How forwarding works, in four words
Japan Post keeps a register of filed notices. When a letter arrives at a delivery office for your old address with your name on it, staff check the register and send it on to the new address with a forwarding label. The four words below are the whole system.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 転居届を出します | Tenkyo todoke o dashimasu | Filing a change-of-address notice |
| 転送 | tensō | forwarding |
| 旧住所 | kyū jūsho | old address |
| 新住所 | shin jūsho | new address |
Tenkyo means a move of residence. Confusingly, the city office also has a form called tenkyo todoke, for a move within the same city, plus tenshutsu (moving out of a municipality) and ten'nyū (moving in). The post office notice and the city office notice are separate filings with separate offices; one never replaces the other.
Three ways to file the notice
Choose the route that suits your ID and your time. Paper forms are free at every post office counter, and the online service runs around the clock.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 転居届の用紙をください。 | Tenkyo todoke no yōshi o kudasai. | A change-of-address form, please. |
| ネットでも申し込めますか。 | Netto de mo mōshikomemasu ka. | Can I also apply online? |
| 在留カードで大丈夫ですか。 | Zairyū kādo de daijōbu desu ka. | Is my residence card OK as ID? |
| Route | What you do | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Post office counter | Fill in the form and hand it over | ID for the person filing and for one of the movers; staff can confirm your old address |
| Postbox | Fill in the form and post it in the attached envelope, no stamp needed | A photocopy of the filer's ID, such as a residence card |
| e-tenkyo online | Apply on Japan Post's site or app | A Japan Post account with verified identity |
Accepted ID includes the residence card, My Number card and driving licence; check the current list on the form. Because filing by post is not checked face to face, Japan Post may verify a move by visiting, asking co-residents or sending a confirmation letter, which is skipped when your ID and old address are checked at the counter.
The form, line by line
The paper form is short, but each line matters. Every person whose post should be forwarded must be listed, or their letters will not follow you.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 転居者氏名 | tenkyosha shimei | names of the people moving |
| 旧住所 | kyū jūsho | old address |
| 新住所 | shin jūsho | new address |
| 転送開始希望日 | tensō kaishi kibōbi | preferred start date for forwarding |
| 届出人 | todokedenin | the person filing |
| 電話番号 | denwa bangō | phone number |
Write names exactly as they appear on your post. If you receive mail under both your full passport name and a shorter name, or in katakana and in the Latin alphabet, write each version, or ask at the counter how to list them. Include the building name and room number in both addresses.
At the counter: a short exchange
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 引っ越すので、転送をお願いしたいです。 | Hikkosu node, tensō o onegai shitai desu. | You: I'm moving, so I'd like my mail forwarded. |
| こちらの用紙にご記入ください。 | Kochira no yōshi ni gokinyū kudasai. | Clerk: Please fill in this form. |
| 家族二人の分もお願いします。 | Kazoku futari no bun mo onegai shimasu. | You: For my two family members too, please. |
| ご本人確認の書類はお持ちですか。 | Gohonnin kakunin no shorui wa omochi desu ka. | Clerk: Do you have your ID? |
| はい、在留カードです。 | Hai, zairyū kādo desu. | You: Yes, my residence card. |
| 登録まで数日かかります。 | Tōroku made sūjitsu kakarimasu. | Clerk: Registration takes a few days. |
What forwarding does not catch
Most surprises after a move come from post that is designed not to follow you. Senders mark it so that it returns to them if you are not at the registered address, which protects you if someone else moves in.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 転送不要 | tensō fuyō | do not forward |
| あて所に尋ねあたりません | atesho ni tazune atarimasen | addressee not found at this address |
| 差出人に返送 | sashidashinin ni hensō | returned to sender |
- Items printed 転送不要 (tensō fuyō, do not forward), often bank cards, credit cards and some official notices. They return to the sender.
- Parcels and packets from other delivery companies. Japan Post's forwarding covers what Japan Post delivers; other couriers have their own rules.
- Post for someone not listed on the notice, such as a family member you forgot to add.
- Anything after the year ends. Forwarding stops on the anniversary of the filing date unless you file again.
The other address changes to make
Forwarding buys time; it does not update anyone's records. Work through this list in the weeks around the move. Deadlines below are the general rules; your city's page has the exact procedure.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 住所変更をお願いします。 | Jūsho henkō o onegai shimasu. | I'd like to change my address. |
| 来週、引っ越します。 | Raishū, hikkoshimasu. | I'm moving next week. |
| 新しい住所はこちらです。 | Atarashii jūsho wa kochira desu. | Here is my new address. |
- City office: moving within the same city, file the city's own tenkyo todoke within 14 days; moving to another city, a moving-out notice at the old one and a moving-in notice at the new one within 14 days of moving in.
- Residence card: the new address is written on the back at the city office when you file the moving-in notice. Bring the card, and your My Number card if you have one.
- Driving licence: update the address at a police station or licence centre.
- Employer or school: tell HR or the student office, which affects commuting allowances and records.
- Bank, card companies, phone, insurance, utilities and online shops: change the address in each account.
When post still goes to the old address
If letters keep arriving at your old place after forwarding should have started, first check the date: registration takes a few business days, and anything already sorted for delivery may slip through. If the problem continues, call or visit the delivery post office for your old address, which is the one that applies the forwarding, and give your name and both addresses.
If the new tenant at your old address has your post, ask the management company to pass on a message rather than knocking on the door yourself. For items that went back to the sender, contact the sender, update the address with them and ask them to resend.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 転送の手続きをしたのに、届きません。 | Tensō no tetsuzuki o shita noni, todokimasen. | I set up forwarding, but my mail isn't arriving. |
| 旧住所の配達局はどこですか。 | Kyū jūsho no haitatsukyoku wa doko desu ka. | Which office delivers to my old address? |
| 届出日は先週の月曜日です。 | Todokedebi wa senshū no getsuyōbi desu. | I filed it last Monday. |
| 新しい住所に送り直してもらえますか。 | Atarashii jūsho ni okurinaoshite moraemasu ka. | Could you resend it to my new address? |
Common slips after a move
- Filing the notice on moving day. Letters arriving in the first days can go to the old address while the registration is processed.
- Leaving the old postbox name card in place. Some people remove their name from the old postbox only after forwarding has started.
- Expecting the city office to tell Japan Post, or Japan Post to tell the city office. Each office needs its own notice.
- Forgetting to renew after a year when old contacts still write to the old address.
Turn your move into a plan
A move has many small Japanese tasks, and they are easier one a day. Ask Mocchi: Make me a two-week plan in Japanese for my address changes, with the post office, city office, bank and phone, and teach me one sentence for each. Mocchi lays out the tasks, explains the words and keeps track of what you have done when you come back to the chat.
If you want to say it aloud first, try the post office topic in AI Sensei with Sakura-sensei as the counter clerk, and ask for the form, list your family members and check your ID.