Certified Japanese to English Translation
Native Japanese translators for koseki family registers, residence certificates, diplomas and more. USCIS-ready with a signed Certificate of Accuracy, $24.95 per page, delivered in 24 hours.
How much does a certified Japanese translation cost?
A certified Japanese translation costs **$24.95 per page** with standard delivery in **24 hours**. That flat price covers any personal document, such as a koseki, birth or marriage record, diploma or transcript, and includes a signed Certificate of Accuracy. Faster options are available: expedited delivery is $39.95 per page (12 hours) and rush delivery is $59.95 per page (same day). Volume discounts apply automatically at 10% for 10 to 24 pages, 15% for 25 to 49 pages and 20% for 50 pages or more. A full koseki tohon for a large family can run several pages, so these discounts matter. Business, technical and marketing projects are priced individually through our [quote form](/quote). See all rates on our [pricing page](/pricing).
- Standard: $24.95 per page, 24-hour delivery
- Expedited: $39.95 per page, 12-hour delivery
- Rush: $59.95 per page, same-day delivery
- Notarization (optional): $24.99 per document
- Mailed hard copy (optional): $13.95
What is a koseki tohon, and do I need it translated?
A koseki tohon (戸籍謄本) is a full certified copy of a Japanese family register, and it is the standard Japanese proof of birth, marriage, divorce and family relationships. Japan does not issue stand-alone birth certificates the way U.S. states do, so for U.S. immigration the koseki usually serves that role and must be translated in full. The family register records every member of a household unit together with events such as births, marriages, adoptions, divorces and deaths. Since the registers were computerized, the full copy is issued as a 戸籍全部事項証明書 (certificate of all registered matters), while the koseki shohon (戸籍抄本), or 個人事項証明書, covers only one individual. The U.S. Department of State's reciprocity guidance for Japan points to the koseki tohon for civil documents, so if you are unsure which version to request from your municipal office in Japan, the full copy is the safer choice. Our translators render every entry, including remarks, changes and removed members, because USCIS requires a complete translation, not a summary.
Which other Japanese documents do we translate?
We translate any Japanese personal, academic, legal, medical or business document into English, and English documents into Japanese. Beyond the koseki, these are the Japanese documents that most often come up in U.S. immigration, study and employment cases:
- Juminhyo (住民票), the residence certificate issued by your city, ward, town or village office
- Certificate of acceptance of marriage notification (婚姻届受理証明書), often used by couples who married in Japan
- Police certificates (犯罪経歴証明書) for visa and immigrant petitions
- Graduation certificates (卒業証明書), diplomas and academic transcripts (成績証明書)
- Divorce records, adoption records and court documents
- Medical records, vaccination records, bank statements and employment certificates
- Driver's licenses and corporate registration documents
How do translators handle Japanese dates, names and seals?
Japanese civil documents follow conventions that a machine or a non-native translator can easily get wrong, and each one affects whether your translation matches your other records. **Era dates.** Official Japanese documents usually write years by imperial era rather than the Western calendar: Showa (1926 to 1989), Heisei (1989 to 2019) and Reiwa (from May 2019). Heisei 5, for example, is 1993. We convert every date to the Western calendar so officers can read it at a glance. **Names.** Japanese names are written family name first, and koseki have historically recorded names in kanji without their pronunciation. Because one set of kanji can have several readings, we use the romanized spelling from your passport, which normally follows the Hepburn system, when you provide a copy. This keeps the name on your translation consistent with your passport and USCIS forms. **Scripts and seals.** Japanese mixes kanji, hiragana and katakana, and older or handwritten records can be written vertically. Official documents carry red hanko seals and issuing-office stamps; a certified translation identifies each seal and stamp in brackets rather than leaving it out, so the translation accounts for everything on the page.
Will USCIS accept your Japanese translation?
Yes. Every certified Japanese translation we deliver meets the USCIS requirement in 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3): a complete English translation with the translator's certification that they are competent to translate from Japanese into English and that the translation is accurate. That certification is the signed Certificate of Accuracy included with every order. If USCIS rejects a translation, our acceptance guarantee means we revise or redo it for free. **USCIS does not require notarization.** Some consulates, courts and state agencies do, and we can add it for $24.99 per document. Japan is also a party to the Apostille Convention; an apostille is attached to the Japanese original by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is separate from translation, so if your recipient asks for one, arrange it in Japan and send us the apostilled document to translate. Before filing, review our [USCIS document checklist](/tools/uscis-checklist).
Is a machine or real-time Japanese translator reliable enough?
Machine and real-time translators are fine for casual conversation or getting the gist of a message, but they are not reliable for official Japanese documents and cannot be submitted to USCIS on their own, because USCIS requires a translator's signed certification. Japanese is a hard case for machines: subjects are often omitted, kanji names have multiple possible readings, era dates need conversion, and scanned forms mix print, handwriting and seals. For documents that decide an immigration, academic or legal outcome, you need a human translator. Our Japanese translations are done by native-speaking professionals through an ISO 17100 compliant process and checked before delivery.
How do I order a Japanese translation?
You can order online in a few minutes, and you never need to mail your original documents. Read more about [how it works](/how-it-works), or browse our [document translation services](/services/document-translation).
- Upload a clear scan or photo of every page, including pages with only stamps or remarks
- Add your passport's name page so names match your passport romanization
- Choose standard, expedited or rush delivery and pay securely
- Receive your certified translation as a PDF by email
Frequently Asked Questions
For certified personal documents, TAUSA charges a flat $24.95 per page with 24-hour delivery, including the signed Certificate of Accuracy. Expedited (12-hour) delivery is $39.95 per page and same-day rush is $59.95 per page. Business and technical projects are quoted individually.
The most reliable option for an official Japanese document is a human, native-speaking professional translator who certifies the translation. Machine translation cannot supply the certification USCIS requires and often mishandles kanji names, era dates and seals.
For U.S. immigration, request the koseki tohon (the full copy, now issued as a certificate of all registered matters). It shows the whole family register and is what U.S. authorities generally expect. The shohon covers only one person and may not show the relationships your case needs to prove.
Yes. Our native Japanese translators work from vertical (tategaki) text, older handwritten records and documents that mix kanji, hiragana and katakana. Send a clear, complete scan or photo so every character, seal and marginal note is legible.
Yes. We translate both from Japanese to English and from English to Japanese, for example U.S. birth or marriage records needed for a Japanese family register filing. Personal documents are $24.95 per page; larger business projects are quoted individually.
Not for USCIS, which accepts a certified translation without notarization. Some consulates, courts and state agencies ask for it, and we can add notarization for $24.99 per document.
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