Seal Registration and Certificates in Ehime: ¥300 at the Counter and at Convenience Stores in Matsuyama, Imabari and Niihama (2026)

This page summarizes the official pages of Matsuyama, Imabari and Niihama. Rules can change, so if your case is not covered here, ask the citizens’ section (Shimin-ka) of your city hall.

A personal seal (inkan, or jitsuin) registered with your city is used for important documents such as property and vehicle purchases, and a seal registration certificate (inkan toroku shomeisho) proves that the seal is yours. In Matsuyama, Imabari and Niihama in Ehime, registering a seal and getting a seal registration certificate each cost ¥300 per item or copy, and a convenience store certificate costs the same ¥300 as the counter. Because the convenience store is no cheaper, the differences between the cities are in when and where they accept applications and what happens if you have no photo ID.

Registration can be done only at the city counter, not at a convenience store. If you have neither a document with a photo nor a guarantor, you receive an inquiry form by post and come back, which takes about 1 week in Matsuyama and around 5 days in Niihama.

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1. Compare the fees in the 3 cities

Use the city name to jump to that city’s section.

The registration fee is shown on Matsuyama City’s page on seal registration (jitsuin), on Imabari City’s list of fees for issuing certificates (¥300 for issuing a seal registration card, per item) and on Niihama City’s list of fees for the citizens’ section.

2. Compare counter and convenience store hours

Convenience store issue works with a My Number card that has the electronic certificate for user authentication and its 4-digit PIN. It is available only during store hours, and stops on system maintenance days. You can get only your own certificate, and only if you are registered in that city.

3. Compare the conditions for same-day registration

Documents with a photo that you can use are those issued by a public office with a face photo, such as a My Number card, driver’s license, passport or residence card. Imabari says that a health insurance eligibility confirmation document or notice of eligibility information cannot be used.

4. Matsuyama: certificates are available on weekends at citizen service centers

In Matsuyama, you can get a seal registration certificate at citizen service centers that are also open on weekends and holidays. The one on the 2nd floor of the Fuji Grand Matsuyama annex is open from 9:00 to 18:00 with no regular closing day, and the one on the 2nd floor of the Iyotetsu Takashimaya south building is open from 10:00 to 18:00 and closed on Tuesdays. Both are open on weekends and holidays, and closed over the New Year. The centers only issue certificates and cannot register seals. Matsuyama City: seal registration certificate

You can register if you are registered as a resident of Matsuyama, are 15 or older and have the capacity to make decisions. Applications are accepted on weekdays from 8:30 to 17:00 at the General Counter Center in the main building (the citizens’ section on the 1st floor), at branch offices including Hojo and Nakajima, at the Deguchi sub-office and at the Asanami, Tateiwa, Kono and Awai sub-offices of the Hojo branch. The citizens’ section is open until 19:00 on Thursdays and also takes applications from 8:30 to 17:00 on the 2nd Saturday of each month. You can register one seal per person, and you cannot register the same seal as someone in your household. Seals that fit within an 8 mm square or do not fit within a 25 mm square cannot be used. Matsuyama City: seal registration (jitsuin)

If you go to the counter yourself, bring the seal you are registering and a valid photo ID. A driving career certificate issued on or after April 1, 2012 can also be used. Even with no documents, you can register on the spot with a guarantee form written by a person aged 18 or over who is registered in Matsuyama. The form is available at the counter, and the guarantor stamps it with their registered seal.

With neither documents nor a guarantee form, you write your reply on an inquiry form sent by post and take it to the counter. Registration takes about 1 week. An agent also goes through the inquiry form process and needs a notice of delegation (explanation) form written by hand by the person themselves. An adult under guardianship cannot apply through an agent and goes to the counter with their guardian.

To get a certificate at the counter, bring your seal registration card and your own ID. If you go to the counter yourself with a My Number card, you do not need the registration card. If you send an agent, they bring the registrant’s card and their own ID and tell the staff the registrant’s address, name and date of birth, and no letter of authorization is needed. Bringing only the registered seal is not enough to get a certificate.

Convenience store issue is available from 6:30 to 23:00 (except December 29 to January 3 and maintenance days) at ¥300 per copy. People who have moved out, people who have died and people who have set a restriction on issuing certificates cannot get one. It also works with a smartphone that has the smartphone electronic certificate. Matsuyama City: seal registration certificates available at convenience stores, Matsuyama City: about the convenience store issue service

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Name	Matsuyama City Hall Citizens' Section
Address	4-7-2 Niban-cho, Matsuyama City, Ehime
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 8:30–17:00 (Thursdays until 19:00, 2nd Saturday 8:30–17:00. Closed holidays and New Year holidays)
Phone	089-948-6347
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

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5. Imabari: the counter for certificates is open until 19:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays

In Imabari, issuing of seal registration certificates at the citizens’ section of the main office is extended to 19:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays. The issuing of copies of the resident record and family register certificates, passport collection and My Number card services are open the same hours. The extension applies only to the main office and excludes holidays and the New Year. Imabari City: extended hours at the citizens’ section counter

You can register if you are registered as a resident of Imabari and are 15 or older (adults under guardianship are excluded). If you go to the counter with the seal you are registering and an ID, you can register on the spot. With no ID, if you name a guarantor who is registered in Imabari and have the guarantor stamp their registered seal on the registration application, it is also the same day. Otherwise, and when an agent registers, it takes a few days because the city confirms your wishes by post. Seals that cannot be registered include rubber stamps, seals made in large numbers by machine engraving, seals with reversed black and white, and seals with a double frame or an arabesque-pattern outer frame. Imabari City: seal registration

To get a certificate, bring the seal registration card (a card) you received when you registered. When an agent goes, they do not need their own ID if they have the card. Write the registrant’s address, name and date of birth accurately on the application form.

If you lose the card or the registered seal, the registration is cancelled and you register again. Registering again is the same procedure as a new registration and may take a few days.

Convenience store issue is available from 6:30 to 23:00 at ¥300 per copy. It cannot be used by people under 15, adults under guardianship, or people who have applied for support measures for domestic violence and similar cases. People in the middle of a moving-out procedure also cannot get one. Imabari City: convenience store issue service

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Name	Imabari City Hall Citizens' Section
Address	1-4-1 Bekku-cho, Imabari City, Ehime
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 8:30–17:15 (certificate issuance only until 19:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays. Closed holidays and New Year holidays)
Phone	0898-36-1532
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

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6. Niihama: on weekends and holidays, book by phone and pick up at city hall

In Niihama, if you book by phone, you can pick up a seal registration certificate at city hall on weekends, holidays and over the New Year as well. On a weekday from 8:30 to 17:00, call the citizens’ section and give your name, address, date of birth, phone number, the number of copies and your seal registration number. Pickup is from 9:00 to 17:00, at the night duty room on the basement floor of city hall. Bring the collector’s ID and the seal registration card, and have ¥300 per copy in exact change. If you do not come to pick it up, the booking is treated as if it had not been made. Niihama City: certificate issue service by phone booking

You can register if you are registered as a resident of Niihama, are 15 or older and have the capacity to make decisions. The city recommends hand-carved seals, and stamp-type seals, chipped seals and seals under 8 mm or over 25 mm in diameter cannot be registered. The counter is window 5 of the citizens’ section at city hall. Niihama City: I want to register a seal, Niihama City: can any seal be registered?

You can register on the same day when you bring the registered seal and a document with a face photo (My Number card, driver’s license, passport and so on). A health insurance card does not make it same-day. Even with no documents, if a person who is registered in Niihama writes by hand in the guarantor box of the application and stamps their registered seal, it is the same day. Either way it takes about 20 minutes from the application. If neither applies, you come back with the inquiry form sent by post, and it takes around 5 days. Niihama City: can I register a seal on the same day?

When an agent applies, a notice of appointment of an agent for seal registration (a letter of authorization) is needed. If you have no registration card and need a seal registration certificate, you cancel the registration once and register again. Niihama City: I lost my seal registration card

To get a certificate at the counter, the seal registration card is enough. You do not need the seal itself. The citizens’ section extends its counter hours until 18:15 every Thursday. The Besshiyama sub-office also issues certificates. Niihama City: I need a seal registration certificate, Niihama City: counter hours are extended every Thursday

Convenience store issue is ¥300 per copy, from 6:30 to 23:00. It works with a My Number card and also with a smartphone that has the smartphone electronic certificate. Niihama City: about the convenience store issue service, Niihama City: get resident records and seal registration certificates at convenience stores with a My Number card

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Name	Niihama City Hall Citizens' Section
Address	1-5-1 Ichinomiya-cho, Niihama City, Ehime
Hours / Closed	Weekdays 8:30–17:15 (Thursdays until 18:15. Closed holidays and New Year holidays)
Phone	0897-65-1232
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

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7. Things to know when choosing in Ehime

In Ehime’s 3 cities, convenience store issue is no cheaper than the counter. The reason to use a convenience store is not the price but freedom of time and place when you cannot get to the counter on a weekday daytime.

The days when you can go in the evening or on holidays differ by city. Matsuyama and Niihama open on Thursday evenings, and Imabari on Monday and Wednesday evenings. For holidays, in Matsuyama there is the citizens’ section on the 2nd Saturday and the citizen service centers open on weekends and holidays (certificates only), and in Niihama there is pickup by phone booking. In Imabari, to get a certificate at night or on a holiday, use a Monday or Wednesday evening or a convenience store.

Registration is at the city counter in all 3 cities, so the quickest way is to go on a weekday with a document with a photo. With no documents, if you ask a family member or acquaintance who is registered in the same city to be your guarantor, it is finished the same day.

If you go by car, the underground car park in front of Matsuyama City Hall holds 290 cars and costs ¥130 per 30 minutes. The car park on the grounds of Imabari’s office building is free for people with business there, and holds about 110 cars. Matsuyama City: municipal parking facilities, Imabari City: using the car park on the office grounds

8. Which way to get a certificate

• You have a My Number card and cannot go on a weekday: convenience store issue (6:30 to 23:00 in all 3 cities, ¥300).
• No card, and you need it on a weekend: a citizen service center in Matsuyama, or phone-booked pickup in Niihama.
• No card, and you can go on a weekday evening: Thursday in Matsuyama and Niihama, Monday and Wednesday in Imabari.
• Registering a new seal: go to the counter yourself on a weekday with a document with a photo or a guarantor.

For the move-in notification procedure, see Moving-in procedures in Ehime (Japanese), and for counter hours in the 3 cities, City hall counters in 3 Ehime cities (Japanese).

Sources

15 pages we checkedShow

• Matsuyama City: seal registration (jitsuin)
• Matsuyama City: seal registration certificate
• Matsuyama City: seal registration certificates available at convenience stores
• Matsuyama City: about the convenience store issue service
• Imabari City: seal registration
• Imabari City: list of fees for issuing certificates
• Imabari City: convenience store issue service
• Imabari City: extended hours at the citizens’ section counter
• Niihama City: I want to register a seal
• Niihama City: can I register a seal on the same day?
• Niihama City: I need a seal registration certificate
• Niihama City: certificate issue service by phone booking
• Niihama City: about the convenience store issue service
• Niihama City: list of fees for the citizens’ section
• Japanese version of this page (日本語版)

Checked with official pages on October 17, 2026 (Japan time).