Registering the cancellation of a mortgage ― even when the loan is paid off, the mortgage on the register does not disappear by itself

When you finish paying off a home loan, the bank sends you a set of documents for cancellation. If you do not register it at that point, the mortgage stays on the register. Discovering it in a panic when selling or inheriting is a staple of practice. This article sets out the documents needed, the registration and licence tax (1,000 yen per property), doing it yourself versus asking a judicial scrivener, what to do if the bank has merged or ceased to exist, and doing inheritance and cancellation together.

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

Three days before the contract to sell the family home, the buyer's judicial scrivener phoned. "There is a mortgage still in Section B. Do you have the cancellation documents?" The seller, a man, realised it was the mortgage for a loan his father had paid off 22 years earlier. The envelope the bank had sent was in a drawer of his father's Buddhist altar. But that bank had merged with another 15 years earlier, and its name no longer existed. This article is about how the envelope in that drawer was made usable by settlement day.

When you pay off a home loan, the bank sends an envelope of "documents needed to cancel the mortgage." Inside are a mortgage release deed (抵当権解除証書, or a repayment certificate, 弁済証書), the registration identification information (登記識別情報, or the old-style certificate of registration, 登記済証) and the bank's power of attorney, with a covering letter saying "please apply to the Legal Affairs Bureau yourself." A surprising number of households leave this envelope sitting in a desk drawer. The mortgage on the register does not disappear by itself even when the loan has been paid off.

A mortgage left on the register causes no problem in daily life. The trouble comes when you sell, inherit or borrow again. In a sale, the buyer expects to buy real estate free of mortgages, so cancellation is needed by settlement. In inheritance, a common situation is that the late parent's real estate still has a mortgage that should have been paid off twenty years ago, and the bank has since merged and disappeared. Take a look once at Section B (乙区), described in the article on reading the certificate of registered matters. If Section B of a property whose loan has been paid off still shows a mortgage, that is what this procedure is for.

The cancellation registration is applied for by the owner (the bank is the party with the registration obligation, the owner the party with the registration right) at the Legal Affairs Bureau with jurisdiction over the location of the property. You need the application form, the release deed, the registration identification information (or certificate of registration) and the power of attorney sent by the bank, and the bank's corporate number (会社法人等番号, written on the application in place of a certificate of qualification). The registration and licence tax is 1,000 yen per property: 2,000 yen for a land plot and a building, and for a condominium with several parcels of land, it increases with the number of parcels (capped at 20,000 yen for 20 or more). You can apply at the counter, by post or online.

Can you do it yourself? This registration is far simpler than inheritance registration, and if you fill in the Legal Affairs Bureau's application form template, even a first-timer can manage. Two points to watch. One: some of the bank's documents have a validity period. If the representative named in the power of attorney has changed, a correction is needed; sometimes the corporate number is enough and sometimes you have to get a new certificate of qualification, so apply soon after the envelope arrives. Two: the original registration identification information (or certificate of registration) is used, so losing it adds steps. If you ask a judicial scrivener, fees vary by region and office, but about 10,000 to 20,000 yen is a guide; if it is to coincide with a sale's settlement, the usual practice is for the buyer's judicial scrivener to handle it together with the ownership transfer registration.

What you need for a mortgage cancellation registration (as of September 2026). Application form: prepared yourself (Legal Affairs Bureau form); purpose of registration "cancellation of mortgage," cause "repayment (release) on [date]." Mortgage release deed or repayment certificate: from the bank; this is the information proving the cause of registration, and can be reissued if lost. Registration identification information (or certificate of registration): from the bank; the one issued when the mortgage was created; cannot be reissued. The bank's power of attorney: from the bank; a correction may be needed if the representative has changed. The bank's corporate number: shown on the release deed or the bank's guidance; written on the application instead of a certificate of qualification. Registration and licence tax: revenue stamps; 1,000 yen per property (20,000 yen for 20 or more).

It becomes difficult when you do not have the bank's documents, or when the bank no longer exists. If you have lost the documents, ask the bank to reissue them (the release deed and power of attorney can be reissued, but registration identification information is not, so the procedure substitutes it with prior notice or a judicial scrivener's identity confirmation information). If the bank has merged, a "transfer of mortgage by merger" registration has to be entered before cancellation; the surviving bank will deal with it if asked, but preparing the documents takes time. A "dormant mortgage" (休眠抵当権), such as one where the bank has been dissolved with no successor, or a mortgage held by an individual from the Meiji or Taisho era, may require a special rule using a deposit with the official depository (供託) or court proceedings, and that is the territory of a judicial scrivener or lawyer.

It is often combined with inheritance. Where the late parent's real estate still has a paid-off mortgage, first move the name to the heir by inheritance registration, then the heir applies for the cancellation registration. The cancellation documents the bank sent to the late parent can be used as they are (with the heir as applicant). Inheritance registration and cancellation registration can be applied for at the same time as linked applications (連件), so for people preparing inheritance registration with the Inheritance Registration Navi tool, I also point out checking Section B and whether there are cancellation documents.

Difficulty by situation. The bank's documents are all there: low; you can apply yourself, or a judicial scrivener's fee is about 10,000 to 20,000 yen. Documents lost: medium; ask the bank to reissue them, and substitute the registration identification information with prior notice or similar. The bank has merged: medium; enter the transfer of mortgage by merger first (handled by the surviving bank). The owner has died: medium; apply for inheritance registration and then cancellation as linked applications. The bank has ceased to exist, its successor is unknown, or the mortgage dates from the Taisho era: high; the special rule for dormant mortgages (deposit) or court proceedings; go to a judicial scrivener or lawyer.

What was done, in order. The envelope contained the mortgage release deed, a certificate of registration (at that time a certificate rather than registration identification information), and a power of attorney in the name of the pre-merger bank. The representative on the power of attorney was, of course, not the current one. First, we phoned the inheritance and registration desk of the surviving bank and asked for the "transfer of mortgage by merger" registration and a new power of attorney. The bank took ten days to prepare its documents. There were only three days until settlement, so we asked for settlement to be postponed by two weeks. The buyer agreed, but with a buyer who "can't wait," it would have turned into talk of cancelling the contract or a penalty.

Next, the linked registrations. The father had already died, and the house was still in his name. In this case, three registrations are applied for as linked applications: inheritance registration into the man's name, then the transfer of mortgage (merger), then the mortgage cancellation. This time the buyer's judicial scrivener handled them together. The costs: the registration and licence tax for inheritance registration was the valuation of 11,000,000 yen × 0.4%, 44,000 yen; for the mortgage transfer, one thousandth of the secured amount (20,000 yen on a secured amount of 20,000,000 yen); for the cancellation, 2,000 yen for land and building. The judicial scrivener's fee for inheritance registration and cancellation together was about 90,000 yen. About 160,000 yen in total. Had the father taken the envelope to the Legal Affairs Bureau the same week, 22 years earlier, it would have been a procedure finished with 2,000 yen for cancellation and an hour spent filling in the form.

Conversely, an example that was finished easily. In another consultation, a woman came with the envelope just after paying off her loan. The bank's documents were all there, and the bank still existed. We filled in the form together following the Legal Affairs Bureau's template, stuck on 2,000 yen of revenue stamps for the registration and licence tax, and submitted it at the counter. No corrections, completed in a week. It cost 2,000 yen, 40 minutes at my office, and a trip to and from the Legal Affairs Bureau. When I wrote in the main text "far simpler than inheritance registration," it was those 40 minutes I meant.

One last thing. When the envelope arrives after you pay off a loan, take it to the Legal Affairs Bureau that same week. That alone removes one piece of trouble for your family ten or twenty years later. Mortgage cancellation is the simplest of all registrations, and the most neglected.

The envelope in the altar drawer finally became usable with a two-week postponement of settlement and about 160,000 yen. At the end of the main text I wrote, "when the envelope arrives after you pay off a loan, take it to the Legal Affairs Bureau that same week." What the son paid 22 years later was 80 times the cost, and two weeks, of a procedure that should have taken 2,000 yen and an hour. Mortgage cancellation is the simplest procedure if you do it that week, and if you leave it, it gets harder every time the bank's name changes.

Written by: 長澤湊（licensed real-estate transaction specialist, administrative scrivener, assistant surveyor）　Content checked on: 2026-10-24

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.

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Registering the cancellation of a mortgage ― even when the loan is paid off, the mortgage on the register does not disappear by itself

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