Getting Your My Number Card in Japan: Complete Guide for Expats (2026)

If you live in Japan, My Number (マイナンバー / 個人番号) is an essential identification number — you'll encounter it when filing taxes, enrolling in health insurance, and starting a new job. This article explains how foreign residents receive their number, how the physical card works, and what you actually need it for.

What Is My Number?

My Number is a 12-digit identification number assigned by the Japanese government to every person registered as a resident in Japan. It functions similarly to a national ID number in many countries, and is used across a range of government procedures:

Do Foreign Residents Have a My Number?

Yes. Any foreign national who has completed resident registration (転入届) in Japan is assigned a My Number — regardless of visa type. This includes working holiday visa holders, students, and workers.

How to Get Your My Number

Step 1: Complete Resident Registration (転入届)

Within 14 days of arriving in Japan, visit the ward office (市区町村役所) at your place of residence to complete the address registration (転入届).

You'll need:

• Residence Card (在留カード)
• Passport

Step 2: Wait for Your Notification Letter

Approximately 2–4 weeks after completing registration, the ward office will mail your My Number notification letter (個人番号通知書) — or the older notification card (通知カード) — to your registered address.

It arrives in an official white envelope from the ward office.

⚠️ Important: If the mail cannot be delivered (you're not home, wrong address, etc.), you may not receive your number. Make sure your registered address is correct and someone can accept the mail.

How to Apply for Your My Number Card (マイナンバーカード)

Once you have your number, apply for the physical My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) (photo IC card) as soon as possible.

Why Apply?

• Serves as photo ID: Can substitute for your passport or Residence Card in everyday identity verification
• My Number health insurance card integration (マイナ保険証): Japan stopped issuing new paper health insurance cards (保険証) on 2 December 2024, and cards already in circulation expired on 1 December 2025. Since then, residents either present their My Number Card as a health insurance card at clinics, or use a confirmation certificate (資格確認書) issued by their insurer. Both routes are legitimate; the card is the one that opens the online side (e-Tax, マイナポータル, prescription history), and it costs nothing to apply.
• Electronic certificate: Use e-Tax to file your final tax return (確定申告) online
• My Number Portal (マイナポータル): Online platform for various government procedures

Application Methods

Method 1: Smartphone (QR code — recommended)

The easiest and most convenient method:

1. Receive your My Number notification letter (個人番号通知書)
2. Scan the QR code on the letter with your smartphone
3. Open the application page (マイナンバーカード総合サイト)
4. Take a selfie (must meet photo specifications)
5. Confirm your details and submit
6. Roughly a month later, the municipal office sends a pickup notice (交付通知書)
7. Bring the notice and ID documents to the ward office to collect your card

Method 2: Computer (online application site)

Same process as smartphone — visit the My Number Card Portal (マイナンバーカード総合サイト) to apply online.

Method 3: In person at the ward office

Apply in person at the counter, where staff will take your photo. Expect longer wait times, especially during busy periods.

Method 4: Photo booth at a convenience store

Some convenience store photo booths support My Number Card applications.

Collecting Your My Number Card (マイナンバーカード)

Expect the pickup notice postcard (交付通知書) about a month after applying — six weeks is not unusual if the municipality is busy.

Documents needed to collect:

• Pickup notice postcard (交付通知書)
• Identity documents (Residence Card, passport)
• My Number notification letter (個人番号通知書) (or old notification card (通知カード), if you have it)

When you collect your card, you'll set the following PINs at the ward office:

• 4-digit numeric PIN (used for My Number health insurance card / マイナ保険証 and other basic functions)
• 6–16 character alphanumeric signature certificate PIN (used for e-Tax and other important procedures)

💡 Keep your PINs safe. Forgotten PINs must be reset in person at the ward office — there is no online reset option.

Card Validity

You'll receive a renewal notice before expiry — renew at your municipal office. If your period of stay is short, the card simply runs to that date, which is why renewing your residence status and renewing your card are usually the same errand.

Foreign Residents and Card Validity

For a foreign resident the My Number Card's expiry is not a fixed number of years: it is capped at the end of your period of stay. If your residence card runs for another six months, so does the My Number Card — the only exceptions are permanent residents, 高度専門職2号 and special permanent residents, whose cards run for the full term. Apply for the card after a residence renewal is granted rather than just before, and when you renew your residence card, take your My Number Card to the municipal office to have the new date recorded.

The 特定在留カード: One Card Instead of Two

From 14 June 2026 Japan issues a 特定在留カード — a residence card that also carries the functions of the My Number Card, including the health insurance function. Instead of carrying two cards you carry one. You can apply for it at the same time as a change-of-address notification (at the municipal office), or when you renew your residence card, renew your period of stay, change your status of stay, apply for permanent residence or request a reissue (at the regional immigration bureau). Switching is free the first time if you already hold a residence card issued before 14 June 2026; after that the card carries the same ¥1,900 fee as a My Number Card reissue. The 特定特別永住者証明書 does the same job for special permanent residents.

The practical consequence for the rest of this article: if your card is a 特定在留カード, the "My Number Card" and "Residence Card" in every instruction below are the same physical card, and updating your address at the ward office updates both at once.

Using My Number Portal (マイナポータル)

Once you have your My Number Card, use My Number Portal (マイナポータル) for:

• Electronic signing for final tax return (確定申告) — e-Tax
• Viewing your medical history and prescription records
• Accessing and applying for various government documents
• Child benefit applications

My Number Health Insurance Card (マイナ保険証): Using Your My Number Card for Healthcare

As of 1 December 2025, the traditional health insurance card (保険証) is no longer in use anywhere in Japan. When you visit a clinic you either tap your My Number Card at the reception terminal or hand over a confirmation certificate (資格確認書) issued by your insurer.

How It Works at the Clinic

1. At the reception desk, look for the My Number reception terminal (マイナ受付) (a card reader with a display screen)
2. Insert or tap your My Number Card
3. Enter your 4-digit numeric PIN when prompted
4. The system verifies your health insurance enrollment in real-time
5. Proceed to see the doctor as normal

💡 You can also choose "face recognition" instead of PIN at some terminals once you've registered your face data via My Number Portal (マイナポータル).

What If I Don't Have a My Number Card Yet?

If you haven't received your card yet, ask your insurer for a confirmation certificate (資格確認書), which proves your enrolment and works exactly like the old insurance card at the reception desk:

• National Health Insurance (国民健康保険 / 国保): request it at your ward office
• Employer insurance (健康保険): ask HR, who request it from the health insurance association

Since April 2025 the insurer issues a 資格確認書 automatically when your coverage starts — free of charge and without an application — so if you enrol, the certificate arrives in the post and nothing further is needed.

💡 The 資格確認書 is not a stopgap that expires in a few weeks — it is the intended alternative for anyone who cannot hold a My Number Card. The card is still worth applying for, for the online services that come with it.

Benefits of Using マイナ保険証

Using your My Number Card for medical care brings extra benefits:

What to Do If Your My Number Card Doesn't Arrive

Scenario 1: The Notification Letter Never Arrived

• Wait 4 weeks from registration; if nothing arrives, contact your ward office directly
• Common reasons: mail delivered to wrong address, apartment mailbox too full, the letter was returned to sender
• Solution: Visit the ward office in person with your Residence Card and passport

Scenario 2: Your Card Pickup Notice Didn't Arrive

After applying, a pickup notice (交付通知書) normally arrives within about a month. If it doesn't arrive:

• Contact your ward office's My Number section (マイナンバーカード係)
• Bring your application confirmation number if available

Scenario 3: Your PIN is Locked

If you enter the wrong PIN 3 times, the card locks:

• 4-digit numeric PIN: Unlock at the ward office (free, takes 5–10 minutes), or at convenience-store terminals where your municipality has enabled it — not every city has
• Signature certificate PIN: Must be unlocked at the ward office in person
• ⚠️ You cannot reset PINs online

Updating Your My Number Card After Moving

When you move to a new address within Japan:

1. Complete your new resident registration (転入届) at the new ward office
2. Bring your My Number Card — the ward office will update the address information on the card's chip
3. This is mandatory — the address on the card must always match your registered address

⚠️ If you don't update, your My Number health insurance card (マイナ保険証) function may not work correctly at clinics.

When You Leave Japan

If you leave Japan permanently:

1. Hand back your My Number Card when you file your moving-out notification (転出届) — the municipal office marks it as a departure abroad (国外転出) and collects the card, so you cannot keep it as a souvenir
2. Your 個人番号 itself is assigned for life and does not change. It is the card that stops being valid, not the number
3. If you return to Japan and register as a resident again, the same My Number applies — you simply apply for a new card

You can file the 国外転出届 from about two weeks before departure, so book the visit alongside your other leaving-Japan errands.

If you are leaving temporarily and plan to return:

• There is no scheme that lets a foreign resident keep their My Number Card while deregistering. What keeps your registration alive is a valid status of stay plus re-entry within the みなし再入国 window (one year, or until your period of stay ends if that is sooner). Stay within that and your registration, number and card all continue as normal
• If you will be abroad longer than a year, arrange a re-entry permit before you leave, or plan to re-register on return

Final Takeaway

My Number is assigned automatically once you register your address, and the card is worth applying for immediately: it is photo ID, your health insurance card and the key to e-Tax and マイナポータル all at once. Apply from your smartphone using the QR code on the notification letter, collect the card at the ward office, and set the two PINs there without writing them down anywhere obvious. From 14 June 2026 the alternative is the 特定在留カード — a single card that carries your residence status and your My Number Card functions together, which you can request when you next notify a change of address or renew your residence card.

Two practical rules keep the card useful. Update the address on it every time you move, or the health insurance function stops working where it matters; and if you still don't have the card, ask your insurer for a 資格確認書 rather than putting off a doctor's visit. Finally, the card is tied to your residence registration rather than to your employer or your visa, and you hand it back when you leave Japan for good.