A newly incorporated Japan KK or GK does not apply for its 法人番号 (Corporate Number). Japan's National Tax Agency (国税庁, NTA) issues the 13-digit number automatically once incorporation registration (設立登記) closes at the Legal Affairs Bureau (法務局), and dispatches the Corporate Number Designation Notice (法人番号指定通知書) to the company's registered head office address roughly two business days after the registration date.
When Does the Corporate Number Get Issued?#
The NTA assigns the Corporate Number the moment it receives word that incorporation registration has completed at the Legal Affairs Bureau, with no separate application from the company. The two offices are linked: the Legal Affairs Bureau records the new company's existence on the commercial register, and the NTA picks that registration up to generate the number. A founder who has just closed on incorporation does not need to file anything to trigger this step.
What the founder does need to track is timing on the receiving end. The notice carrying the number is dispatched to the address entered as the company's head office on the registration, in principle about two business days after the registration completion date. That dispatch timing is confirmed; how long the physical letter then takes to arrive by mail is not something this process publishes a fixed figure for, so budget a few additional days for transit rather than assuming same-week arrival.
How Is the Notice Actually Delivered?#
By default, the NTA sends the paper Corporate Number Designation Notice to whatever address is on file as the registered head office. For companies that incorporated through the government's one-stop online incorporation portal (法人設立ワンストップサービス), the notice instead arrives electronically through that same portal, on a comparable short timeframe rather than by post.
This distinction matters for a foreign founder using a virtual office or an agent-provided registered address, which is common at the fresh-incorporation stage covered in the post-incorporation checklist. If nobody is checking mail at that address in the days after registration, the physical notice can sit unopened or get filed as junk by an agent who does not know what it is. Confirm with whoever manages the registered address that incoming NTA mail gets flagged and forwarded immediately, not batched for a monthly pickup.
What Is the Corporate Number Actually Needed For?#
The number is the identifier the company uses across national and local tax filings and in corporate bank account applications. Three uses come up immediately after incorporation.
(a) NTA filings through e-Tax. Corporate tax returns and related national filings made through Japan's e-Tax electronic filing system are tied to the Corporate Number, so the company's e-Tax account setup depends on having it in hand.
(b) Local tax filings through eLTAX. Prefectural and municipal tax filings, including the 法人住民税均等割 (per-capita local tax) that applies even in a loss year, run through the eLTAX local tax portal and likewise require the number.
(c) Bank KYC for corporate account opening. Banks commonly request the Corporate Number alongside the 登記事項証明書 (certificate of registered matters) as part of their know-your-customer documentation for a new corporate account. Where that account approval is already the harder part of market entry for a foreign-owned entity, as covered in the Japan corporate bank account guide, not having the Corporate Number Designation Notice ready when the bank asks for it is an avoidable delay layered on top of a process that is already slow.
A founder who has gone through a rejected bank account application and is preparing a second attempt should check that the Corporate Number notice, not just the registry certificate, is part of the KYC file being assembled before resubmitting.
Where Can You Look Up the Corporate Number Before the Paper Notice Arrives?#
The NTA publishes three basic items for every registered company, the Corporate Number itself, the company name, and the head office address, on its Corporate Number Publication Site (国税庁法人番号公表サイト), a free public database searchable by name or address. This publication typically lands within about one to two business days of registration completion, which in practice is often faster than the physical notice reaches the mailbox.
That makes the publication site the practical first stop when a bank, a counterparty, or an internal filing deadline needs the number before the letter has turned up. Processing delays do occur on the NTA side, so treat the site as the fastest available source rather than a guaranteed same-day result, and do not promise a bank or counterparty an exact date before checking it.
What If the Registered Address Changes Before the Notice Arrives?#
The Corporate Number itself does not change when the registered office moves, but the notice already dispatched went to the address on file at the time of incorporation. A founder who moves offices, or who switches from an agent-provided registered address to a physical one, in the weeks right after incorporation should coordinate the timing against when NTA mail is expected; the registered office address change guide covers the registry-side filing for that move. Losing track of the original notice is recoverable, since the company name, address and Corporate Number are independently verifiable on the publication site, but it is still one more document to chase down at a point when the founder is usually also chasing bank account approval.
Firms coordinating fresh incorporation, registered address arrangement and the post-incorporation filing sequence end to end can get this built into the engagement scope from the start; see the company incorporation service overview for how that coordination is structured.
Frequently Asked Questions#
Do We Need to Apply for the 法人番号 Separately From Registering the Company?
No separate application exists. The National Tax Agency assigns the Corporate Number automatically once it receives the completed incorporation registration from the Legal Affairs Bureau, and the only thing a founder needs to do is make sure someone is checking mail at the registered head office address in the days that follow.
How Long After Incorporation Does the Corporate Number Notice Arrive?
The National Tax Agency dispatches the Corporate Number Designation Notice to the registered head office roughly two business days after the registration completion date. That figure covers dispatch, not mail transit, so actual arrival in the mailbox runs a few days beyond that depending on postal delivery, and companies incorporated through the one-stop online portal receive the notice electronically on a similar timeframe instead.
Can We Find Our Corporate Number Before the Physical Notice Shows Up?
Yes. The Corporate Number, company name and head office address are published on the National Tax Agency's Corporate Number Publication Site, a free searchable database, usually within one to two business days of registration completion. This is often the fastest way to confirm the number if a bank or a filing deadline needs it before the letter arrives, though occasional processing delays mean it is not a guaranteed same-day result.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Consult a qualified advisor before acting on the content. Last updated: October 2026.