Changing Address in Japan: A Checklist for Resident Moves
Changing Address in Japan: A Checklist for Resident Moves
Quick answer: For an existing resident's move within Japan, report your new residence to the municipal office within 14 days of moving there. If you change municipalities, arrange a moving-out notice first. Bring your residence card or integrated card, handle My Number Card updates if you hold one, and update mail and account records separately.
Which Municipal Notice Do You Need?
| Your move | Notice | Office | When to file |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within the same municipality | Tenkyo todoke (転居届): moving-within notice | Resident-registration counter serving the new address | After moving, within 14 days of starting to live there |
| To another municipality | Tenshutsu todoke (転出届): moving-out notice, then tennyu todoke (転入届): moving-in notice | Old municipality for moving-out; new municipality for moving-in | Arrange moving-out before the move, within the old office's filing window. File moving-in after moving, within 14 days of starting to live there |
The post-move timing is illustrated by Shinjuku's moving-within instructions and moving-in instructions. A ward boundary does not always mean a new municipality: Yokohama directs moves between its wards to the destination ward office. Follow your city's route and form names.
This guide is for already registered mid-to-long-term foreign residents, including moves from a registered temporary home. For first-arrival registration, use the first-month checklist; for moving overseas, use the leaving-Japan checklist. This is general planning information; your municipality, card type, household, coverage, and providers determine the applicable steps. Official sources were checked on October 4, 2026.
1. Confirm the Address, Dates, and Municipal Route
Find the old and new municipalities' official moving pages. Check the correct counter, opening hours, filing methods, documents, and any appointment system. Record the date you actually begin living at the new home for the post-move deadline; keep lease, key, and service dates separately.
For an interim stay, ask the destination office whether the accommodation can be registered. Shinjuku generally excludes temporary lodgings such as hotels and weekly apartments. That is local guidance, not a rule that every short-term property nationwide has the same treatment.
If renting, arrange lease notice, inspection, and keys with the landlord or manager using the rental guide. Confirm stop and start arrangements for electricity, gas, water, and internet with each provider or housing operator. Use the utilities guide for service responsibility and appointments; save the requested dates and confirmations.
2. Arrange Moving-Out When Changing Municipalities
Follow the origin office's filing window. For example, Shinjuku accepts moving-out notices from 14 days before the move, or within 14 days afterward. Use that window only for Shinjuku; plan ahead for processing and delivery.
Paper route: Without usable online credentials, file at the old office's counter or use its permitted postal procedure. On the ordinary paper route, keep the tenshutsu shomeisho (転出証明書), the moving-out certificate, for the destination visit. Shinjuku's instructions distinguish this from a My Number Card transfer, for which it does not issue a paper certificate.
Online route: Eligible foreign residents can use Mynaportal. Check the Digital Agency service guidance and Japanese instructions for valid electronic credentials and device requirements. The service transfers moving-out certificate information electronically; this route does not require everyone to collect a paper certificate. For this transfer, one person who is moving must present their own My Number Card at the destination counter.
Keep these stages distinct, following the Digital Agency's FAQ:
- Submit: Send the moving-out notice and planned municipal-visit details.
- Check processing: Confirm the origin office's status is 完了 (complete) before visiting the destination. Processing follows office hours; submission alone does not mean completion. Other origin-office procedures may still require attention.
- Finish after moving: Visit the destination counter to file moving-in. For a move within the municipality, visit to file moving-within. The online visit notification does not complete either filing.
3. Arrange Postal Forwarding Before Moving
Japan Post's forwarding service is free for one year from the filing date, not the requested forwarding-start date. Registration takes 3–7 business days, so allow that lead time. Keep the filing date, requested start date, and any acknowledgment.
Check the accepted identification for your submission method. At the counter, Japan Post checks the submitter and one person moving. Postal submission requires an identification copy; its instructions list residence cards, My Number Cards, and health-insurance qualification confirmation documents (資格確認書) among accepted documents. e-Tenkyo requires an identity-verified Yu ID.
Mail marked 転送不要 (do not forward) will not be forwarded. Update important senders directly, including your bank and employer. Forwarding moves eligible mail; it does not change their account records.
4. After Moving, Complete the Municipal Visit and Card Updates
Bring the new address, building and unit details, and actual move date. Confirm the document list for each person moving. Shinjuku's domestic moving-in page and Yokohama's moving-within page provide conditional examples:
| Applies to you | Prepare or confirm |
|---|---|
| Moving foreign residents | Residence cards, or integrated Specified Residence Cards (特定在留カード), for the address procedure |
| Ordinary paper transfer from another municipality | Moving-out certificate; confirm the alternative if using electronic transfer |
| My Number Card holders | Moving household members' cards and the required PINs; Yokohama specifies the four-digit PIN for its address update |
| Someone files for you | Visitor's identification and any required authorization; check municipal and card procedures separately |
| Household relationships need verification | Originals proving the relationship to the household head and Japanese translations identifying the translator, if requested |
| NHI or local services apply | The qualification confirmation or service documents specified by the relevant desk |
Residence-address notification
ISA requires notification within 14 days of moving to the new residence. Presenting your residence card with the prescribed municipal moving-in or moving-within notification satisfies this residence-address duty. A routine domestic address change completed this way does not require a duplicate immigration-office visit.
Yokohama warns that filing the resident-record change without the relevant residence card can require a later card visit. Before leaving, confirm that the residence-address procedure and relevant card update are complete. For an integrated card, follow the municipality's handling instructions; the combined-card resource explains the card type. Check app compatibility separately.
My Number Card and signature certificate
If you hold a My Number Card, ask for its address update and, after an intermunicipal move, continued-use handling during the visit. Yokohama's card guidance warns that late moving-in or continued-use procedures can invalidate the card. Its limits run from the actual moving-in date (14 days), reported planned moving-out date (30 days), and moving-in filing date (90 days). Ask the card desk which step must be completed within each applicable window.
An address change invalidates the signature electronic certificate. Request reissuance if you need it; address updating and certificate reissuance are separate steps. Ask about smartphone credentials if used. Certificate invalidation does not mean your residence permission and every card function expire together. If someone handles the visit for you, check the certificate-specific authorization requirements beforehand.
5. Finish the Updates That Apply to Your Household
Privately record each applicable task's responsible office or provider, instruction URL, actual deadline, submission date, and confirmation. Mark it done, pending, or not applicable. Municipal filing does not establish that these separate updates are finished.
| Task and applicability | Responsible office/provider | When to arrange it | Confirmation to retain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal NHI, if enrolled | Old/new municipal NHI desks; same municipality for an internal move | At the municipal procedures; check the local deadline | Address or withdrawal/enrollment confirmation, coverage dates, payment instructions |
| Employer or dependent health coverage | Employer, spouse's employer, and insurer as applicable | Notify the responsible contact when the move is known | Household records updated and any insurer instructions |
| Pension address, if a separate notice is needed | Employer, municipal pension desk, or JPS for your category | Confirm whether filing is needed and its timing | Confirmation of My Number linkage or any required notice |
| Work or study records | Employer/payroll or school | Follow its reporting deadline | Address and contact update acknowledged |
| Bank and other financial accounts you hold | Each institution | Follow its address-change instructions | Accepted update and any remaining document request |
| Phone and internet contracts you hold | Each carrier/provider | Plan internet transfer early; follow account-update timing | Updated address, transfer date, or installation appointment |
| Electricity, gas, and water you manage | Each provider or housing operator | Before the service dates at its required lead time | Stop/start confirmations and final-bill delivery route |
| School, childcare, allowances, or care services you use | Relevant municipal desk and school/service office | Ask before moving; follow each service's deadline | Transfer or continuation instructions and completed notices |
Shinjuku lists moves into and out of the city as NHI procedures. Check those desks if enrolled; employer coverage has its own contact. For system-specific detail, use the insurance and pension guide.
JPS generally does not require a separate address notice when My Number is recorded in the pension record, with exceptions. Confirm linkage and your category rather than treating a domestic move as automatic pension re-enrollment. Use the banking guide and phone guide for accepted documents and provider questions.
FAQ
Can I complete my address change online?
Mynaportal supports eligible moving-out submissions and visit notifications. Moving-in and moving-within filings still require a municipal visit, as the Digital Agency FAQ explains. Readers without usable credentials can use the municipal paper route.
Do I need a separate immigration-office visit?
For this address duty, presenting the residence card with the prescribed municipal notification satisfies the ISA procedure. Confirm card handling at the counter, especially if it was not presented.
Does postal forwarding update my bank or phone account?
No. Give each institution or provider your new address through its own update process. Japan Post's forwarding notice only arranges mail forwarding, and items marked do not forward are excluded.
For help choosing the right counter or finding language support, use the official-help directory for foreign residents. Take the old/new addresses, actual move date, card type, and unresolved task to the responsible office.