This page is general information from official sources. It is not legal advice. For your own case, ask the resident registration counter of the ward you are moving to, or the Immigration Services Agency for questions about your status of residence.
If you have just moved into one of Tokyo’s 23 wards, from another city in Japan or from abroad, you need to register your new address at the ward office within 14 days. Several other procedures follow, such as health insurance, your My Number card, and benefits for children. This guide explains the deadlines and compares the weekday, evening and weekend counters of four wards: Ota, Nerima, Setagaya and Edogawa.
In short
- File the moving-in notification (転入届, tennyu todoke) in person within 14 days of starting to live at the new address. You cannot file it before you move, or by post (section 1).
- Foreign residents bring the residence card of everyone who moved. Filing at the ward also reports your new address to immigration (section 1).
- Coming from abroad? Go on a weekday during the day. The evening and weekend counters in Ota, Nerima and Setagaya do not take moving-in from abroad (section 4).
- Join National Health Insurance within 14 days if you are not covered by an employer’s plan (section 2).
- With children: apply for the child allowance within 15 days of the day after your planned move-out date (section 3).
Checked with official pages on October 5, 2026.
What do I need to do, and by when?
Depends on your ward
The moving-in notification and National Health Insurance must be done within 14 days, and the child allowance within 15 days. 018 Support is the only one you apply for to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government instead of the ward.
| Procedure | Deadline | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Moving-in notification | 14 days after moving in | Ward office or branch |
| My Number card | Same visit | Same counter |
| National Health Insurance | 14 days | Ward insurance counter |
| Child allowance | 15 days* | Ward child section |
| Child medical certificate | 3 or 6 months, by ward | Ward child section |
| 018 Support | Per payment round | Tokyo (online) |
* From the day after the planned move-out date you gave your previous city.
1. How do I file the moving-in notification?
Depends on your ward
File it in person within 14 days of the day you started living at the new address. You cannot file it before you move in, and Setagaya and Nerima say it cannot be done by post or online. You, the head of the household, or someone in the same household can file it. Anyone else needs a letter of authorization (委任状, ininjo); Setagaya says one written in a foreign language needs a Japanese translation.
- Bring the moving-out certificate (転出証明書, tenshutsu shomeisho) from your previous city. If you filed the move-out with your My Number card, including online through Mynaportal, you do not need the paper certificate. Bring the card instead.
- Bring ID for the person at the counter. The wards list a My Number card, a driver’s license and a residence card, among others.
- Foreign residents: bring the residence card (在留カード, zairyu kado) of everyone who moved. Setagaya says filing the moving-in notification with the card also counts as reporting your new address to the Immigration Services Agency. Edogawa, Nerima and Ota say you may also need an official document showing family relationships, such as a marriage or birth certificate, with a translation.
- Coming from abroad: bring everyone’s passport. Nerima and Edogawa use it to check your date of entry. If you used an automated gate and have no entry stamp, bring your boarding pass or another document that shows the date.
Important
Ota City says foreign residents who file after 14 days can still file, but may be fined up to ¥200,000 under the law. Edogawa says anyone who fails to file may be fined up to ¥50,000.
1.1 Keep your My Number card working
Bring the My Number card of every family member to the moving-in counter, and enter each card’s 4-digit PIN for resident registration. If you do not know the PIN, it has to be reset. Setagaya and Nerima say that if you moved out using your My Number card and do not file the moving-in notification within 30 days of the planned move-out date and within 14 days of moving in, the card stops working. Nerima says a new card then takes more than a month and costs ¥1,000. In Edogawa, the card can be kept if you file within 14 days and complete the card procedure within 90 days of filing.
The signature certificate on the card (the one with a 6–16 character password) ends automatically when you move. If you use it for e-applications, ask at the counter to have it issued again.
2. Do I need to join National Health Insurance?
Depends on your ward
If you are not in an employer’s health insurance plan (or a family member’s), you join National Health Insurance (国民健康保険, kokumin kenko hoken) at your ward. Nerima says registered foreign residents are covered too, except people who came for medical treatment or sightseeing. Joining is not automatic: notify the ward within 14 days. If you are late, you still pay premiums back to the date you should have joined, and Nerima says you may have to pay the full cost of medical care in the meantime.
Bring documents that show the My Number of the head of household and of everyone joining, and ID for the person at the counter. Ota and Nerima mail the new eligibility certificate (資格確認書) to the head of household about one week to 10 days later.
3. What about children?
Depends on your ward
Even if you received the child allowance (児童手当) in your old city, you must apply again in your new ward. Payment normally starts the month after you apply. If you apply within 15 days of the day after your planned move-out date, payment starts from the month you applied, even if that is the next month. Ota says that if the 15th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day. You can apply at the counter, by post or online. Setagaya, Ota and Edogawa say you can submit the application form first and send the other documents later. Edogawa publishes an English sample of the filled-in application form. Public servants apply through their employer.
The children’s medical certificate (医療証, iryosho) does not arrive unless you apply. Ota covers costs from your move-in date if you apply within 6 months; Setagaya and Edogawa allow 3 months. Nerima takes applications online in principle and mails the certificate in about a week. Until it arrives, you pay at the clinic and claim the money back.
Tokyo’s 018 Support (¥5,000 a month per child, no income limit) is separate: you apply to Tokyo online, not to the ward. Tokyo counts the months by where the child lives on the 1st of each month.
4. When are the counters open in Ota, Nerima, Setagaya and Edogawa?
Depends on your ward
Of these four wards, only Ota takes the moving-in notification on Sundays, and only as a form left for later processing. Evening and weekend counters handle fewer procedures than weekdays. In Ota, Nerima and Setagaya, moving in from abroad is weekday daytime only; in Edogawa, ask before going on a late-opening evening.
4.1 Ota City
Ota City
On weekdays, file at the Family Register and Resident Counter on the 1st floor of the main office, or at a Special Branch Office (特別出張所), except Kamata-higashi, 8:30–17:00. The main office also takes moving-in forms on Monday and Thursday evenings, 17:00–19:00, and on Sundays, 9:00–17:00. These evening and Sunday counters only accept the form; National Health Insurance, pension and My Number card procedures must be done on a weekday.
For foreign residents, Ota says the evening and Sunday counters cannot write your new address on your residence card, and do not take moving-in from abroad. People whose passport is stamped to say the residence card will be issued later (在留カード後日交付) must go to the main office, not a branch.
Ota City Office, 5-13-14 Kamata, Ota-ku. Google Maps. Main number 03-5744-1111.
4.2 Nerima City
Nerima City
Nerima takes the moving-in notification at its six Resident Offices (区民事務所): Nerima, Hayamiya, Hikarigaoka, Shakujii, Oizumi and Seki, on weekdays 8:30–19:00. On Saturdays, only the Nerima Resident Office in the main city office opens, 9:00–17:00. Moving in from abroad, or filing after the deadline, is weekdays 8:30–17:00 only. Updating the address on your My Number card is until 18:30 on weekdays and 16:00 on Saturdays.
You can join National Health Insurance at the same time as the moving-in notification at a Resident Office. The child allowance is not handled at Resident Offices; apply at the Child Allowance Unit, by post or online. Nerima says Mondays, Fridays and days after holidays are especially busy, and it shows waiting times online.
Nerima Resident Office, 1F, Nerima City Office, 6-12-1 Toyotamakita, Nerima-ku. Google Maps. Phone 03-5984-4528.
4.3 Setagaya City
Setagaya City
Setagaya takes the moving-in notification at 10 places: the Kumin Madoguchi (くみん窓口) counters of its five branch offices and its branch offices (出張所), on weekdays 8:30–17:00. Mondays and days after holidays are especially busy.
On Saturdays (except the 3rd Saturday, holidays and the New Year period), the Kumin Madoguchi of the Setagaya, Kitazawa, Tamagawa, Kinuta and Karasuyama branch offices and the Taishido Branch Office open 9:00–17:00. They handle moving-in and the related National Health Insurance procedures. They do not handle moving in from abroad. If you arrive after 16:00, you may not finish that day.
Setagaya Kumin Madoguchi, 1F, Setagaya City Office Building 2, 4-22-35 Setagaya, Setagaya-ku, 5 minutes from Shoin-jinja-mae or Setagaya Station (Setagaya Line). Google Maps. Phone 03-5432-2814.
4.4 Edogawa City
Edogawa City
Edogawa takes the moving-in notification at the Citizens Section (区民課) of the city office and the Family Register and Resident Units of five branch offices (Komatsugawa, Kasai, Koiwa, Tobu and Shishibone), on weekdays 8:30–17:00. The city office is closed on weekends and holidays. You can book a visit to the Citizens Section online.
On the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month (not holidays), the Citizens Section stays open late: moving-in until 19:00, and the related National Health Insurance and pension procedures until 19:30. My Number card procedures are not included on these evenings. The remaining dates in fiscal 2026 are October 7 and 21, November 4 and 18, December 2 and 16, 2026, and January 6 and 20, February 3 and 17, and March 3 and 17, 2027. The city office parking cannot be used after 17:15.
Edogawa City Office, 1-4-1 Chuo, Edogawa-ku. Take a Toei bus (新小21 or 新小22) from Shin-Koiwa Station or Funabori Station to “Edogawa Kuyakusho”. Google Maps. Phone 03-5662-0591.
Common questions
Can I file the moving-in notification on a Sunday?
Of these four wards, only Ota takes it on Sundays, at the main office, as a form left for later. Health insurance and My Number card procedures must still be done on a weekday. Ota does not accept moving in from abroad on Sundays.
I filed my move-out online through Mynaportal. What do I bring?
Bring the My Number card of everyone moving in. You do not need a paper moving-out certificate. Foreign residents also bring everyone’s residence card.
Do I need to register if I am only back in Japan for a holiday?
No. Nerima says you cannot register if your main home is still abroad, for example on a temporary visit.
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Ota City: moving-in notification
- Ota City: moving-in notification for foreign residents
- Ota City: evening and holiday counters
- Ota City: evening and holiday counters (foreign residents)
- Ota City: joining National Health Insurance
- Ota City: child allowance
- Ota City: children’s medical subsidy
- Nerima City: moving-in notification
- Nerima City: moving in from abroad
- Nerima City: Resident Offices
- Nerima City: joining National Health Insurance
- Nerima City: child allowance
- Nerima City: children’s medical subsidy
- Setagaya City: moving-in notification
- Setagaya City: Saturday counters
- Setagaya City: Saturday counter locations
- Setagaya City: child allowance
- Setagaya City: children’s medical subsidy
- Edogawa City: moving-in notification
- Edogawa City: keeping your My Number card after moving
- Edogawa City: counters and booking
- Edogawa City: late opening on Wednesdays
- Edogawa City: child allowance
- Edogawa City: children’s medical subsidy
- Edogawa City: access to the city office
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government: 018 Support
