ABC TranslationJAPAN

Apostille and legalisation

Apostilles from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus embassy and consulate legalisation.

Japan is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a document issued by a Japanese public authority usually needs a single apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be valid abroad. Where the destination country is outside the convention, the document instead needs an authentication from the Ministry followed by legalisation at that country's embassy or consulate in Japan. We determine which route applies, prepare any notarisation required first, and run the document through each counter on your behalf.

Service area
All 47 prefectures, by post, courier and email
Languages
47 languages, to and from Japanese and between foreign languages
Turnaround
Two to three business days for standard documents; same-day available
Price
Quoted per document — send a scan for a fixed price
Delivery
PDF by email, hard copy by tracked courier in Japan or abroad

Documents we handle

  • Apostille on public documents issued in Japan
  • Authentication (koin kakunin) for non-convention countries
  • Consular legalisation at embassies in Tokyo
  • Notarisation at a Japanese notary office for private documents
  • Legal Affairs Bureau certification of the notary's signature
  • Chamber of commerce certification for trade documents

Requirements differ by receiving authority and change over time. We confirm the current requirement with the destination authority before we start.

How it works

  1. Send us the document

    A phone photo or scan is enough for a quote. We will tell you whether the receiving authority needs the original, a certified copy or just the translation.

  2. Get a fixed price and a date

    We reply within one business day with a price that does not change afterwards, the delivery date, and the exact certification format the authority expects.

  3. We translate and certify

    A translator experienced in that document type does the work, a second linguist checks names, dates and figures against the original, and we attach the signed statement of accuracy and company seal.

  4. We handle the counters

    Where an apostille, notarisation or embassy legalisation is needed, we prepare the file, attend the counter and track the document until it is stamped.

  5. Delivery

    PDF by email the same day it is finished, and hard copies by domestic or international tracked courier to any address you give us.

Where we provide this service

Languages

Other services

Common questions

How much does a certified translation cost?
Price depends on the document, the language pair and the deadline, so we quote each job individually rather than publishing a rate that would be wrong for most documents. A one-page civil record is usually the cheapest item we handle; a bundle with an apostille and embassy legalisation costs more because of the government fees and the counter visits. Send the document and you will have a fixed price within one business day.
Do you need my original document?
For the translation itself, a clear scan is enough. An apostille or embassy legalisation is applied to the original or to a certified copy, so for those we need the paper document — we can arrange courier collection anywhere in Japan and return it with the translation.
Will immigration or the embassy accept your translation?
Yes. Our certified translations carry a signed statement of accuracy, the translator's details and our seal, which is the format Japanese authorities, foreign embassies, universities and registrars ask for. If your receiving authority has a specific template or requires a sworn translator registered in that country, tell us and we will arrange it that way instead.

Tell us what you need

Prices depend on the document, the language pair and how fast you need it, so we quote each job individually. Send us the details and we will come back with a fixed price and a delivery date.

Email
info@abc-offices.com
Phone
+1 315 820 1187

PDF, JPG, PNG or Word. Up to 10 files, 10 MB each. A clear phone photo of each page is enough for a quote.

We use your details only to answer your request.