The My Number health insurance card replaced paper cards in Japan. How to register it, the 資格確認書 if you don't, and what changes with a new job or visa.
As of October 2026, Japan has no paper health insurance cards: they expired on 1 December 2025, and clinics stopped accepting expired cards after 31 July 2026. You show a My Number card registered as your health insurance card (マイナ保険証), or the free certificate of eligibility (資格確認書) your insurer sends if you haven't registered. Registration is done once, at a clinic card reader, in the app or at a Seven Bank ATM. On National Health Insurance, a foreign resident's certificate ends no later than their period of stay.
The My Number health insurance card (マイナ保険証) is your My Number card (マイナンバーカード) registered for health insurance use, and it replaced the paper insurance card. As of October 2026, paper cards are no longer valid: they expired on 1 December 2025, and clinics stopped accepting expired ones after 31 July 2026. No My Number card, or not registered? Show the certificate of eligibility (資格確認書) your insurer sends you for free.
This page covers the insurance side. How to get the card itself, and how to extend it after a visa renewal, is in My Number card for foreigners.
You show one of two things at reception, according to the health ministry (厚生労働省):
| Your situation | What to show | Who sends it |
|---|---|---|
| My Number card registered for insurance | The card, at the card reader | You register once |
| No My Number card, or not registered | 資格確認書 (certificate of eligibility) | Your insurer, free, no application needed |
| Card registered, but the reader fails | The card plus the 資格情報のお知らせ notice or the insurance screen in the My Number app | Your insurer sends the notice |
The 資格確認書 looks different depending on your insurer: size, color and even paper or card format vary. Check that the title says 資格確認書.
The 資格情報のお知らせ (notice of your insurance details) is not a replacement card. It shows your insurer’s symbol and number, and you can’t see a doctor with it alone. Use it only together with your My Number card.
If the reader can’t confirm your insurance, for example because of equipment trouble or an expired electronic certificate, show your My Number card with the insurance screen in the app. The ministry says this way you don’t pay the full 100% at the counter.
You register only once, according to the Digital Agency (デジタル庁). There are three ways:
Some city offices also have a terminal at the insurance counter. You confirm your identity with face recognition or the 4-digit PIN you set when you got the card.
Since 19 September 2025, compatible facilities also accept a smartphone. On an iPhone you use the My Number card in Apple Wallet. On Android you use the electronic certificate with the 4-digit PIN. Check first whether the clinic supports it.
What you get: with the card, the clinic can see past medical and medicine information you agree to share. For a large bill, you don’t pay above the monthly high-cost limit at the counter, and you don’t need to apply in advance.
Changed your mind? You can cancel the registration by applying to your insurer. After cancelling you use a 資格確認書. Inagi City says the change can take about 1 to 2 months to show in My Number Portal.
For now, everyone without a マイナ保険証 gets one automatically, with no application, according to the health ministry. That includes foreign residents who never got a My Number card.
People who have a registered card but find it hard to use, for example because of age or disability, can also apply to their insurer for one. A relative or caregiver can apply for them.
How long it lasts on National Health Insurance: Meguro and Inagi set the certificate to expire on 31 July 2027 at the latest, or on the last day of your period of stay (在留期間) if that comes first. So for most foreign residents on National Health Insurance (国民健康保険), the certificate’s date follows the residence card.
Because no new insurance cards are issued. Since 2 December 2024, insurers send documents instead:
If your card is registered, the Digital Agency says you can use it after a job change or move without waiting for a new card. Your employer or city still has to finish the enrollment first.
If you had to pay 100% because you couldn’t show proof, Kyokai Kenpo says you can apply afterward for a refund (療養費) of everything above your normal copay, when you had an unavoidable reason.
Your registration stays. You don’t register the card again, but you always have to join the new insurer. Old coverage ends the day after your last day at work, and Kyokai Kenpo says to return any 資格確認書 you can no longer use. Using one without coverage means paying back the insurer’s 70% to 80% share.
Late National Health Insurance enrollment still costs you premiums back to the start date, according to Meguro City. For premiums and the full process, see National Health Insurance for foreigners. If you are between jobs on a work visa, read quitting a job in Japan on a visa too.
On National Health Insurance: Koto City says you don’t need to renew anything after a normal extension of your period of stay. The city mails a new 資格確認書 with a later date, or, if you have a マイナ保険証 and haven’t had one yet, a 資格情報のお知らせ.
Two exceptions in Koto’s rules:
Your My Number card also expires with your period of stay, and you extend it at the city office after each renewal (see My Number card for foreigners). Kawasaki City says that if the card or its electronic certificate expires, it still works as a health insurance card until the end of the month 3 months after the expiry date. Kyokai Kenpo sends a 資格確認書 through your employer once 2 months have passed since the end of the month the electronic certificate expired. Renewing early avoids the gap.
What immigration asks about health insurance at the counter is covered in visa renewal in Japan.
More guides: My Number card for foreigners · English-speaking hospitals · National Health Insurance · prescription medicine in Japan · leaving Japan checklist
No. Paper cards stopped being valid on 1 December 2025, and the temporary acceptance of expired cards at clinics ended on 31 July 2026. Use your registered My Number card or your 資格確認書.
New insurance cards are no longer issued. If your My Number card is registered, use it once your enrollment is done. If not, your insurer sends a 資格確認書: Kyokai Kenpo sends it 30 to 50 days after your enrollment is confirmed, unless your employer asked for it on the enrollment form.
No. You register it as a health insurance card only once. You still have to join the new insurer, which your employer does when you give them your My Number.
No. The 資格情報のお知らせ only shows your insurance details and works together with your My Number card. The 資格確認書 replaces the card for people without a マイナ保険証.
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Photo: 硲彪 / CC BY-SA 3.0
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