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The My Number Card in Japan: A Guide for Foreign Residents

✓ Last verified 2026-07-15 Sources: 3 sites 10 min read

The short version

Your My Number and your My Number Card are two different things, and almost every point of confusion about this system traces back to that one distinction. The number, a 12-digit Individual Number (個人番号), is assigned to every resident of Japan, foreign and Japanese alike, for tax, social security, and disaster-response purposes; if you have registered an address at a municipal office, you already have one, whether or not you have noticed. The card, the My Number Card (マイナンバーカード), is optional: it is the physical photo ID that lets you actually use that number. That gap between having the number and holding the card matters more than it once did, because of two changes across 2024–2026: the paper health insurance card was retired, and a new optional card merging your residence card with your My Number Card arrived.

Two different things: your number and your card

When you first register as a resident, the municipal office assigns you a My Number and mails you a notice — the "Notice of My Number" (個人番号通知書) — by registered mail to your registered address. This notice is not an ID card. It is a piece of paper that tells you what your number is and comes bundled with an application form for the actual card. (Japan used to issue a plastic "Notification Card," tsūchi kādo 通知カード, for this purpose; that system was discontinued in 2020, so if you registered more recently, you will have received the paper notice instead.)

The card itself — the My Number Card — is optional to apply for, but in practice it has become the standard way to prove your number and your identity in one document, and it now does more than that (more on health insurance below). If you are not sure whether you already applied, your municipal office can tell you the status.

Applying for the physical card

The application form that comes with your notice has a QR code and an application ID, and you can use it through any of three channels:

Online and photo-booth applications tend to be processed a little faster than mail. Either way, budget roughly a month from application to the card being ready, and note that the card is not mailed to you directly — you collect it in person at your municipal office, where staff verify your identity (bring your residence card) before handing it over. If your period of stay is set to change soon, get an updated application form from your municipal office after your residence procedures are complete, rather than applying on an outdated form.

How long your card stays valid

For Japanese nationals, the card is valid until your 10th birthday after issuance (5th if you were under 18 when issued); the embedded electronic certificate, used for online tax filing and similar services, expires after 5 years regardless of age. For most foreign residents with a fixed period of stay, the card's validity ends on whichever comes first: that same age-based date, or the expiration date of your period of stay as shown on your residence card. Permanent residents, special permanent residents, and holders of the highly skilled professional (ii) status are generally treated the same as Japanese nationals for this purpose.

In practice this means renewing your residence status can also require updating your My Number Card's validity at the municipal counter — the two are not automatically synced. The exact expiration date is printed on your card, so check it directly rather than assuming, and if it is approaching, ask your municipal office what the renewal process involves before it lapses.

Why the card matters more since the health insurance card changed

Between late 2024 and mid-2026, Japan phased out the traditional paper health insurance card in favor of using the My Number Card for insurance purposes (通称マイナ保険証, "My Number health insurance card"). This happened in stages, not on a single date, which is a common source of confusion:

Key dates (confirmed against MHLW, 2026-07-15)

Since this transitional measure ends in the near term relative to when this guide was checked, treat the July 2026 date as time-sensitive — the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare page linked in Sources below is the place to confirm the current status before assuming anything.

If you have not linked your My Number Card to your health insurance, you are not automatically left without a way to prove coverage: insurers issue a separate "certificate of eligibility" (資格確認書) to people who need one, which serves the same purpose at a clinic counter. Whether yours is issued automatically or on request depends on your insurer — your employer's health insurance office, or your municipal national health insurance section, can tell you which applies to you.

A new option: the Specified Residence Card

Since June 14, 2026 (with applications accepted at counters from the next business day, June 15), the Immigration Services Agency has offered a "Specified Residence Card" (特定在留カード) — and the equivalent "Specified Special Permanent Resident Certificate" for special permanent residents — that combines your residence card and My Number Card into a single physical card, so that a change to one no longer means two separate trips (one to an immigration office, one to your municipal office). It is worth being clear about what this is and is not: it is optional, it only recently launched, and holding two separate cards remains entirely valid. Mid- to long-term residents and special permanent residents registered in the resident registry are eligible to request one during residence procedures at a regional immigration bureau — and, per the agency's Q&A, in some cases at your municipal office when registering an address change — but there is no requirement to switch. Because this is a new program still in its early rollout, treat any specifics beyond "it exists and is optional" as subject to change, and check the Immigration Services Agency page in Sources for the current procedure before assuming how it works.

A general note on your number

Your My Number is treated as sensitive personal information under Japanese law, and the general guidance from the government itself is not to hand it out casually. Employers, banks, and some other institutions are legally permitted to request it for specific filings (tax withholding, social insurance enrollment, and similar), but a business asking for your number in a context where it has no such legal basis is a reason to ask questions before handing it over. This site does not collect your My Number or any other personal information — nothing you read here is sent anywhere.

Where to go if your situation does not fit this guide

This guide covers the general process; it cannot tell you what applies to your specific residence status, insurance enrollment, or timeline. For anything beyond the general picture:

Related guides

The card keeps resurfacing as you set up the rest of your life here: most banks and phone carriers now take it as one of the identity documents for sign-up, alongside your residence card. Where it tends to matter next:

This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice, and it does not cover every individual circumstance. Rules around residence status, insurance enrollment, and the items marked as time-sensitive above can change — always confirm current procedures with your municipal office, your insurer, or the Immigration Services Agency before acting. See the site disclaimer for more.

Related reading

Sources

All checked 2026-07-15.

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