Getting Official Certificates in Japan: Juminhyo, Seal Certificates and Konbini Issuance

Quick answer

In Japan, a surprising number of everyday procedures ask you to hand over a fresh official certificate. Opening things, signing contracts, and applying for various services will often ask for a copy of your residence certificate, and sometimes a seal-registration certificate too. The good news is that once you know what each one is and where to get it, this becomes a quick errand rather than a mystery.

This guide is about getting those certificates on demand, whenever another procedure asks for one. It's separate from moving into your ward and separate from setting up the My Number card itself. Here I'll walk you through what the two main certificates are for, how to get them at the ward-office counter, and how the convenience-store kiosk lets you print many of them yourself with your My Number card.

The residence certificate (juminhyo): your proof of address

The juminhyo is the certificate that proves where you live and who is registered at that address. It's drawn from the resident register your city keeps, and it's the document other offices and companies most often ask for when they need to confirm your address in Japan. Think of it as the paper version of "yes, this person really lives here."

When you request one, you'll usually get to choose a few options: whether it lists just you or everyone in your household, and whether it includes extra items like your My Number or your resident status. My gentle advice is to ask the requesting party exactly which version they need before you print, because a certificate with the wrong fields shown, or hidden, sometimes gets sent back. When in doubt, the plainer version with fewer extra items is a safe starting point.

The seal-registration certificate (inkan shomeisho)

Japan still uses a registered personal seal, called a jitsuin, for weightier commitments, and the inkan shomeisho is the certificate that proves your seal is the genuine registered one. You'll typically meet this pair when you sign something significant, where a registered seal plus its matching certificate stands in for a signature.

There's an order to it. Before you can ever get this certificate, you first have to register a seal with your city, which is a one-time step at the ward office where they link a specific seal to you and issue you a seal-registration card. After that, whenever a procedure asks for the certificate, you can request it. Keep the seal-registration card somewhere safe and separate, because in many places that card, or your My Number card, is exactly what lets you pull the certificate later.

The classic route: the ward-office counter

The most straightforward way to get either certificate is still to go to your city or ward office in person. You take a number, fill in a short request slip stating which certificate you want and how many copies, show identification, pay the small counter fee, and wait for your name to be called. Staff are used to helping residents from overseas, and pointing at the exact line on a request form works surprisingly well.

The catch is simply time and hours. Ward offices keep weekday daytime hours for the most part, which is awkward if that's exactly when you're at work. That's why it's worth knowing the self-service route as well, so a form that asks for a fresh certificate doesn't force you to take half a day off.

Printing at the convenience-store kiosk with your My Number card

This is the part that changes daily life for newcomers. If you have a My Number card with its usage setting active, many certificates, including the juminhyo and the seal-registration certificate, can be printed at the multi-copy machine inside ordinary convenience stores, often late into the evening and on weekends. No counter, no number ticket, no waiting for staff.

The flow at the machine is friendlier than it looks. You touch the administrative-services menu on the big screen, place your My Number card flat on the reader when it asks, and enter the short PIN you chose when you set the card up. The screen then walks you through choosing the certificate, picking the options and how many copies, confirming, and paying, and the printed document slides out. Because it reads your card and PIN each time, do keep that number to yourself and take your card back off the reader when you finish.

A couple of quiet reminders. Have your PIN ready, since too many wrong tries will lock it and send you back to the counter to reset it. And if a particular office insists on a certificate with a very specific set of items, double-check the machine's options before you pay, the same way you would at the counter.

On-demand habits that save you trips

The thing most newcomers wish they'd known is that certificates go stale. Many offices only accept one issued within the last few months, so there's little point stockpiling them far ahead. It's better to print a fresh copy close to when you'll actually hand it in, which is exactly what the kiosk makes easy.

Two small habits help. First, ask the requesting side how many copies and which version they want, then print that in one go so you're not making a second trip. Second, keep your My Number card and its PINs organized from the start, because that single card is what turns "a trip to the ward office" into "a stop at the convenience store on the way home."

Get connected first, then the paperwork follows

Here's the quiet thread running through all of this. The convenience-store kiosk and the online request paths lean on your My Number card together with a working phone, because verifying who you are and receiving confirmations happens through a connected line. Without a Japanese number and mobile data, a lot of the self-service convenience simply isn't available to you yet.

So my honest suggestion to anyone just arriving is to get a Japanese phone number and data sorted early, before the errands pile up. With Rakuten Mobile you can apply online with just your residence card, and if your phone supports eSIM you can often be up and running in about fifteen minutes, without a trip to a shop. Do check the current terms on the official page before you apply. Get the line settled first, and the certificates become a small errand instead of a lost afternoon.