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Tenshutsu, Tennyu, and Tenkyo Todoke: Filing Your Moving Notification in Japan

✓ Last verified 2026-09-10 Sources: 7 sites 8 min read

The short version

The moving truck has already come and gone, the new apartment has boxes in every corner, and everything feels basically settled — until a bank teller or a phone shop clerk says the address on file doesn't match, because the jūminhyō record still shows the old one. Movers relocate boxes. They don't relocate the entry with your name on it at the municipal office, and that entry is what almost everything else downstream reads from. This guide covers the three forms involved, the 14-day window, and the order that avoids a second trip.

Three forms, depending on the move

Tenshutsu todoke — moving out of the municipality

Filed at your OLD ward or city office, before you move or within 14 days after. It closes out your registration there and (for an in-person filing) hands you a moving-out certificate to bring to your new municipality. Since Feb 2023, a My Number Card with a valid electronic certificate lets you file this step online via Mynaportal instead of visiting the old office.

Best if: you're moving to a different city, ward, town, or village
Tennyu todoke — moving into the municipality

Filed at your NEW ward or city office, in person, within 14 days of moving in. You'll bring the moving-out certificate (or the online record from Mynaportal) plus your residence card. This is the step that actually updates your registered address and, from there, your jūminhyō.

Best if: you already filed a tenshutsu todoke at your old municipality
Tenkyo todoke — moving within the same city or ward

A single form, filed once at your (unchanged) local office, within 14 days of the move. Same-city moves skip the two-step out/in process entirely, since you never left that municipality's registry.

Best if: your new address is inside the same city, ward, town, or village as your old one

All three apply to foreign residents with a mid- to long-term residence status the same way they apply to Japanese nationals — this is a Basic Resident Registration Act requirement tied to where you live, not a nationality-specific process, and it's separate from anything filed with immigration about your residence status itself.

The order that avoids a wasted trip

Moving to a different city or ward

  1. 1 File tenshutsu todoke at your old office first Do this shortly before moving or within 14 days after. In person, bring your residence card and ask for the moving-out notification form at the resident-registration window; you'll get a moving-out certificate (tenshutsu shōmeisho) in return. If you have a My Number Card with a valid electronic certificate, you may be able to file this step online through Mynaportal instead and skip the visit.
  2. 2 File tennyu todoke at your new office within 14 days of moving in This one needs an in-person visit even if you filed the first step online. Bring the moving-out certificate (or the online record), your residence card, and — if you have one — your My Number Card. The office updates your registered address here.
  3. 3 Then update what depends on it Once your new address is registered, the counter can usually update your My Number Card the same visit. A fresh jūminhyō (address certificate) becomes available from this point too, which is what a guarantor company, bank, or new phone contract will likely ask for next.

Moving within the same city or ward

  1. 1 File tenkyo todoke at your (same) local office One visit, within 14 days of the move. Bring your residence card; there's no separate old-office step since your registry entry never left that municipality.
  2. 2 Then update your My Number Card and pull a fresh jūminhyō if needed Same as the cross-municipality case — this is usually available the same visit or shortly after.

Why this holds up other errands

The registered address behind tenshutsu, tennyu, and tenkyo todoke isn't just a formality — it's the record several other processes read from directly. A jūminhyō, which some guarantor companies, banks, and phone carriers ask for as proof of current address, is generated from this same registry entry: if it hasn't been updated, the certificate either still shows the old address or can't be issued as current. A My Number Card's address field is also tied to this registration and typically gets updated at the same counter visit, not automatically. Skipping or delaying the notification doesn't just risk a fine down the line — it can quietly stall paperwork that looks unrelated on the surface, like a bank teller flagging a mismatched address.

What the 14-day rule actually enforces

The Basic Resident Registration Act (住民基本台帳法, Article 52) sets a fine of up to ¥50,000 for failing to file without a valid reason. In practice, sources describe this as reserved for cases judged deliberate and long-neglected, with a simplified court deciding whether to impose it case by case — it isn't an automatic penalty that triggers the moment day 15 arrives. That said, the practical reason to file on time has little to do with the fine: an outdated registered address is what causes the bank-counter and contract problems described above, well before any question of a penalty comes up.

Where this guide stops

This page describes the general municipal process for tenshutsu, tennyu, and tenkyo todoke — it isn't a substitute for your specific ward or city office's current forms, hours, and online-service availability, which vary by municipality and change over time. It also isn't immigration advice: these notifications concern your registered address under the Basic Resident Registration system and are separate from anything filed with the Immigration Services Agency about your residence status. For questions about your specific residence status, consult the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (出入国在留管理庁) or a licensed immigration professional; for a disputed or complicated filing at the municipal counter, staff there can point you to further help.

Related guides

This notification tends to be the quiet prerequisite behind a few other errands already covered on this site:

This article provides general information only and is not legal or immigration advice. Procedures, required documents, online-service availability, and any penalty for late filing are set by the Basic Resident Registration Act and administered by individual municipalities, and they can change over time; confirm current details with your ward or city office before relying on them. See our disclaimer for more.

Sources

Confirmed via search engine results on 2026-09-10. This working environment's direct fetch of the domains below was blocked by the network's egress policy while writing this article, so the process steps, deadlines, and penalty framing described above are cross-checked across multiple independent sources rather than a single direct read of one source. Confirm current details with your municipality.

Related guides

Everyday Essentials The My Number Card in Japan: A Guide for Foreign Residents Everyday Essentials Opening a Bank Account in Japan as a Foreigner Everyday Essentials How to Get a Phone Contract in Japan as a Foreign Resident Everyday Essentials Converting a Foreign Driver's License to a Japanese License (Gaimen Kirikae)