My Number Card Electronic Certificate Expiry Notice: What to Renew

A Japanese 有効期限通知書 (expiration notice) has arrived for your My Number card. Before applying online or visiting city hall, read the box labeled 有効期限が到来するもの: it tells you whether the card, its electronic certificate, or both are approaching expiry. If it says 電子証明書, the usual renewal is done at your municipality’s counter with the existing card. If your residence period is limited, check the card’s own expiry date as well.

Words to find on the letter and card

The official My Number card site’s illustrated notice guide shows where to distinguish a card expiry from an electronic-certificate expiry. A QR code for applying for a new card is not an online renewal route for the certificate alone.

If the notice says “electronic certificate”

1. Check the date and your municipality’s booking rules. The official renewal guidance says the procedure opens when less than three months remain until expiry; some municipalities require an appointment. Check your resident municipality’s current counter and hours.
2. Bring your valid My Number card and, if you have it, the notice. The notice can generally be missing; the card is the central item. Ask the municipality about any other identification it needs for your situation. The renewal itself is described as free on the official site.
3. Be ready to enter your PINs. The municipality writes the new certificate to your existing card. Yokohama’s instructions list four-digit PINs for resident-record and user authentication functions, and a 6–16 character alphanumeric password for the signature certificate. If you have forgotten one, tell the counter; the official site says it can be reset there.
4. Check when your services work again. Ask if a service you need immediately, such as a convenience-store certificate, may take time to become usable after renewal. Yokohama warns that some procedures may not work right away.

The electronic certificate cannot be renewed on a phone or computer. If the date has already passed, ask your municipality for reissuance: the official FAQ says it can still be done after expiry, though electronic services are unavailable in the meantime. A still-valid physical card may continue to serve as an ID when only the certificate has expired, as the official English FAQ explains.

If the notice says “My Number card”

That is a different procedure. Depending on the notice, an application ID and QR code may allow you to apply for a replacement card online; otherwise follow your municipality’s instructions for an in-person application. The official renewal page separates this from updating a certificate on an existing card. Do not choose the QR application merely because the envelope contains the word “renewal.”

Extra check if you have a limited period of stay

For many foreign residents with a fixed residence period, the My Number card and certificate expiration can be tied to the residence period, rather than the usual birthday-based schedule. Yokohama notes this explicitly. If your residence period has been extended, ask your municipality to update the card’s validity before its printed expiry; this is separate from simply reading the electronic-certificate notice. Shinjuku’s foreign-resident guidance tells residents to report the extended period by the card’s expiry. If the immigration application is still pending near that date, ask your municipality promptly what temporary extension process it offers; Yokohama gives one local example. Do not assume its exact documents or timing apply nationwide.

Useful phrases at the counter

If you use your card to obtain certificates at a convenience store, see our seal registration certificate guide and jūminhyō guide for the separate document requirements.