Taiwan Household Registration
A household registration transcript from Taiwan's Japanese colonial period (1895–1945).
What is in the record?
Personal Details
Name, birthdate, and gender.
Family Events
Births, marriages, divorces, adoptions, and deaths.
Residency Information
Current and previous addresses.
Family Relationships
Connections to parents, spouses, and children.
This system, in place from 1895 to 1945, served as a comprehensive record of an individual's life events.
Why is it Important?
Multi-generational Connections
Household registrations often list parents, spouses and children—sometimes 6 or 7 generations in one record. This helps you quickly build out your family tree.
Accurate Vital Information
These records include full names, birth dates, death dates, marriage details, and places of residence—crucial for verifying identities and timelines.
Name Changes and Alternate Characters
If an ancestor changed their name, household records often include aliases or former names, which can explain inconsistencies across documents.
How to Obtain Your Household Registration
What should you bring with you
Your Taiwan ID Card
Please bring your ID card. If you are applying on behalf of someone else, please bring a copy of the authorizer's ID card and their seal (chop/stamp).
Your Family Tree
A fan chart works best because it clearly shows which parts are missing from your family tree.
Your fan chartA Signed Authorization Letter
If you are applying on behalf of someone else, you must bring an authorization letter signed by that person.
Get the formSteps to get your household registration
Find an office near you
Access your ancestor’s household registration records from the Japanese era (1895–1945) at any Household Registration Office (戶政事務所).
Office locationsRequest the record
Apply in person (or have a relative in Taiwan do so) for the "日治時代的戶籍謄本", submit documents proving your relationship and right to access the records, and pay the applicable fee (typically around NT$15 ($0.50USD) /page).
Build the Family Tree
Once you receive the household registration record, use the information to build your family tree.
Build your treeHow to read this record
We've created a helpful guide to show you how to read the household registration transcript from the Japanese colonial period.
Household Registration Guide
Give it a tryUnderstanding Dates in Japanese Eras
Some records use Japanese imperial era dates (e.g., Showa 10). To convert these, use our calendar converter.
When you add dates to the FamilySearch tree the software will automatically convert Japanese dates to the modern calendar date.
Try converterNeed Help Reading Your Records?
Historical household records may contain Japanese Kanji characters and other complex terms. For assistance visit Facebook page "Trees Go Green" for community support.
