Koseki vs Juminhyo: What Foreigners in Japan Need to Know

If you live in Japan, you'll keep running into two official-sounding words: koseki (戸籍) and juminhyo (住民票). They sound similar, offices ask for them in similar situations, and translation apps often render both as "family register" — which causes real confusion. Here's the clear version: what each document is, why it matters for foreign residents specifically, and which one you'll actually be asked to produce.

The one-line difference

• Juminhyo (住民票) = your residence record. It proves where you live right now. Foreign residents are on the juminhyo. This is the document you'll use again and again.
• Koseki (戸籍) = the family register. It records family relationships and nationality events (birth, marriage, death) for Japanese nationals. As a foreign national, you are not in the koseki system — though you can appear referenced on a Japanese family member's koseki (for example, as the foreign spouse of a Japanese citizen).

If you remember nothing else: as a foreigner, your everyday document is the juminhyo. You generally do not have your own koseki.

What is the juminhyo (resident record)?

The juminhyo is maintained by your municipal office (city/ward/town hall) and is tied to your address. It's part of the Basic Resident Registration system, which since 2012 includes foreign residents with a valid status of residence.

A juminhyo typically shows:

• Your name and address
• Date of birth and gender
• The date you registered at your current address
• Your household composition (who lives with you, and the "head of household")
• For foreign residents: nationality/region, residence status, and period of stay

You'll be asked for a copy of your juminhyo (住民票の写し, juminhyo no utsushi) constantly — opening accounts, signing a lease, license procedures, certain visa-related paperwork, and more. You request it at your municipal office (or often via a multi-copy kiosk or a My Number card). Tip: when ordering, you can choose whether to include My Number and residence-status fields — only include them if the requester specifically needs them.

Your juminhyo is created and updated through your moving-in / address notifications. When you move, you file a move-out and move-in notice, and your juminhyo follows you. Our moving-in & My Number guide walks through that registration step, and the broader moving-in checklist covers the first two weeks.

What is the koseki (family register)?

The koseki is a national family-registration system for Japanese citizens, maintained at the registered "permanent domicile" (本籍, honseki) — which is a legal registration place, not necessarily where the family lives. A koseki records life events that define legal family status: birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, and death, plus nationality.

Because it's a nationality-and-family register, foreign nationals do not have their own koseki. There is no "foreigner's koseki" to request.

Where it touches foreigners in practice:

• Marriage to a Japanese national. When a Japanese citizen marries a foreigner, the marriage is recorded on the Japanese spouse's koseki, and the foreign spouse is typically noted there as a reference (name, nationality, date of marriage) — but the foreigner is not "entered into" the koseki as a member the way a Japanese national would be.
• Children. A child's registration depends on the parents' nationality and where the birth is registered; if a parent is Japanese, the child is generally recorded on that parent's koseki.
• Naturalization. If a foreign national naturalizes as a Japanese citizen, a koseki is then created for them — but that's a change of nationality, not a document you hold as a foreigner.

Common confusion: some forms or foreign institutions ask a foreigner for a "family register" to prove a relationship (e.g., marriage). In Japan, what you'd actually obtain is either a certified copy of the Japanese spouse's koseki (which shows the marriage) or a specific certificate of acceptance of notification from the office — not your own koseki. When in doubt, ask the municipal office which exact certificate the requester needs.

Side-by-side

	Juminhyo (住民票)	Koseki (戸籍)
What it proves	Where you live now (residence)	Family relationships & nationality (Japanese nationals)
Tied to	Your address	A registered honseki (permanent domicile)
Do foreigners have one?	Yes — foreign residents are registered	No own koseki; may be referenced on a Japanese relative's
Maintained by	Municipal (city/ward) office	Municipal office at the honseki
You'll be asked for it…	Often (accounts, lease, licenses, admin)	Rarely, and usually only via a Japanese family member
How it updates	Your move-in/move-out notifications	Birth/marriage/death notifications (for nationals)

Which one will I actually be asked for?

For day-to-day life in Japan as a foreign resident, it's almost always the juminhyo. Examples where a juminhyo copy is commonly requested:

• Opening or updating a bank account (see our bank account guide)
• Signing a rental contract
• Driver's license procedures — our juminhyo for license conversion guide covers exactly which fields to include and how to avoid rejection
• Various municipal, insurance, and pension procedures

You'd only get into koseki territory if you're dealing with a Japanese citizen's family matters — for instance, proving a marriage to a Japanese national, where the marriage appears on that spouse's koseki.

Quick checklist

• Need to prove where you live? → request a juminhyo copy
• Ordering a juminhyo? → decide whether to include My Number / residence-status fields (only if required)
• Asked for a "family register" to prove a relationship? → confirm whether they mean the Japanese relative's koseki or a specific certificate, and ask the municipal office
• Just moved? → file your move-in notification so your juminhyo is current
• As a foreigner, don't expect to have your own koseki

FAQ

Do foreigners have a koseki in Japan? No. The koseki is a family register for Japanese nationals. As a foreign resident you have a juminhyo (residence record) instead, and you may be referenced on a Japanese family member's koseki (e.g., a spouse).

My bank/landlord asked for my "family register." What do I give them? Almost certainly they want your juminhyo (resident record), not a koseki. If they specifically need proof of a family relationship involving a Japanese national, ask which exact certificate is required.

Where do I get a juminhyo copy? At your municipal office (city/ward/town hall), often also via a convenience-store kiosk or your My Number card. Choose which optional fields (My Number, residence status) to include based on who's asking.

I married a Japanese citizen — where is that recorded? On your Japanese spouse's koseki. As the foreign spouse you're noted there, but you don't get your own koseki from the marriage.

Does the juminhyo update automatically when I move? It updates through your move-out / move-in notifications at the municipal office — that's the step that keeps it accurate. See our moving-in guide.

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This is an informational guide to help you tell these two documents apart. Procedures and the exact certificates required vary by municipality and by your personal situation — always confirm with your local municipal office before relying on this for an official process.