A Japan company needs three seals in practice: the representative director seal (法人代表印), the only one that must be registered with the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局) and that backs incorporation filings and material contracts; the bank seal (銀行印), registered separately with each bank; and the general company seal (角印) for routine invoices and quotations, which carries no registration at all. Losing the registered seal means cancelling the old registration and filing a new one immediately, because until that cancellation is processed, anyone holding the lost seal can act as the company.
(a) Only the representative director seal (法人代表印) is registered with the Legal Affairs Bureau, and only that registration produces a Seal Registration Certificate (印鑑証明書). (b) The bank seal (銀行印) is registered separately with each bank where the company holds an account, not with any government body. (c) The general company seal (角印) needs no registration anywhere; it is a practical identifier, not a legal requirement. (d) A lost representative director seal must be cancelled at the Legal Affairs Bureau before a replacement is registered, because the old registration stays valid for anyone holding the seal until it is cancelled.
What Are Japan's Three Corporate Seals?#
Japanese companies typically hold three distinct seals, each with a different legal weight and a different registration path.
1. Representative Director Seal (法人代表印 / 丸印)
The representative director seal (法人代表印), also called the maruin (丸印, literally "round seal"), is the company's primary seal and the only one registered with the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局). Registration creates a certified record: anyone can request a Seal Registration Certificate (印鑑証明書) confirming that a given impression matches the registered seal, and counterparties rely on that certificate to authenticate the company in high-stakes transactions.
The 法人代表印 executes material contracts (real estate leases, loan agreements, major commercial agreements), the Articles of Incorporation (定款) at incorporation and on amendment, Legal Affairs Bureau filings (director changes, address changes, capital increases), board and shareholder resolutions requiring external authentication, and documents filed with courts or notaries. It is round, 18mm or 21mm in diameter, with the company name on the outer ring and 代表取締役印 (KK) or 代表社員印 (GK) inside.
The representative director seal should stay in the physical custody of the representative director or under their direct control, and should never pass to a third party without a specific, authorized purpose.
2. Bank Seal (銀行印)
The bank seal (銀行印) authorizes transactions at each bank where the company holds an account. It is registered separately with each bank, not with the Legal Affairs Bureau, and the bank uses its own copy to authenticate withdrawal instructions, wire transfers, and check issuance.
Using the same seal for both the bank seal and the representative director seal is not prohibited, but most companies keep them separate as an internal control: if the representative director seal is presented for a bank transaction by mistake, the bank will reject it because it does not match the registered bank seal. A bank seal is typically round, 15mm to 16.5mm, and carries the company name.
3. General Company Seal (角印 / 社判)
The general company seal, or kakuin (角印, literally "square seal"), is not registered anywhere and is not a legal requirement. It identifies the company on routine commercial paper: invoices (請求書), quotations (見積書), delivery notes (納品書), purchase orders (発注書), and receipts (領収書). It is square, typically 21mm by 21mm, with the company name.
How Do You Register a Seal at the Legal Affairs Bureau?#
Only the representative director seal requires registration, and that registration happens at incorporation, filed together with the incorporation application itself.
(a) Order the seal from a seal-maker (判子屋) before the incorporation filing date; delivery typically takes 3 to 10 business days depending on material and urgency. (b) Submit the Seal Registration Application (印鑑届書) alongside the incorporation filing at the Legal Affairs Bureau. (c) The Legal Affairs Bureau records the impression and opens a registered entry, after which the company can obtain Seal Registration Certificates.
A Seal Registration Certificate (印鑑証明書) confirms that a specific impression matches the company's registered seal. It is obtained at the relevant Legal Affairs Bureau using the company's registration number, at convenience stores via the My Number Card system, or through online procedures, for a fee of approximately ¥450 per copy. The certificate carries no expiry date on its face, but counterparties typically require one issued within the past 3 months, so request a fresh certificate for each significant transaction rather than reusing an older one. For the registration steps that precede this one, see the Articles of Incorporation (定款) guide.
What Happens to Seal Registration When the Representative Director Changes?#
A representative director change requires coordinated seal action, not just a registry update, because an uncancelled old registration stays legally active.
(a) Cancel the outgoing director's seal registration (印鑑廃止届書) at the Legal Affairs Bureau before or at the same time as registering the new director's seal; delaying this leaves an unauthorized person's seal potentially still valid. (b) Register the incoming director's seal, which requires that director's own personal seal registration as part of the filing. (c) Notify the bank of the change and provide the new director's authorization; the bank may require a new bank seal if the old one was personal to the outgoing director. (d) Notify major counterparties holding Seal Registration Certificates tied to the old registration.
Post-M&A seal transition is a common source of operational disruption: see the Post-M&A Regulatory Integration guide for the sequencing risk of cancelling the outgoing seal before the bank has processed the new signatory authorization, which can temporarily freeze account access.
Can Electronic Signatures Replace the Seal?#
Not entirely. The Act on Electronic Signatures and Certification Business (電子署名法) gives qualified electronic signatures legal weight equivalent to a handwritten signature or seal for many purposes, and electronic filing of corporate registration changes with the Legal Affairs Bureau is now the standard route for professional scriveners. Electronic signing through qualified services (DocuSign, CloudSign, GMO Sign) is widely accepted for B2B commercial contracts, and some banks now accept electronic authorization for routine transactions.
The seal still governs several categories regardless: some Legal Affairs Bureau filings, real property registration documents, notarized documents (including 定款 notarization for a KK), court filings, and account opening at most major banks. A foreign-owned company should keep its physical seal infrastructure for these, while using electronic signing for B2B contracts where counterparties accept it.
How Should a Foreign-Owned Company With an Overseas Director Manage Its Seals?#
The physical seal creates a specific problem when the representative director lives outside Japan: the seal must be in Japan to execute local filings and contracts, but the director is not.
(a) A Japan-resident representative director can hold and use the seal directly for routine matters; see the Nominee Representative Director guide for how that arrangement works. (b) An authorized signatory can act under a power of attorney (委任状) for specific, defined transactions; open-ended delegation of seal use raises name-lending (名義貸し) concerns and should be avoided. (c) A company with infrequent high-stakes transactions can rely on periodic in-person signing trips, batching documents for the director's visit. (d) Where counterparties accept electronic signatures, using them for eligible contracts reduces reliance on the physical seal altogether.
A fireproof safe or a dedicated secure location at the registered office is the standard storage point for the representative director seal, kept separate from the bank seal so the internal control value of having two seals is not lost. Aplash's company incorporation service covers this registered-office and seal-custody setup as part of entity formation for non-resident founders.
What Should You Do If a Seal Is Lost?#
Speed determines the exposure, because a lost seal stays usable by whoever holds it until the registration is cancelled.
(a) If the representative director seal is lost, file a Seal Registration Cancellation Application immediately, order a replacement, file a new Seal Registration Application, and notify the bank and major counterparties without delay. (b) If the bank seal is lost, notify the bank immediately; the bank freezes seal-based transactions on the account and runs its own replacement process, which typically includes a waiting period to confirm no fraudulent transaction occurred first. (c) A lost general company seal (角印) only needs replacing, since it carries no registration to cancel.
How Much Does a Corporate Seal Cost?#
A complete set of three seals from a seal-maker (判子屋) typically runs from approximately ¥10,000 to ¥50,000, depending on material. Ebony (黒水牛) is the common mid-range choice, durable and resistant to warping. Titanium (チタン) costs more but keeps impression quality consistent over the seal's life, making it a common pick for the representative director seal specifically. Acrylic and resin cost less and suit the general and bank seals, where material prestige matters less. Standard delivery is 3 to 7 business days, with rush orders available in 1 to 3 days at extra cost; order the representative director seal early, since incorporation cannot complete without it.
Frequently Asked Questions#
Does a Japan company legally need a corporate seal, or does a signature work instead?
For the representative director seal, yes: incorporation filing and many Legal Affairs Bureau procedures require a registered seal, not a signature alone. For day-to-day commercial contracts, an accepted electronic signature or a handwritten signature can substitute in most B2B contexts, but banks, courts, and notaries still generally require the seal.
What happens if the representative director seal is lost or stolen?
The existing registration stays active until formally cancelled, so anyone holding the seal could execute documents as the company in the interim. File a Seal Registration Cancellation Application at the Legal Affairs Bureau immediately, then register a replacement and notify the bank and key counterparties.
Can an overseas director register and use the seal without traveling to Japan?
A Japan-resident representative director or an authorized signatory acting under a specific, scoped power of attorney can handle registration and routine use locally. Open-ended delegation of seal authority to a third party raises name-lending concerns and is not a safe substitute for one of these two structures.
Is the general company seal (角印) ever legally required?
No. It carries no government registration and has no statutory requirement behind it; its only function is as a practical identifier on invoices, quotations, and similar routine documents.
How long is a Seal Registration Certificate valid?
The certificate itself does not expire, but most counterparties and institutions want one issued within the past 3 months for a given transaction, so a company should request a fresh certificate for each significant transaction rather than reusing an older one.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Consult a licensed judicial scrivener (司法書士) or attorney (弁護士) for seal registration and corporate document matters specific to your company. Last updated: October 2026.