婚姻届 / Marriage Registration

外国人と婚姻し，戸籍の氏の変更を希望される方は，婚姻後6か月以内に限り，家庭裁判所の許可なしに「外国人との婚姻による氏の変更届」を提出することにより氏を変更する（外国人の氏にする）ことができます。

【Required Documents】(Number of Copies)

Marriage Report Forms (2)	If you would like to obtain a blank Marriage Report Form in advance, please fill out and send a request to the consulate. The marriage report form can be downloaded but is in the A3 paper size format and may not print properly.  Request Form  Instuction [Mailing Address] Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle Attn: Consular Section Koseki 701 Pike Street, Suite 1000, Seattle, WA 98101 If you'd like to fill out the form and submit it at the Consulate office, please make an appointment here.
Family Registry  -Koseki Tohon or Koseki Shohon	Not required (exept when your Koseki information is not digitaized.)  If a copy is abailable, please submit it.
State or County-Issued Marriage Certificates (2)	You will need to provide at least 1 original and 1 copy.
Japanese Translation of the Marriage Certificate (2)	Anyone can translate into Japanese, but translator's name is required.  Marriage Certificate Translation Form
Each spouse’s Japanese passport	Valid Japanese passport ※If submitting the report by mail, please send a copy and not the original.
Proof of legal status in the U.S.	Green card, visa, etc. ※If submitting the report by mail, please send a copy and not the original.

1. If you wish to change your Registered Domicile (Honseki-chi),  you will need to confirm with the municipal office whether the new Registered Domicile can be used.
2. If you are submitting this report after the three months deadline, please fill out this form and attach to the report.
3. If the name on the Marriage Certificate is different from the name on your family registry, please explain in the space「その他」（E.g.,「英文婚姻証明書に記載のジョンは当地での山田次郎の通称である。」）
4. If you are married by U.S. state methods, please explain in「その他」(E.g.,「令和○年○月○日アメリカ合衆国ワシントン州の方式により婚姻成立、同州キング郡登録官発給の婚姻証書添付。」)
5. Do not abbreviate the Registered Domicile. Please write exactly as it shows on the Family Registry. For example,「1丁目2番地」instead of 「1－2」.
6. We cannot be responsible for lost mail. We recommend you use a delivery service with a Tracking Number to monitor your mail.

If you are married by the Japanese method, you will need 2 witnesses to sign your Marriage Report Form and provide their IDs. However, if you have plans to live in the U.S., this may not be the best option for you. When you are asked to submit a Marriage Certificate in the U.S., you will need to obtain a new Family Registry (issued within 3 months) each time and apply for a Marriage Certificate issued by the Consulate/Embassy. Furthermore, since the Consulate/Embassy name will show under marriage location, you will have to explain why you did not marry in the U.S. by U.S. methods. If you are married by U.S. methods, you will not need witnesses.

【Required Documents】(Number of Copies)

Marriage Report Forms (2)	If you would like to obtain a blank Marriage Report Form in advance, please fill out and send a request to the consulate. The marriage report form can be downloaded but is in the A3 paper size format and may not print properly.  Request Form Instuction [Mailing Address] Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle Attn: Consular Section Koseki 701 Pike Street, Suite 1000, Seattle, WA 98101 If you'd like to fill out the form and submit it at the Consulate office, please make an appointment here.
Family Registry  - Koseki Tohon or Koseki Shohon	Not required (exept when your Koseki Information is not digitaized.) If a copy is abailable, please submit it.
Each spouse’s Japanese passport	Valid Japanese passport ※If submitting the report by mail, please send a copy and not the original.
Proof of legal status in the U.S.	Green card, visa, etc. ※If submitting the report by mail, please send a copy and not the original.

1. If you wish to change your Registered Domicile (Honseki-chi), you will need to confirm with the municipal office whether the new Registered Domicile can be used.
2. Do not abbreviate the Registered Domicile. Please write exactly as it shows on the Family Registry. For example,「1丁目2番地」instead of 「1－2」.
3. We cannot be responsible for lost mail. We recommend you use a delivery service with a Tracking Number to monitor your mail.

【Required Documents】(Number of Copies)

Marriage Report Forms (2)	If you would like to obtain a blank Marriage Report Form in advance, please fill out and send a request to the consulate. The marriage report form can be downloaded but is in the A3 paper size format and may not print properly.  Request Form Instuction [Mailing Address] Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle Attn: Consular Section Koseki 701 Pike Street, Suite 1000, Seattle, WA 98101 If you'd like to fill out the form and submit it at the Consulate office, please make an appointment here.
Family Registry (Koseki Tohon or Koseki Shohon)**	Not required (except when your Koseki information is not digitized.) If a copy is available, please submit it.
State or County-Issued Marriage Certificates** (2)	**1 Original and 1 Copy is acceptable.
Japanese Translation of Marriage Certificate (2)	Anyone can translate into Japanese, but the translator's name is required.  Translation Form
Proof of Citizenship for Foreign Spouse	The original passport that was valid when you got married, Certificate of Naturalization, or birth certificate (U.S. and Canadian citizens only).  ※If submitting the Marriage Report by mail, please submit two notarized copy of the spouse's passport. If you'd like to get the original certificate back, please include a pre-paid return envelope.
Japanese Translation of Proof of Citizenship (2)	Anyone can translate into Japanese, but the translator's name is required.  Birth Certificate Translation Form Passport Translation Form
Japanese spouse’s passport	Valid Japanese passport ※If submitting the report by mail, please send a copy and not the original.
Proof of legal status in the U.S.	Green card, visa, etc. ※If submitting the report by mail, please send a copy and not the original.

1. If you are submitting this report after the three months deadline, please fill out this form and attch to the report.
2. If you wish to change your Registered Domicile (Honseki-chi), you will need to confirm with the municipal office whether the new Registered Domicile can be used.
3. If you are married by U.S. methods, you will not need witnesses.
4. Please fill out the Marriage Registration form in Japanese and do not leave any spaces empty. The foreign spouse’s name should be written in the order of last name, then given name, in Katakana. For Chinese or Korean citizens, if you have official documents showing proof of your name in Kanji characters, please submit a copy of such documents. You may write the name using Kanji characters on the Marriage Report Form; however, only the Japanese form of the Kanji can be used.
5. Please write clearly. Differentiate between smaller and larger letters, such as ィ or イ（E.g., デイビット, ディビッド）and especially when writing ア or マ, ヌ or ス and ツ or シ.
6. If the foreign spouse has a name suffix, such as Jr. or III, please include this in their given name, after their first and middle names, and write in Katakana, such as ジュニア or サード.（E.g., John Albert Smith, Jr. → スミス　ジョンアルバートジュニア）. Do not include the comma ( , ) before the name suffix.
7. If you have an alternative name written on the Marriage Certificate that is different from the name on your family registry, please explain in space「その他」（E.g.,「英文婚姻証明書に記載のジョンは当地での山田次郎の通称である。」）
8. If you are married by U.S. state methods, please explain in「その他」(E.g.,「令和○年○月○日アメリカ合衆国ワシントン州の方式により婚姻成立、同州キング’郡登録官発給の婚姻証書添付。」)
9. Do not abbreviate the Registered Domicile. Please write exactly as it shows on the Family Registry. For example,「1丁目2番地」instead of 「1－2」.
10. We cannot be responsible for lost mail. We recommend you use a delivery service with a Tracking Number to monitor your mail.

If you wish to change your last name on the family registry to your foreign spouse’s last name, you will need to submit this registration within 6 months of your marriage date. Once the deadline has past, you will need to get approval from the Family Court in Japan to change your last name.