Procedures at the Ward Office for Moving

Required procedures when changing address: “moving out” and “moving in”

When medium- to long-term residents carry out basic resident registration and create a certificate of residence, this also completes the moving-in process for the applicable municipality.

Afterward, when moving to a new address, you need to complete the moving-out procedure at the municipality where you created your certificate of residence, followed by the moving-in procedure at your new municipality.

The following is an example of this moving out and moving in procedure for someone moving from the Minato Ward in Tokyo to the Naka Ward of Yokohama City, Kanagawa prefecture.

1. Confirm what you need to bring with you and what information is required for your moving-out notification on the Minato Ward website or at the Minato Ward Office prior to carrying out the moving-out procedure for Naka Ward, Yokohama City.
2. When the new address you are moving to is confirmed, fill in the necessary information on the moving-out notification form at the Minato Ward Office, submit this form, and receive a moving-out certificate.
3. Confirm what you need to bring with you and what information is required for your moving-in notification on the Naka Ward website or at the Naka Ward office prior to carrying out the moving-in procedure for Naka Ward, Yokohama City.
4. Fill in the necessary information on the moving-in notification form at Naka Ward Office and submit this document along with your moving-out certificate at the applicable window.

Difference Between Moving Out and Change of Address

When moving, it’s possible you may be changing your address while staying within the same ward or municipality.

In this case, a different form called a change of address notification is used instead of the moving-out notification.

In this way, the term “change of address” is used for a move within the same ward or municipality while “moving out” refers to a move to a different ward or municipality. The procedures and forms used for each type of move differ, so be sure to confirm which applies in your case and carry out the appropriate procedure.

Cautionary Points Related to Notification Forms

Be especially careful of the following points when carrying out the procedures for moving.

1. When moving to a new municipality, you are required to submit your moving-out certificate and moving-in notification forms at the ward office or city hall of the applicable municipality within 14 days after your new address is confirmed.
2. If you fail to complete this notification procedure or are found to have submitted falsified information, you may be subject to a fine of up to 200,000 yen or imprisonment for up to one year. Punishments such as revocation of your residence qualifications or deportation to your home country are also possible. Be sure to complete the applicable notification procedures within the required time period.
3. Medium- to long-term residents are also required to notify a commissioner of the Immigration Services Agency with jurisdiction over them of changes to their address. However, since submitting the change of address and moving-in notification forms requires you to submit your residence card as well, these procedures are considered to include a notification to the Immigration Services Agency commissioner.
4. As a general rule, submitting a moving-out notification is also required when leaving Japan and moving to another country.