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2026-09-09

The duty to register address changes (from April 2026) ― if you move, update your real estate registration within 2 years

Following inheritance registration, from 1 April 2026 registering a change of a real estate owner's address or name also became compulsory. If your address or name changes through a move or marriage, register within 2 years; neglect it and you face a non-penal fine (過料) of up to 50,000 yen. Changes that occurred before the duty began are also covered, with a deadline of the end of March 2028. This article explains the system under which the Legal Affairs Bureau links to the Basic Resident Register network and updates the register by its own authority ("smart change registration"), how to apply and what it costs, and the relationship with inheritance registration.

About this translation ― This page is an English translation of an article originally written in Japanese by KuraLab's operator, a licensed real-estate transaction specialist (宅地建物取引士) and administrative scrivener (行政書士) in Japan. The Japanese original is the authoritative text; where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. The article explains Japanese law and procedure in general terms as of the date shown. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice for your situation ― please confirm with a licensed professional in Japan. Japanese terms are kept in parentheses so you can search for them. Read the Japanese original

"The address on the registration is still the flat I lived in 25 years ago." A man in his sixties whose land sale was going ahead came for advice after his real estate agent raised it. He had moved three times in those 25 years. He had been told that before the closing of the sale he needed proof linking the registered address to his current address. His resident record (住民票) showed only his current address and the one before. "How do I prove that I moved three times?" That day was six months before the duty came into force.

Measures against land with unknown owners did not end with the compulsory registration of inheritance in April 2024. To deal with the other cause, "the registered address is old and the owner cannot be contacted," registration of changes in the address and name of a real estate owner became compulsory from 1 April 2026. It has drawn less attention than inheritance registration, but it applies to everyone who owns real estate.

Here is the substance. When the address or name of a registered owner (for a corporation, its head office or trade name) changes, an application for registration of the change must be made within two years of the change, and neglecting this without good reason is subject to a non-penal fine (過料) of up to 50,000 yen. Typical cases are moving house, a change of surname on marriage or divorce, and a corporation relocating its head office. Changes that occurred before the duty began, that is on or before 31 March 2026, are also covered, with a deadline of two years from the enforcement date, 31 March 2028.

The timeline of the registration duties: on 1 April 2024, inheritance registration became compulsory, within three years of learning of the acquisition, and for inheritances before that date by 31 March 2027. On 1 April 2026, registration of address and name changes became compulsory and smart change registration started, within two years of the change, with a non-penal fine of up to 50,000 yen. On 31 March 2028, the deadline falls for address and name changes that had occurred before the duty began.

Until now, address change registration was not compulsory, and many people left their registration as it was after moving. The daily routine in practice was to be told at a sale "the registered address differs from your current address" and to rush an address change registration in as a precondition of the sale. In inheritances, too, the deceased's registered address is often decades old, the cancelled resident record cannot prove the chain of addresses, and the gap has to be filled with the supplementary family-register record (戸籍の附票) or a written statement. The new duty is meant to clear this backlog.

There are two ways to apply. One is to apply to the Legal Affairs Bureau for a change registration yourself (or through a judicial scrivener, 司法書士). For an address change you need a resident record (or supplementary family-register record) showing the chain of addresses; for a name change, the family register (戸籍) and a resident record. The registration and licence tax is 1,000 yen per property, so 2,000 yen for land and a building. You can also apply online.

The other is "smart change registration" (スマート変更登記), which began at the same time as the duty. If the owner files their name, address, date of birth and other search information (検索用情報) with the Legal Affairs Bureau in advance, the bureau periodically checks for address changes through the Basic Resident Register network and, if there is a change, confirms the owner's intention and changes the registration by its own authority. This change by the bureau's own authority is free, and once you have filed, you no longer need to apply yourself each time you move. Those who register ownership from April 2026 onwards (those acquiring title by inheritance registration or purchase) provide search information as part of the application, and those who owned before then can file it voluntarily.

The two methods compared (as of September 2026). Applying yourself: apply to the Legal Affairs Bureau for a change registration at the counter, by post or online; documents are a resident record or supplementary family-register record for an address, family register plus resident record for a name; the cost is registration and licence tax of 1,000 yen per property; it suits people who want the change entered to match a planned sale or mortgage. Smart change registration (by the bureau's own authority): file search information in advance, after which the bureau checks the Basic Resident Register network and changes the registration itself; at filing you give your name, address, date of birth and so on; it is free; it suits people who may move again and people who are about to do inheritance registration.

The relationship with inheritance registration. If the deceased's registered address is old, there is no need to register an address change before the inheritance registration; it is enough to attach documents proving the chain of addresses (the cancelled resident record, the supplementary family-register record) within the inheritance registration. What became compulsory is address changes of "living owners"; for the deceased, everything is handled together in the inheritance registration. But if the person who acquires title by inheritance then moves, from that point a change registration within two years is compulsory.

Back to the consultation. The standard way to prove the chain of addresses is the supplementary family-register record (戸籍の附票). The municipality of the registered domicile (本籍) records the address history of everyone in that family register, so however many times you have moved, one copy of the supplementary record links them all. But this man had also moved his registered domicile at the time of his second move. The supplementary record at his previous domicile dated from the era when records were destroyed five years after removal (from June 2019 the retention period was extended to 150 years, but records whose period expired before then no longer exist), and when we requested it the answer was "cannot be issued as the retention period has expired."

To link the registered address to the current one with documents: from the registered address (the flat of 25 years ago) to the second home, the third home and the current address, the resident record links only the current address and the one before. The supplementary record of the current registered domicile links the second home through to today; the supplementary record of the previous domicile had been destroyed after its retention period, so the gap between the flat and the second home was filled with a written statement and the title deed. The retention period became 150 years from June 2019, but records whose period had expired before then are gone (as of September 2026).

When the chain cannot be proved, the practice is a "written statement" (上申書). You prepare a document stating that you are indeed the person who moved from the registered address to the current one, seal it with your registered seal, attach a seal certificate, and submit it with documents showing that "this person is the owner," such as the registration certificate (title deed, 権利証) or the fixed asset tax notice. The documents required differ slightly between bureaus, so we checked in advance at the consultation desk. In the end, two supplementary records and one written statement were accepted, and the registration and licence tax was 1,000 yen for one parcel of land. The procedure itself is not difficult, but collecting the documents took three weeks, and the closing date was postponed once.

Those "three weeks" are what the new duty changes. Those who register ownership from April 2026 onwards submit search information (name, address, date of birth and so on) to the Legal Affairs Bureau at the time of application. The bureau then periodically checks the Basic Resident Register network for address changes, confirms the owner's intention, and changes the registration by its own authority. This is smart change registration. The situation this man faced, "proving 25 years of moves after the fact," will disappear for those who become owners from now on. Conversely, those who are already owners with an old registered address need to act themselves by 31 March 2028.

One real example of filing search information. After the duty began, a woman in her seventies whose inheritance registration I helped with only had to write the reading of her name, her date of birth and an e-mail address in the box on the application form. After the registration was completed, a notice arrived from the Legal Affairs Bureau saying "search information registered"; from then on, when her address changes, the bureau contacts her to confirm, and if she replies, the registration is changed. There is no cost. If you acquire title by inheritance and submit the form with this box blank, you remain on the "apply yourself later" side, so do not leave it empty. Those who are already owners and have not yet filed can file just the search information at the Legal Affairs Bureau counter or online. The man who filled 25 years of moves with a written statement filed it on the day his registration was completed.

Name changes are covered by the same duty. After the duty began, a woman in her fifties who had divorced and returned to her maiden name came for advice. The registration of her home still showed her married surname and the address of the company housing she lived in before the divorce. Even where both address and name have changed, one application suffices. You write the causes of registration side by side, "address moved on such-and-such date" and "name changed on such-and-such date," and attach a family register showing the change of surname and a resident record showing the chain of addresses. The registration and licence tax remains 1,000 yen per property even with two changes.

What took time in her case was not the documents but "how many properties are there." She thought it was one parcel of land and one building, but when she obtained the name-based property list (名寄帳, the list of real estate a person owns in the municipality) at the city office, a share in the private road in front of the house appeared as a separate parcel. Private roads are often exempt from fixed asset tax and do not appear on the tax notice, so people tend to forget they own them. Address change registration is done per parcel, so if you omit the private road share, the old surname and address remain there alone. In the end it was three properties, two parcels of land (the house lot and the private road share) and one building, and the registration and licence tax was 3,000 yen. In some municipalities a tax-exempt private road does not appear on the name-based list, so check the lot number of the road in front of the house on the cadastral map and look at the title on the certificate of registered matters.

A word about the 50,000 yen fine. The Legal Affairs Bureau does not proceed straight to the fine; it first sends a notice urging you to apply, and only if you still do not apply does it notify the court. Where there is good reason, such as serious illness or being a victim of domestic violence who does not want their address known, you are not subject to the fine. Since April 2024, victims of domestic violence and the like can, on application, have an alternative contact address shown on the certificate of registered matters in place of their current address. If you are worried that the other party will learn from the register that you have moved, consult the Legal Affairs Bureau before applying.

Two pieces of practical advice. One: if you own real estate and the registered address differs from your current one, register the change by 31 March 2028. If you plan to sell or create a mortgage, you may enter it together at that time. Two: if you do inheritance registration from April 2026 onwards, provide the search information with the application and bring yourself within smart change registration. From your next move, the bureau handles it. For those preparing inheritance registration with the Inheritance Registration Navi tool (相続登記ナビ), the provision of search information is included in the guidance as a set.

After the sale was completed, the man said, "Nobody knows you are supposed to change the registration every time you move." Exactly so, and that is why it became compulsory. More painful in practice than the 50,000 yen fine is a closing stalled for three weeks when you sell. If you own real estate, compare the address column of the certificate of registered matters with your current address once. If they differ, that is what this duty covers.

Written by: 長澤 湊（licensed real-estate transaction specialist, administrative scrivener, assistant surveyor）　Content checked on: 2026-10-14

This article is a general explanation of Japanese rules and procedures, not advice on an individual case. Figures and rules are as of the date shown. For your own situation, consult a lawyer, judicial scrivener, tax accountant or administrative scrivener in Japan.

Official sources

The rules and figures in this article can be checked against the following official pages (in Japanese).

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