Ward office Japanese: filing your moving-in notice (転入届)
Short answer
File a moving-in notice (転入届) at the city or ward office of your new address within 14 days of moving in, and bring your residence card: filing it with your residence card also counts as your address report to Immigration, so it’s one trip, not two. At the counter, start with 転入届を出したいんですが。 (“I’d like to file a moving-in notice.”)
The situation
You’ve moved to a new city and you have 14 days to tell the ward office. You’ll take a number ticket, wait, hear your number called, and then a staff member will ask for your documents, your My Number card PIN, and whether you want a copy of your 住民票 (residence record). None of it is hard Japanese. It’s just a lot of it, delivered fast, while you hold a clipboard.
This page gives you the handful of lines that get you through the counter. If you want to rehearse first, the app’s voice scene plays the clerk: you speak out loud, and the clerk answers you in Japanese, by voice.
Key phrases
転入届を出したいんですが。
Tennyū-todoke o dashitai n desu ga.
I’d like to file a moving-in notice.
Japanese / Romaji / English引っ越してきたので、手続きお願いします。
Hikkoshite kita node, tetsuzuki onegai shimasu.
I’ve just moved here, so I’d like to do the paperwork.
Japanese / Romaji / Englishすみません、書き方がわからないんですが。
Sumimasen, kakikata ga wakaranai n desu ga.
Sorry, I’m not sure how to fill this in.
Japanese / Romaji / Englishはい、転出証明書と在留カードです。
Hai, tenshutsu shōmeisho to zairyū kādo desu.
Here’s my moving-out certificate and residence card.
Japanese / Romaji / Englishマイナンバーカードで転出したので、転出証明書はないです。
Mai-nanbā kādo de tenshutsu shita node, tenshutsu shōmeisho wa nai desu.
I moved out with my My Number card, so I don’t have a moving-out certificate.
Japanese / Romaji / Englishすみません、暗証番号を忘れてしまったんですが。
Sumimasen, anshō bangō o wasurete shimatta n desu ga.
Sorry, I’ve forgotten my PIN.
Japanese / Romaji / English住民票を一通お願いします。
Jūminhyō o ittsū onegai shimasu.
One copy of my residence record, please.
Japanese / Romaji / Englishマイナンバーはなしでお願いします。
Mai-nanbā wa nashi de onegai shimasu.
Without my My Number on it, please.
Japanese / Romaji / EnglishSample exchange
A. A practice run, as the app’s voice scene plays it (English in italics is the in-app translation of each line):
職員 (clerk): こんにちは。本日はどのようなご用件でしょうか？ (Hello. How can I help you today?)
You: 転入届を出したいんですが。
職員: では、こちらの番号札をお取りになって、あちらでお掛けになってお待ちください。 (Please take a number ticket and wait over there.)
You: はい。
職員: 番号札15番でお待ちのお客様、3番窓口までお越しください。 (Number 15, please come to window 3.)
職員: 転入のお手続きですね。転出証明書と、ご本人確認書類をお願いします。 (Moving in? Your moving-out certificate and ID, please.)
You: はい、これです。
職員: 手続きは以上になります。ほかに何かございますか？ (That’s all done. Anything else you need?)
You: 住民票を一通お願いします。
職員: マイナンバーの記載はどうされますか？ (Do you want your My Number on the copy?)
You: なしでお願いします。
B. Lines you may hear at the counter (from the app’s listening practice):
Listening (N5): 番号札15番でお待ちのお客様、3番窓口までお越しください。
Listening (N4): 転出証明書と、在留カード、それからマイナンバーカードをお願いします。マイナンバーカードは、このあと4桁の暗証番号を入力していただきますので。
Q&A
How long do I have to file a moving-in notice?
14 days from the day you move in. Osaka City’s page says “引越してこられた日から14日以内”, and the Immigration Services Agency sets the same 14 days for a foreign resident’s change-of-address report. You can’t file before you move, and you can’t file by post. (Sources: Osaka City, https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/shimin/page/0000369822.html · Immigration Services Agency, https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00023.html)
Do I also have to go to Immigration?
No. If you show your residence card when you file the 転入届, that counts as your address report under the Immigration Act. Immigration says the address report is made at the city office, and there’s no fee. (Source: Immigration Services Agency, https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00023.html and Q84–Q85 at https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/faq/newimmiact_4_q-and-a_page3.html)
What happens if I’m late?
For people who have just arrived in Japan, Immigration says missing the 14-day deadline can bring a fine of up to ¥200,000, and not reporting an address within 90 days of arriving, without a good reason, can lead to your status of residence being revoked. Don’t leave it. (Source: Immigration Services Agency FAQ, Q83, https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/faq/newimmiact_4_q-and-a_page3.html)
What should I bring?
Osaka City lists: the moving-in form (at the counter), the moving-out certificate (転出証明書) from your old city, ID for whoever goes to the counter, your residence card, and the My Number card of everyone who moved (each card’s PIN has to be entered). If you moved out online with your My Number card, you don’t need the certificate. Other cities’ lists are similar, so check your own city’s page. (Source: Osaka City, https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/shimin/page/0000369822.html)
They asked me for a 4-digit PIN. What is it?
It’s your My Number card PIN. You enter it so the card keeps working at your new address. If you’ve forgotten it, it has to be reset at the counter, so say 暗証番号を忘れてしまったんですが。 (Source: Kitakyushu City, https://www.city.kitakyushu.lg.jp/contents/14900051.html)
How much is a copy of my residence record (住民票)?
It depends on the city. In Osaka City it’s ¥300 per copy at the counter, or ¥200 at a konbini machine if you have a My Number card. (Source: Osaka City fee list, https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/shimin/page/0000370128.html)
Can I practise this before I go?
Yes. Konbini Legends has a voice scene for this counter. You speak out loud, the clerk replies in Japanese, and you get hints and an English line whenever you need them.
Official sources (checked 31 Oct 2026)
- Osaka City, 転入届 (moving in from another city): 14 days, documents, PIN, no filing before the move or by post. https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/shimin/page/0000369822.html
- Osaka City, certificate fee list: 住民票 ¥300 at the counter, ¥200 at a konbini. https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/shimin/page/0000370128.html
- Kitakyushu City, moving-in procedure: 4-digit PIN, reset at the counter if forgotten. https://www.city.kitakyushu.lg.jp/contents/14900051.html
- Immigration Services Agency, change-of-address report for mid- to long-term residents: 14 days, filed at the city office, no fee, counts as done when filed with the residence card. https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00023.html
- Immigration Services Agency FAQ (Q80–Q149): fine and 90-day rule for new arrivals. https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/faq/newimmiact_4_q-and-a_page3.html
Practise the ward office out loud
In the app: Speaking practice → Ward office: moving-in (転入届) + 住民票 (level N4)
Open Konbini Legends → Speaking practice → Ward office: moving-in. Free on iPhone and iPad.
Konbini Legends is a real-time voice conversation app for foreigners living in Japan: you speak Japanese out loud and an AI conversation partner replies in Japanese by voice, in everyday scenes like the konbini, the ward office, a clinic, the bank and a phone shop.
