A request for an 印鑑登録証明書 can be confusing if you have never registered a seal. The short answer: first register an eligible personal seal with the municipality where you live, then request the certificate. A registration card and a certificate are different things. Check with the organization asking for it how recent the certificate must be and whether it accepts a convenience-store printout.
Four similar names, four different things
| Japanese | Reading | English and what it does |
|---|---|---|
| 印鑑登録 | inkan tōroku | Seal registration: the municipal process of recording your seal impression. |
| 実印 | jitsuin | Your registered personal seal, once registration is complete. |
| 印鑑登録証 | inkan tōroku-shō | Seal registration card: often used to request a certificate at the municipal counter. It is not the certificate itself. |
| 印鑑登録証明書 | inkan tōroku shōmeisho | Seal registration certificate: the paper proving the registered impression. |
| 住民票の写し | jūminhyō no utsushi | Copy of your residence record. It proves different information; see our guide to getting a jūminhyō. |
If you have not registered a seal
- Check the request you received. Ask whether an ink seal certificate is truly required, and confirm the deadline and acceptable issue date. Some procedures use a signature or another form instead.
- Search your city’s or ward’s official website for 印鑑登録 and 登録できる印鑑. A resident registration and an eligible seal are generally required; name rules for foreign residents depend on the name recorded in municipal records. Ask before ordering a seal if your name uses Roman letters, kanji, katakana, or a registered alias.
- Apply at the designated municipal counter with the seal and the identity documents your municipality specifies. For example, Shibuya City’s registration guidance lists a valid residence card among accepted photo IDs and explains that immediate registration depends on the identity-check route. Without qualifying photo ID, its mailed inquiry route takes additional days. Do not assume you can register and receive a certificate on the same visit.
- Keep the registration card you receive in a safe place. The Shinjuku foreign-resident guide distinguishes registration, the card, and the certificate.
How to get the certificate
At the municipal counter
Look up 印鑑登録証明書 交付 on your municipality’s site. Bring the registration card and complete the request form with the registered person’s details. For example, Shibuya City says the card is required at its counter, while the registered seal itself is unnecessary. Its guidance also explains the procedure for an agent. Rules, locations, fees, and agent requirements can differ elsewhere.
At a convenience-store copier
If your municipality offers this certificate through convenience-store issuance, you generally need your own My Number card with a valid user-identification electronic certificate and its four-digit PIN. Select the municipal certificate service on the multifunction copier, follow the screen, choose 印鑑登録証明書, pay, and collect both the printout and card. Screen wording depends on the machine. Yokohama City’s instructions specify that a seal registration card alone cannot be used at the copier, and the certificate is issued only for the cardholder. J-LIS notes that participating municipalities and available certificate types vary. Check current availability, service hours, maintenance closures, and fees locally.
Useful phrases at the counter
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 印鑑登録をしたいです。 | Inkan tōroku o shitai desu. | I would like to register a seal. |
| この印鑑は登録できますか。 | Kono inkan wa tōroku dekimasu ka. | Can I register this seal? |
| 印鑑登録証明書を一通ください。 | Inkan tōroku shōmeisho o ittsū kudasai. | One seal registration certificate, please. |
| 今日、証明書を受け取れますか。 | Kyō, shōmeisho o uketoremasu ka. | Can I receive the certificate today? |
Before you leave
Check the name and details on the certificate and keep it secure. A certificate may be rejected if it falls outside the requesting organization’s issue-date requirement, even when the municipal certificate itself has no stated universal “valid for three months” rule. If you move to another municipality, ask about registering again: Shinjuku City’s guidance says its registration ends on moving out and a new registration is needed at the new address. For other address-change steps, see our moving-in checklist.
