The title deed cannot be found. Can the property still be sold? — The three substitutes, and how long each of them takes

You can sell. Even without the title deed, the law provides three ways to move ownership across. But only one of the three has its period fixed by law, and if you are living overseas, that one takes four weeks from the day the notice is dispatched.

Which of the three you use decides whether you make the completion date. The sale process as a whole is set out in Feature: selling your property before you leave Japan.

Last updated: [Month] [Day], 2026

Can I have the title deed reissued?

No. There is no provision in the law that allows a reissue.

What is called a title deed today is a code known as the registration identification information (登記識別情報). The Real Property Registration Act (不動産登記法), Article 21 provides that this is notified to you "when the registration concerned has been completed". That is once only, at the moment the registration finishes, and the Act sets out no procedure for issuing it again. It is not that a provision prohibits a reissue; it is that there is no provision to base one on, so it cannot be done. The Ministry of Justice's "Q&A on the new Real Property Registration Act" (新不動産登記法Ｑ＆Ａ), answer A17, likewise states that "re-notification of it is not permitted".

If what you have lost is a paper "certificate of completed registration" (登記済証) issued under the earlier system, the same three substitutes are used. This article, however, has not verified the provision that this rests on (unverified). Please confirm what is possible with a judicial scrivener (司法書士).

So does that mean I cannot sell without the title deed?

You can sell. The Real Property Registration Act, Article 22 first sets out, in its main clause, the duty to provide the registration identification information, and then, in its proviso, carves out the case "where there is a legitimate reason for being unable to provide it". The law contemplated from the outset that there would be cases in which it cannot be produced. There are three ways for the registrar to satisfy himself that you are who you say you are.

Method	Period	Where the period comes from	Cost	Where the cost comes from
(1) Identity verification information prepared by a qualified agent (資格者代理人)	No period is fixed by law. It depends on when the interview can be scheduled	There is no such provision at all	No statutory amount	The Regulation for Enforcement of the Judicial Scriveners Act (司法書士法施行規則), Article 22 only requires the fee basis to be stated in advance. It fixes no amount, and the amount differs from office to office
(2) Advance notice procedure	Two weeks within Japan / four weeks outside Japan (counted from the day of dispatch), plus postal transit time	Regulations for Real Property Registration (不動産登記規則), Article 70, paragraph 8	No fee is charged by the registry office	Guidance from the Legal Affairs Bureau. For priority handling, postage stamps must be submitted under the Regulations for Real Property Registration, Article 70, paragraph 3
(3) Authentication by a notary	No period is fixed by law. It depends on when the notary office can give you an appointment	There is no such provision at all	JPY 4,000 to authenticate a power of attorney / JPY 10,000 where it is written in a foreign language	Notary Fee Order (公証人手数料令), Article 34, paragraph 1, proviso, together with Article 18 / Article 34, paragraph 3

Stop for a moment on "there is no such provision at all". The number of days is fixed by law only for (2). How quickly (1) and (3) move is decided by the diary of the judicial scrivener's office or of the notary office.

(1) What does it mean to have a judicial scrivener prepare identity verification information?

It means the judicial scrivener meets the seller in person, checks who they are, and submits what was checked to the registrar in writing.

The basis is the Real Property Registration Act, Article 23, paragraph 4, item 1. The words used in the Act are "an agent who may act as an agent for applications for registration in the course of trade"; "qualified agent" (資格者代理人) is not a term of the Act at all, but a defined term in the Regulations for Real Property Registration, Article 63, paragraph 5.

Point to hold on to	What it means	Basis
The registrar's own judgement comes into it	The advance notice becomes unnecessary only "where the registrar finds the content thereof to be appropriate"	Real Property Registration Act, Article 23, paragraph 4, item 1
An interview is required	The document must state "the date and time of, the place of, and the circumstances surrounding the interview with the applicant"	Regulations for Real Property Registration, Article 72, paragraph 1, item 1
Identity documents are required	At least one of: a driver's licence, an Individual Number Card (個人番号カード), a passport or similar, a residence card (在留カード), a Special Permanent Resident Certificate, or a Driving History Certificate	Regulations for Real Property Registration, Article 72, paragraph 2, item 1

It is not a case of "if the judicial scrivener writes it, it goes through". There is a gate: whether the registrar finds it appropriate. And because the date, time and place of the interview have to be written down, it cannot be produced by exchanging documents alone. Where you need one, we will introduce you to a judicial scrivener (you contract with that judicial scrivener directly). We do not receive any referral fee.

(2) Why does the advance notice procedure not fit a 30-day completion?

Because it is a procedure in which the registry office posts a letter to the seller and then waits for a reply. And the waiting period, if you are living overseas, is fixed at four weeks.

The Real Property Registration Act, Article 23, paragraph 1 provides that the registrar gives notice to the party under a duty to register (登記義務者) — that is, the seller. No notice goes to the buyer, and none goes to an agent.

	Where the address is in Japan	Where the address is outside Japan
Period for making the declaration	Two weeks from the day of dispatch	Four weeks from the day of dispatch
How the notice is sent	Addressee-only mail (Regulations, Article 70, paragraph 1, item 1)	Registered mail or similar (Regulations, Article 70, paragraph 1, item 3)
If no declaration is made within the period	Dismissal (却下) (Real Property Registration Act, Article 25, item 10)	Dismissal (却下) (same provision)

The single most important point is when the clock starts. The Regulations, Article 70, paragraph 8 says "from the day the notice was dispatched". Not from the day it arrived. The time international post takes on the way out, and the time it takes on the way back, both sit inside those four weeks. You will find articles stating that "the advance notice arrives by addressee-only mail" — that is true only where the address is inside Japan.

There is a further point: the advance notice only begins after the application for registration has been filed. The application goes in on the day of completion (決済), the notice is dispatched, the seller makes the declaration, and only then is the registration carried out. The buyer, having already paid the price, waits several weeks with no registration in place. On a schedule of "sell within 30 days, then leave the country", this route is almost never the one chosen.

(3) Can a notary's authentication be obtained from overseas?

As a matter of the wording of the Act, it has become possible. But only "where the notary finds it appropriate".

The Real Property Registration Act, Article 23, paragraph 4, item 2 provides for authentication by a notary. The thing to watch is what it is that gets authenticated.

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How the application is made	What is authenticated	Fee
You appoint an agent	The power of attorney (in the words of the Act, "information evidencing the authority thereof")	JPY 4,000 (JPY 10,000 where it is written in a foreign language)
You apply yourself	The application for registration itself	It moves with the value of the property, so it will not be JPY 4,000

The JPY 4,000 figure is five-tenths of the JPY 8,000 fee that would apply if the power of attorney were being drawn up by the notary (Notary Fee Order (公証人手数料令), Article 18). Because that falls below JPY 11,000, the proviso to Article 34, paragraph 1 applies. Where the document is in a foreign language, Article 34, paragraph 3 adds JPY 6,000.

This is where the Notary Act (公証人法), Article 52, paragraph 2 comes in. It took effect on 1 October 2025, and where the notary finds it appropriate, authentication by means of a web conference has become possible. The basis for authenticating a privately prepared document is Article 52, paragraph 1 of the same Act, and that provision was renumbered from Article 58 in the same commencement. Most commentary articles still say "Article 58". Whether you can actually use the web conference route is a matter of practice at each individual notary office. Please confirm what is possible with the notary office. What a power of attorney needs to contain is set out in What a power of attorney should say.

Which of the three will I end up using?

The judicial scrivener chooses. It is a judgement about registration, and it is not for a real estate company to decide.

Where the completion date is already fixed and there is no slack, (1). Where you are still in Japan until you leave, (1) or (3). Where you are already overseas, the conversation goes to how the interview for (1) could be held, or whether the web conference route for (3) is available at that notary office — in that order. Where there is as yet no buyer and no completion date, (2), which carries no fee, is also a candidate.

If you are already living overseas, the wider picture is in A guide to selling Japanese real estate for overseas owners.

Is "I cannot find the title deed" the same as "it may have been stolen"?

No. The two procedures point in opposite directions.

The Regulations for Real Property Registration, Article 65, paragraph 1 provides for an application for invalidation (失効の申出) of registration identification information. The name sounds similar, but this is the procedure for making that registration identification information unusable. It is not a procedure for moving a registration forward; it is a procedure for stopping the information being misused. Once the application is made, the information can no longer be used, even if it turns up afterwards. Which of the two situations you are in is a question to put to a judicial scrivener.

If my departure date is set, by when should I say something?

The moment you think "I may not be able to find it". Because the advance notice is the only one of the three with its number of days fixed by law; the rest run on other people's diaries.

Time to look for it. Time to speak to a judicial scrivener and get an interview into the diary. Time to get an appointment at the notary office. For none of these is a period fixed by law; the only period that is fixed is the one for making the declaration under the advance notice procedure.

This article does not give a "generally it takes this many days" figure. That is because there is no figure that can be backed up by a primary source. For an estimate, please ask a judicial scrivener or the notary office. The order in which to do things before you leave is set out in Selling after you leave Japan: what to do now, and seal registration in Can a foreign resident register a seal in Japan on the same day?.

Sources for this article

Law or source	Article, paragraph, item	Date in force / last amended
Real Property Registration Act (不動産登記法)	Article 21 (notification of registration identification information) / Article 22, main clause and proviso (duty to provide, and the exception) / Article 23, paragraph 1 (advance notice) / Article 23, paragraph 4, item 1 (identity verification information) / Article 23, paragraph 4, item 2 (authentication by a notary) / Article 25, item 10	In force 24 June 2026 (last amended by Act No. 46 of Reiwa 8)
Regulations for Real Property Registration (不動産登記規則)	Article 63, paragraph 5 (definition of qualified agent) / Article 65, paragraph 1 (application for invalidation) / Article 70, paragraph 1, items 1 and 3 (how the notice is sent) / Article 70, paragraph 3 (priority handling) / Article 70, paragraph 8 ("two weeks from the day the notice was dispatched … four weeks where the address is outside Japan") / Article 72, paragraph 1, item 1 (recording the interview) / Article 72, paragraph 2, item 1 (identity documents)	In force 21 May 2026 (last amended by Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice No. 38 of Reiwa 8)
Notary Act (公証人法)	Article 52, paragraph 1 (authentication of privately prepared documents; renumbered from Article 58) / Article 52, paragraph 2 (by means of a web conference)	In force 1 October 2025
Notary Fee Order (公証人手数料令)	Article 34, paragraph 1, proviso, and Article 18 (JPY 4,000 to authenticate a power of attorney) / Article 34, paragraph 3 (JPY 6,000 added for a foreign language)	In force 21 May 2026 (last amended by Cabinet Order No. 38 of Reiwa 8)
Regulation for Enforcement of the Judicial Scriveners Act (司法書士法施行規則)	Article 22 (stating the fee basis in advance)	In force 31 March 2023 (last amended by Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice No. 24 of Reiwa 4)
Ministry of Justice, "Q&A on the new Real Property Registration Act" (新不動産登記法Ｑ＆Ａ)	A17: "re-notification of it is not permitted"	—

The items marked "unverified" follow the provisions as they stood on 11 August 2026, but the dates in force and the last amendment dates have not been confirmed against a primary source. This article is general information. It is not a determination of whether a registration can be effected in any individual case. Registration procedure is the work of a judicial scrivener, and you contract with that judicial scrivener directly. We do not receive any referral fee. For tax matters please instruct a certified tax accountant (税理士), and for disputes a lawyer.

Related links

• Feature: selling your property before you leave Japan
• Selling after you leave Japan: what to do now
• A guide to selling Japanese real estate for overseas owners
• What a power of attorney should say
• What happens if the address on the register is still your old one?
• Can a foreign resident register a seal in Japan on the same day?
• How to tell whether a company is licensed

This article is written by Joji Uramatsu, President of Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a licensed Real Estate Transaction Specialist and administrative scrivener (行政書士). He spent 34 years as a journalist at the Mainichi Shimbun and was posted to China, Taiwan and Thailand as its China Bureau Chief. Kohinata, Bunkyo-ku — five minutes' walk from Myogadani Station.