Do you need a hanko to rent an apartment in Tokyo?

If an agent asks for a 印鑑 (inkan — a personal name seal, also called a hanko) when you apply for a Tokyo apartment, ask which kind they mean before you buy anything. A seal is not what makes your lease valid. The seal that can decide an application is your guarantor's. Only a Japanese city office can register and certify it.

Your signature is enough for the lease itself

In June 2020 the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry published a joint Q&A on seals. It says a contract takes effect when both sides agree. Unless a specific rule requires a written document or a seal, leaving out either does not make the contract invalid.

The rules for agents changed to match. Since 18 May 2022, the licensed agent no longer has to stamp the documents they hand you at signing (MLIT press release). MLIT then removed the agent's seal boxes from its model residential lease. Its note says that in an electronic contract the landlord, tenant and guarantor can sign electronically.

So a signature in the small 印 circle next to your name is legally fine. A management company can still make a stamp part of its own paperwork. If it does, ask whether it wants a 認印 (mitome-in — an everyday seal) or a registered seal with a certificate. An everyday seal is an ordinary stamp with your name, made by any seal shop and not registered anywhere. A registered seal takes a visit to your ward office.

The seal that can decide an application is the guarantor's

MLIT's model lease form has a signature block for the 連帯保証人 (rentai hoshōnin — joint guarantor) beside the landlord's and the tenant's. The person signing there is promising to cover your rent, so the landlord wants proof that the stamp really belongs to them.

That proof is a 実印 (jitsuin — a seal registered at a city office) together with a 印鑑登録証明書 (inkan tōroku shōmeisho — the office's certificate showing the registered impression). The government Q&A explains why this pair is trusted: with the certificate in hand, it is easy to show that the stamp on the document matches the person's registered seal.

Tokyo's public housing corporation, JKK Tokyo, shows what the request looks like in practice. Its guarantor must live in Japan and must submit a seal-registration certificate issued within three months of the screening date. Private landlords and guarantee companies set their own document requirements.

A certificate comes only from the city office where the guarantor has a resident record. A parent in another country has no Japanese resident record, so no office can issue one for them. If the landlord requires that certificate and your relative cannot get one, ask the agent whether the landlord accepts a 保証会社 (hoshō-gaisha — guarantee company) instead. Our no-guarantor guide and guarantee-company guide explain that route and its fees.

When you may be asked for your own registered seal

Two large landlords publish their document lists, and both ask the tenant for a registered seal.

UR, the national housing agency, lists a registered seal and a certificate issued within the last three months among its signing documents. Its page gives two ways around it. Foreign nationals who do not have the custom of using seals may bring a signature certificate issued by their consulate or a similar body. And if the person signing comes in person with photo identification and leaves a copy, UR says the seal certificate is not needed.

JKK Tokyo asks the applicant for a seal-registration certificate during screening, and for the registered seal used on the contract at the signing appointment.

A bank may still ask for a stamp. Japan Post Bank's account-opening page tells you to bring a seal and identification to the counter. Our banking guide covers the rest of that process.

Registering a seal as a foreign resident

You register at the ward or city office where you have a resident record, so you need a registered address first. Our resident-record guide explains that registration for a new arrival. Shinjuku's seal-registration page limits registration to people registered as residents in the ward and aged 15 or over.

The name on the seal must match your resident record. Meguro's page spells out the rules for foreign residents. The seal carries your name in the Latin letters printed on your residence card, because that is the name on the record. A katakana or 通称 (tsūshō — registered alias) seal is allowed only if that name is recorded on your resident record. Residents from countries that use Chinese characters can't register a katakana seal, because their record carries no katakana entry.

Order the seal before your ward visit, because a stamp with an alphabet or katakana name is cut to order. Bring the seal and photo identification. Shinjuku lists the residence card among the documents that let the office issue your registration card the same day. Without photo identification, the office posts a confirmation letter to your address first, and you go back with the reply.

Fees differ slightly by ward. In October 2026, Shinjuku charges ¥50 to register and ¥300 per certificate, so registering and taking one certificate away costs ¥350. Meguro charges ¥100 and ¥300, so the same visit costs ¥400. Neither total includes the seal itself. Keep the registration card safe: Meguro states that it cannot issue a certificate without it.

What to buy, and when

Buy or register nothing until the company confirms which seal it requires: none, an everyday seal, or a registered seal with a certificate. For UR and JKK the answer is already published, so register a seal once you have your resident record, or use UR's in-person or consulate alternatives.

If someone has offered to be your guarantor, tell them before they agree that the landlord may want their registered seal and a recent certificate. If they live outside Japan, raise the guarantee-company question with the agent at the same time.

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