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Seal Registration (Inkan Toroku) Procedure

Seal registration, or 印鑑登録 (inkan tōroku, "seal registration"), converts an ordinary seal into a 実印 (jitsuin, "registered seal") by recording its impression at your municipal office. Bring the seal, your residence card, and a few minutes at the citizen-affairs counter; you leave with a registration card that prints official certificates later.12

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the municipal office where your resident record sits, since fees and name rules vary by municipality.

Overview​

This article covers registration from the owner's side: what to bring, the rules your seal must pass, the card and certificates you receive, and the fees. It is the companion to the ward-counter perspective covered separately for office procedure.

Registration belongs to the municipality holding your resident record, and one person registers exactly one seal.1 Moving to a new municipality ends the old registration and starts a new one.

What registration gives you​

On completion you receive a seal registration card, the 印鑑登録カード (inkan tōroku kādo, "seal registration card"). Showing the card at the counter lets you print a seal registration certificate, the 印鑑登録証明書 (inkan tōroku shōmeisho, "seal registration certificate"), without bringing the seal itself.13

The certificate is the working document. In high-stakes acts the counterparty checks your stamped impression against a current certificate, which is what makes the registered seal trustworthy to strangers.12 Guard the card the way you guard the seal: together they authenticate you.

What to bring to the counter​

ItemNotes
The seal to registerEngraved, within size limits, name matching your resident record14
Residence cardPrimary ID; My Number card or driver's licence also works152
Application formThe 印鑑登録申請書 (inkan tōroku shinseisho, "seal registration application form"), available at the counter5

Foreign applicants generally apply in person.4 Proxy registration exists but runs a slower two-step enquiry-and-reply procedure taking several days in at least one city, so plan around it rather than through it.5

The counter procedure step by step​

Head for the citizen-affairs counter, the 市民課 (shimin-ka, "citizen affairs section") or 住民課 (jūmin-ka, "residents section") depending on the office. If unsure, ask at the entrance information desk for seal-registration direction.2

The diagram above is the full in-person sequence. The form asks for name, address, birth date, and the name as it appears on the seal. The officer presses your seal to capture the impression, verifies it against the rules below and your resident record, and issues the card, usually the same day for in-person applicants with photo ID.52

Rules your seal must pass​

Size and material rules​

The impression must fit between an 8mm square minimum and a 25mm square maximum: the shortest side 8mm or more, fitting inside a 25mm square.14 Impressions must be clear and legible, since blurry, cracked, or mass-produced identical impressions are refused.1

Rubber or easily deformable materials are refused outright.14 Engraved seals in wood, resin, horn, or metal pass, which is why the buying guidance steers registrable seals toward carved materials.

Name matching rules for foreign residents​

The engraving must match or reasonably correspond to the name on your resident register.12 Kanji may be used only where the kanji name appears on the residence card, and alphabet-plus-katakana combinations on one seal are refused.2

The two classic friction points are the katakana-versus-romanization choice and family-first versus given-first ordering. Offices are usually flexible on the choice but strict on consistency: the rendering must stay identical across the seal, the application, and all later registered documents.26

Match the seal to the card before visiting

An engraving that differs from the resident record fails at the counter and costs a second trip plus a re-cut seal. Confirm the accepted rendering with the office first, especially for romanized names.26

Fees​

ItemWard examplesAs of
Registration300 JPY in Higashihiroshima; 500 JPY in Toshima; free initial registration in Hamamatsu (350 JPY for re-registration) (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with your municipal office)1452026-09
Certificate per copy330 JPY in Higashihiroshima; 400 JPY in Toshima (as of 2026-09)142026-09
Card reissuance or re-registration50 JPY in Minato; 300 JPY card reissuance in Toshima (as of 2026-09)472026-09

Every figure above is one municipality's figure, not a national rule. Registration fees across the fetched offices span free to 500 JPY, so the only safe number for your case is your own ward's current list.

After registration: card, certificates, and moving​

Certificates are issued at the citizen-affairs counter and branch offices on presentation of the registration card. Some cities also offer convenience-store kiosk issuance, so ask locally whether that channel exists for you.1

Moving out of the municipality, including leaving Japan, cancels the registration automatically.1 Return the card to the old office and register fresh at the new one; there is no transfer procedure. To change the registered seal without moving, file a cancellation notice for the old seal, then register the new one.5

Good to know​

Fees and name rules differ by municipality​

Registration runs from free to 500 JPY and certificates from 330 to 400 JPY across just the three offices fetched for this article. Name-format acceptance is equally local, so treat any ward-specific account, including this one, as an example rather than a promise.1475

Moving out cancels the registration​

The record belongs to the municipality, not to you. A move means a fresh registration with a fresh card, so anyone relocating before a signing should schedule the new registration early.17

Losing the registered seal means cancel and re-register​

Only the recorded impression verifies, so a lost seal cannot simply be re-declared. Cancel the old record, have a replacement cut, and register it as a new seal.52

See also​

References​

Footnotes​

  1. Higashihiroshima City. "Personal Seal Registration." https://www.city.higashihiroshima.lg.jp/en/3/33833.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16

  2. i-socia Advisors. "Inkan Registration." https://eng.daikou-office.com/reference/inkan-registration/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  3. Nippon.com. "Hanko and Inkan: Japanese Stamps and Personal Seals." https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00077/ ↩

  4. Toshima City. "Registration of Personal Seal." https://www.city.toshima.lg.jp/info/en/personal_seals.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  5. Hamamatsu City. "Personal Seals." https://www.city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp/hamaeng/02life/02_5.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  6. Selectra Japan. "How to Get and Register Personal Seal (Inkan) as a Foreigner." https://selectra.jp/en/life-in-japan/register-inkan ↩ ↩2

  7. Minato City. "Personal Seal (inkan) Registration." https://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/easyjp/en/moving/residentregistration/personalsealregistration.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3