yen in savings, 24,000,000 yen; the son and daughter 8,000,000 yen in savings each. Notary fees: 26,000 yen for the wife's share, 20,000 yen each for the son and daughter, a will surcharge of 13,000 yen, together 79,000 yen. Two witnesses introduced by the notary office, 20,000 yen. My drafting and arrangements, 70,000 yen. Total about 169,000 yen. The holographic version deposited under the custody system. The testator writes the whole text by hand; the asset list is copies of the certificate of registered matters and passbooks, signed and sealed. My work on the draft and the application form, 30,000 yen; Legal Affairs Bureau fee 3,900 yen. Total 33,900 yen. The difference is about 135,000 yen.

"It won't get lost": the Legal Affairs Bureau keeps the original, so the same as a notarised will. "It won't be void": the bureau checks the formal requirements of date, signature and seal, so formal defects are prevented. The bureau does not look at the validity of the contents, so that is what I check at the drafting stage. "There won't be a quarrel afterwards": the home to the wife and 8,000,000 yen in savings to each child exceeds the children's reserved portion (5,000,000 yen each), so no claim will come. One line in the supplementary message giving "the reason for leaving the home to my wife." The three "proper" requirements were met for 33,900 yen.

There was also a case the same month where I recommended a notarised will. A woman of 81 with mild forgetfulness beginning. Assets of about 90,000,000 yen: her home, one apartment building and savings; and among the recipients a nephew who is not an heir. Here, a record that the notary confirmed her capacity is worth more than 100,000 yen. The likelihood of a later dispute that "she lacked capacity when she wrote it" is far higher than for the 74-year-old man. She made a notarised will, at a cost of about 210,000 yen.

Finally, a will is not "once written, finished." The assets changed, an heir died, your feelings changed. You can rewrite it each time. A will with a later date takes priority over an older one. If you decide to review it every few years, you reduce the chance of dying with circumstances changed since you wrote it.

The man who said "I want a proper will" wrote it by hand on A4 paper rather than letter paper, deposited it at the Legal Affairs Bureau, and went home having spent 33,900 yen. I wrote above that "my standard in practice is a holographic will finished with professional support and deposited under the custody system" because families like this man's are the majority of consultations. The notarised will exists for families like the 81-year-old woman's. In the two families, the form of the will was decided by the assets, the age and the recipients.

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.

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