Introduction
Your My Number is assigned automatically the moment you register your residence, but the My Number Card itself is something you have to apply for separately. It is not always obvious why you would need a card when you already have the number, and that confusion is often what leads people to put off applying altogether.
Getting the card makes daily life noticeably easier, and if you have a period of stay that needs renewing or changing, it comes with a major benefit: it lets you file immigration applications online. On the flip side, there is a catch: the card’s expiration date is tied to your period of stay, and renewing it does not extend the card automatically. We will cover this in detail later in the article, but a lot of people end up letting their card expire simply because they never knew this rule, so keep it in mind as you read on.
This article walks through the process from application to pickup, and explains exactly how the card connects to your period of stay.
This article is for general information. Procedures can vary by municipality, so check your local city, ward, or town office’s official website before you apply.
My Number vs. My Number Card: Two Different Things
Let’s clear this up first, since it is easy to mix the two up.
| What it is | How you get it | |
|---|---|---|
| My Number (Individual Number) | A 12-digit number | Assigned automatically once you register your residence |
| My Number Card | A physical card with your photo and an IC chip | You apply for it and pick it up yourself |
Everyone who registers their residence in Japan already has a number. The card is something only those who want one go and get.
What makes things confusing is that there have been two different pieces of paper used to notify people of their number. They look different and serve different purposes, so it is worth knowing them apart.
The Notification Card is a green-bordered paper card listing your name, address, date of birth, and My Number, but no photo. It was discontinued on May 25, 2020, so no new ones are issued. If you already have one, it can still serve as proof of your My Number as long as the name and address on it still match your residence record. Move house, and it stops working.
The Individual Number Notification (kojin bango tsuchisho) is the paper sent to anyone assigned a number after the Notification Card was discontinued. It is also paper, has no photo, and is easy to spot by the large “Individual Number Notification” heading printed at the top. This one needs extra care: it cannot be used as proof of your My Number, and it cannot be used as identity verification either.
(source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Individual Number Notification")
In other words, if you were assigned your number after arriving in Japan, what you are holding is most likely the version that does not work as ID. The My Number Card is plastic, has an IC chip, and carries your photo. Anything paper with no photo is either the Notification Card or the Individual Number Notification. Keep that distinction in mind and you will never have to guess which one you are holding.
The Individual Number Notification is exactly what it sounds like: a notice telling you your number. It is not an identity verification document. If you hand this over when your employer asks for your My Number, it may not be accepted. In that case, you will need either a My Number Card or a residence certificate (juminhyo) with your My Number printed on it, which you can request at your city, ward, or town office.
What You Gain by Getting One
Beyond the usual benefits everyone talks about, there are a few that matter a lot more if you are living in Japan as an international resident.
File immigration applications online
You can apply for a visa renewal or a change of status of residence without ever setting foot in an Immigration office. Not having to burn half a weekday standing in line is a genuinely big deal. On top of that, the online application fee is ¥500 cheaper.
(source: Immigration Services Agency, "Get a My Number Card and make your life more convenient!") (source: Immigration Services Agency, "Application for Extension of Period of Stay")
Pick up documents at convenience stores
You can get things like your residence certificate from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., including weekends and holidays. Many municipalities also charge less than the counter price.
Use it as your health insurance card
Just present the card at the reception desk when you visit a clinic or hospital.
Register a bank account for public payments
You can register the bank account where you receive benefit payments from the government, so you don’t have to write out your account details every time you apply for something.
File a moving-out notification online
When you move, this cuts down the number of trips you need to make to city hall.
Use it as identity verification
Your residence card already works for identity verification, but the My Number Card covers both “confirming your number” and “confirming who you are” with a single document. That is why one document is often all you need for onboarding paperwork at a new job.
Four Ways to Apply for a My Number Card
None of these methods charge a fee, so applying is free either way.
Apply From Your Smartphone
This is the fastest option. All you need is the 23-digit application ID printed on your application form. It appears on the Individual Number Notification, or on the separate application form the city later mails you. If you cannot find it, your city, ward, or town office can reissue it at the counter.
The process itself is simple. Scan the QR code on your application form or go to the site directly, register your email address, and open the confirmation email to reach the application page. Enter your date of birth and application ID, upload a photo taken on your phone, and submit. From start to finish, it does not take long.
Apply From a Computer
Upload a photo taken with a digital camera from your computer instead. The steps are nearly identical to the smartphone version.
Apply at a Photo Booth
Certain photo booths let you take your photo and submit the application on the spot. Since the booth handles the photo requirements for you, this option suits anyone who feels unsure about getting the photo right on their own.
Apply by Mail
Fill out the application form, attach a photo, and mail it back in the enclosed envelope. This works well if you are not confident navigating the online steps.
The application form is available in 11 languages, so use the multilingual version if writing in Japanese feels risky.
Getting the Photo Right
Most applications get sent back because of the photo. Here is what it needs to meet:
- Taken within the last 6 months
- Facing forward, no hat, plain background
- Background is white or a light color, with no shadows
- No mask or sunglasses
- Hair not covering your eyes
If you are taking a selfie, a patterned wall or a visible door edge in the background can get your application rejected. Stand a little back from a plain white wall to be safe.
Pick Up Your My Number Card in Person
About a month after you apply, your city, ward, or town office will mail you a postcard called the Card Issuance Notice. This is where the pickup process starts.
Bring the following to the counter:
- Card Issuance Notice (the postcard you received)
- Residence card (for identity verification)
- Notification Card, if you have one (you will return it at the counter)
- Basic Resident Register card, if you have one
You are generally required to pick up the card yourself. Exceptions exist for illness or disability, but the conditions are strict, so plan on going in person. If the cardholder is under 15, a legal guardian, such as a parent, needs to come along too. If you have a child in Japan on a Family Stay visa or similar, factor this into your schedule.
Set Four PINs for Different Purposes
At the counter, you will set your PINs. There are actually four of them, not one.
| PIN | Format | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Signature Certificate (for digitally “signing” things online) | 6 to 16 characters, mixing uppercase letters and numbers | Digital signatures for online applications like e-Tax |
| User Authentication Certificate (for confirming it’s really you) | 4-digit number | Convenience store pickup, logging into Mynaportal, use as your health insurance card |
| Card Information Input Assistance (for letting a reader scan your card’s stored data) | 4-digit number | Procedures that read your card’s stored information |
| Basic Resident Register (used for address change procedures) | 4-digit number | Online moving-out notifications and similar procedures |
The three 4-digit PINs can all be set to the same number, so in practice you really only need to prepare two: one alphanumeric PIN of 6 to 16 characters, and one 4-digit number. Deciding on these ahead of time makes the counter visit go faster. One exception: children under 15 are not normally issued a Digital Signature Certificate, so for them you only set the three 4-digit PINs.
You will need the 4-digit PIN later for convenience store pickup and using the card as your health insurance card. Enter it wrong three times and it locks, forcing another trip to the counter, so make sure you do not forget it.
If you forget a PIN, or get locked out after three wrong attempts, it is not the end of the world. Go to your city, ward, or town office’s My Number counter in person with your residence card or another ID document, and they can usually reset it on the spot. All four PINs can be reset together in a single visit, so one trip is enough. Some offices require an appointment, so it is worth checking by phone or on their website before you go. Keeping a note of your PINs somewhere safe, like a photo on your phone, can save you this hassle altogether.
How Your Period of Stay Affects the Card’s Expiration
Your My Number Card’s expiration date matches the expiration date of your period of stay. Renewing your period of stay does not extend the card automatically. You have to go to your city, ward, or town office yourself to extend it.
This is the single biggest difference from how the card works for Japanese citizens, and it is the biggest trap.
For those without a fixed period of stay (Japanese citizens, Permanent Residents, and others), a My Number Card is valid until the 10th birthday after issuance. For those with a set period of stay, though, the card’s expiration date matches the expiration date shown on your residence card.
(source: Immigration Services Agency, "Get a My Number Card and make your life more convenient!")
So if your period of stay is 3 years, your My Number Card also expires in 3 years. On top of that, renewing your period of stay does not automatically extend your My Number Card’s expiration date.
Once you receive your new residence card, you need to go to your city, ward, or town office yourself and have your My Number Card’s expiration date extended. And you need to do it before the card’s original expiration date passes. Municipalities do not always send a reminder about this step, so the safest habit is to treat renewing your residence card as your cue to stop by city hall. One ceiling to know about: you can only keep extending the card up to the 10th birthday after it was issued (the 5th birthday if you were under 18 at issuance). Past that point it is no longer an extension, and you have to apply for a new card.
You can check your card’s expiration date on the “expiration date” field printed on the front, or by logging into Mynaportal. Your electronic certificate’s expiration date is often not printed on the card at all, so Mynaportal is the more reliable way to check that one. It is worth checking both around the time your period of stay is up for renewal.
Once the card expires, you lose convenience store pickup and health insurance card use, and you can no longer log into Mynaportal either. Leave it expired for too long, and you will have to apply for a brand new card from scratch, photo and all.
It is easy to feel relieved once your period of stay is renewed, only to have your My Number Card expire separately. When that happens, you lose convenience store pickup and health insurance card access, and end up applying for a new card. The safest move is to stop by the My Number counter at city hall the same day you get your new residence card.
The Card Itself and Your Electronic Certificate Have Separate Expiration Dates
The Digital Signature Certificate and User Authentication Certificate we covered in the PIN section run on their own clock, separate from the card itself. Regardless of your age, they expire on the 5th birthday after issuance, but your card’s own expiration date acts as a ceiling. If your period of stay runs for three years, your certificates expire in three years too.
(source: My Number Card General Site, "Does the My Number Card Have an Expiration Date?") (source: Osakasayama City, "Renewing the validity period of your electronic certificate (My Number Card)")
That means your electronic certificate can expire before the card itself does, even if the card’s own expiration date is still a long way off. Once the certificate expires, you lose Mynaportal login, convenience store document pickup, and use as your health insurance card, even though the card still works fine as a photo ID or as a stand-in for your residence card. It is an easy trap to miss for exactly that reason. The certificate’s expiration date usually is not printed on the card, so check it through your city, ward, or town office or through Mynaportal.
Permanent Residents, Special Permanent Residents (a status granted to those who have lived in Japan since before World War II and their descendants), and Highly Skilled Professional Category 2 holders (a highly skilled professional visa with no limit on your period of stay) are the exception. Since their period of stay has no limit, their card is valid until the 10th birthday after issuance. That said, if you were under 18 when the card was issued, the cap is your 5th birthday after issuance rather than your 10th, even without a period-of-stay restriction. If there is a child in your household with permanent residency and no period-of-stay limit, this age rule is worth keeping in mind too.
(source: My Number Card General Site, "Does the My Number Card Have an Expiration Date?")
If Your Card Expires While a Renewal Is Still Pending
A period of stay renewal can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to process, and it is not unusual for the original expiration date to arrive before a decision comes back. Immigration law has a safety net for exactly this situation, called the grace period (tokurei kikan). As long as you filed your renewal application before the expiration date, you can keep living in Japan under your previous status until either a decision is made or two months pass from the expiration date, whichever comes first. If you applied through any method other than online, a stamp reading something like “renewal application in progress” gets added to the back of your residence card.
(source: Immigration Services Agency, "What Is the Grace Period?")
Many municipalities can also extend your My Number Card’s expiration date to match this grace period at the counter. Bring your My Number Card itself along with the stamped residence card. If you applied online, an email showing your application reference number often works as a substitute.
This extension has a deadline too. If you do not get to the counter before the original expiration date printed on your My Number Card, the card itself expires and a reissue fee applies. The grace-period extension also caps out at two months and cannot be extended a second time, so once your new residence card arrives you still need to go back and have the card’s expiration date extended properly. If your original expiration date is coming up while you are still waiting on a renewal decision, do not just leave it. Talk to the counter early.
Quick Reference: How Your Expiration Date Is Determined
Since the rules shift depending on your status of residence and your age, here is everything above in one place.
| Situation | Age | Expiration date | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time-limited period of stay (standard case) | Any age | Your period of stay’s expiration date | Stop by city hall to extend it when you renew your period of stay (extensions run only up to the 10th birthday after issuance) |
| Permanent Resident / Special Permanent Resident / Highly Skilled Professional Category 2 | 18 or older | 10th birthday after issuance | Check for a renewal notice as your birthday approaches |
| Permanent Resident / Special Permanent Resident / Highly Skilled Professional Category 2 | Under 18 | 5th birthday after issuance | Same as above, but the 5-year cycle is shorter and easy to lose track of |
| Electronic certificate | Any age | Whichever comes first: the 5th birthday after issuance, or the card’s own expiration date | Check separately from the card itself, ideally through Mynaportal |
| Period of stay renewal pending (grace period) | Any age | Whichever comes first: a decision, or 2 months after the expiration date | Talk to the counter early to see if an extension is possible |
Once you know which row applies to you, it is a lot clearer when you need to check in with city hall or Mynaportal next.
For the renewal process for your period of stay itself, we cover that in detail here.
Guide to renewing your status of residence
How This Relates to the Specified Residence Card
In June 2026, the Specified Residence Card, which combines your residence card and My Number Card into one, became available. It is open to mid- to long-term residents and Special Permanent Residents who are registered residents, and it lets you handle what used to be two separate renewals, your residence card and your My Number Card, through a single procedure at a regional immigration office instead of a separate trip to city hall. Getting one is not mandatory, so sticking with a standalone My Number Card is still a valid option.
(source: Immigration Services Agency, "Q&A on Integrating the Residence Card and My Number Card") (source: Immigration Services Agency, "Application for a Specified Residence Card")
If you have not applied for either yet, you now have a choice to make: get a standalone My Number Card, or go with the Specified Residence Card instead. Which one makes sense depends on your status of residence and when your next renewal is coming up.
For the full picture of the system and how to decide whether it is right for you, see here.
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If you want to compare the benefits and drawbacks side by side, here you go.
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Six Common Mistakes
1. Getting stuck because you cannot find your application ID
If you have lost your Individual Number Notification, you will not know your 23-digit application ID. Your city, ward, or town office can reissue the application form at the counter. A lot of people give up thinking “I don’t have the form,” when a trip to the counter would solve it.
2. Missing the Card Issuance Notice postcard
Because it is written in Japanese, some people mistake it for junk mail and throw it away. Always open mail from your city, ward, or town office to check what it is.
3. Never going to pick the card up
The Card Issuance Notice lists a pickup deadline. Leave it too long, and the card can be discarded, meaning you have to apply all over again.
4. Mistaking the Individual Number Notification for the My Number Card itself
This happens when an employer asks for a document confirming your My Number and you hand over the Individual Number Notification, only to have it rejected as identity verification and get asked to submit something else. If you are not sure which paper you are holding, check the distinction we covered earlier in this article.
5. Forgetting to update the card after renewing your period of stay
This is the one we already covered in detail. It is the single most common mistake, and also the most avoidable.
6. Not noticing your electronic certificate has expired while the card itself is still valid
This is the pattern where you suddenly cannot log into Mynaportal one day and only then realize your electronic certificate had expired. It is easy to miss if you are only tracking the card’s own expiration date, so check Mynaportal too around the time your period of stay comes up for renewal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I have to get a My Number Card?
A: It is not mandatory. That said, having one saves you time on things like onboarding paperwork at a new job, getting a residence certificate, and filing immigration applications online. If you plan to handle your own visa renewals, the ability to apply online alone makes it worth getting.
Q: How long does it take from application to pickup?
A: Expect roughly a month before the Card Issuance Notice arrives. This can shift depending on the season and how busy your municipality is. If you are on a deadline for a new job or a move, build in some buffer in case it takes longer.
Q: Does it cost anything?
A: The first card is free. If you need a replacement due to loss or damage, a fee applies.
Q: What do I do if I move?
A: File an address change at your new city, ward, or town office. You keep using the same card. The new address just gets written in the amendment field on the front of the card.
Q: What do I do when I leave Japan for good?
A: Return your My Number Card at the counter when you file your moving-out notification. If you end up moving back to Japan later, though, you keep the same My Number you had before.
Q: My period of stay is being renewed but my My Number Card is about to expire. What do I do?
A: Talk to your city, ward, or town office as early as possible. If you have a residence card stamped to show your renewal application is in progress, or an email with your online application reference number, they may be able to extend it to match the grace period. Leave it and let the card expire, and you will have to apply for a new one.
Q: Are the expiration dates for the card itself and my electronic certificate the same?
A: No. If you have a time-limited period of stay, the card itself is valid until your period of stay expires. For Permanent Residents and others with no time limit, it runs until the 10th birthday after issuance (the 5th birthday if you were under 18 when it was issued). Your electronic certificate runs on its own clock and expires on whichever comes first: the 5th birthday after issuance, or the card’s own expiration date. Once the certificate expires, you lose Mynaportal login, convenience store document pickup, and use as your health insurance card, so it is worth checking separately even while the card itself is still valid.
Q: What can I do on Mynaportal?
A: You can file your tax return (linked with e-Tax), handle child allowance procedures, check your health insurance information, and register a bank account to receive public payments, all online. With a My Number Card, a surprising amount of city hall business can be done from home. Just keep in mind that logging in requires your electronic certificate to still be valid.
Summary: Two Moments Worth Remembering
Once you have your My Number Card, it makes everyday life a little easier. There are really only two moments in the whole process worth being careful about.
When you apply
- You need an application ID. If you do not have it, your city, ward, or town office can reissue it
- Keep your photo background free of patterns or shadows
- The Individual Number Notification is not a substitute for the card. Submitting it to an employer requires getting the card or a residence certificate instead
- You need to pick the card up in person and set your PINs
When your period of stay is renewed
- Once you get your new residence card, extend your My Number Card’s expiration date at city hall too
- Do this before the card’s original expiration date passes
- Your electronic certificate runs separately from the card and expires on whichever comes first: the 5th birthday after issuance, or the card’s own expiration date, so check that on Mynaportal too
- If your original expiration date is coming up while you are still waiting on a renewal decision, talk to the counter early about the grace period
That second point is the one people miss most often, and it is what causes the card to expire. Treat your residence card, your My Number Card, and your electronic certificate’s expiration date as one set you manage together.
Once you’ve got your My Number Card and residence procedures sorted, the next step is finding work. YOLO JAPAN lets you filter job listings by Japanese level and area, so give it a try.
![Japan’s Specified Residence Card Applications Open June 15 — Residence Card & My Number Integration: What to Bring [June 2026]](https://media.yolo-japan.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/tokutei-zairyu-card-start-0614-en-768x403.webp)
