Opening a cleaning establishment: the notification and facilities you need

In short: when you open a cleaning establishment (a facility for processing laundry, or for receiving and delivering it), before you start you file, in advance, a notification of its location, structural facilities and other matters with the prefectural governor (Cleaning Business Act, Article 5(1)). What you need is a "notification," not a "permit"; but you may not use the establishment until the prefectural governor confirms the notified structural facilities on inspection (Article 5-2). A shop that washes laundry places at least one cleaning technician per establishment (Article 4). This article organises the requirements and flow in general terms; the acceptance and confirmation are made by the public health centre (prefecture, city with a public health centre, or special ward), and our office does not guarantee confirmation.

Do you need a permit or a notification to open a cleaning establishment?

You need a notification. The Cleaning Business Act (Act No. 207 of 27 May 1950; last amended by Act No. 69 of 13 June 2014), Article 5(1), provides that a person who intends to open a cleaning establishment must, in advance, notify the prefectural governor (in cities and special wards with a public health centre, the mayor or ward head) of the establishment's location, structural facilities, number of staff, the cleaning technician's name and other matters set by ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Because it is not a permit system, there is no "screening for approval," but you cannot open without filing.

The other key point is confirmation before use. You may not use the establishment until the prefectural governor has inspected the notified structural facilities and confirmed them (Article 5-2). So it is not "filed = usable at once," but "notification → inspection and confirmation → start of use." If a notified matter changes, or the establishment is abolished, you also notify (Article 5(3)).

Item	Content	Basis
Nature of the procedure	A notification, not a permit	Cleaning Business Act, Article 5(1)
Destination	Prefectural governor (mayor/ward head where there is a public health centre)	Same paragraph
Timing	In advance, before starting (using) it	Same paragraph
Start of use	After inspection and confirmation of the structural facilities	Article 5-2
Change / abolition	Notify on any change or abolition	Article 5(3)

Must you always place a cleaning technician?

At an establishment that processes (washes) laundry, yes. Cleaning Business Act, Article 4, provides that a business operator must place at least one cleaning technician per cleaning establishment (excluding those that only receive and deliver laundry). A cleaning technician is a person who has passed the cleaning-technician examination and received the prefectural governor's licence (Articles 2 and 6). The licence is a personal qualification, separate from the per-establishment notification (Article 5).

Note the words in parentheses—"those that only receive and deliver laundry," i.e., a receiving-only agency shop. An agency shop that only receives and delivers, without washing, must still file a notification as a cleaning establishment, but is exempt from placing a cleaning technician (the parenthetical in Article 4). A drop-off point for a delivery cleaning service, or a shop that takes items over the counter and washes them at a separate plant, is often this kind of agency shop. However, if even part of the washing, drying or finishing is done on the same premises, it becomes a "shop that washes" and a cleaning technician is required. Confirm which your shop is with the opening area's public health centre, showing the facility's contents.

How far do the structural-facility standards (washing place, disinfection, partition) go?

A business operator must take the environmental-hygiene measures necessary for the cleaning establishment, such as disinfecting laundry (Cleaning Business Act, Article 3). That article frames the hygiene measures: a ban on processing laundry outside designated facilities, installing the machinery needed for washing and dehydration, keeping the facility clean, separating and storing items before and after washing, and impermeable flooring. Laundry designated as needing infection prevention (items that may be contaminated by pathogens of contagious disease, etc.) must be separated from other laundry and washed after disinfection.

The concrete standards are delegated to the Regulation for Enforcement of the Cleaning Business Act (Ordinance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare No. 35 of 1950) and each prefecture's ordinance and enforcement rules. Because figures and operation for partitions, the washing place, disinfection equipment, lighting and ventilation, and water supply/drainage differ by municipality, we do not assert here any nationwide uniform area standard. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Hygiene Management Guidelines for Cleaning Establishments" show the thinking on partitions and disinfection, so it is safest to build them into the design from the design stage, together with the opening area's ordinance and the public health centre's guide. Filing after all interior works are finished tends to require rework if the standards are not met, so before signing the premises contract, check whether the layout can secure the washing place, water supply/drainage, partitions and ventilation.

Where do an agency shop and an unmanned laundry (coin laundry) come under regulation?

It depends on "washing / relaying / the customer washing themselves." As above, an agency shop (receiving and delivering only) must file a notification as a cleaning establishment but needs no cleaning technician (Articles 4 and 5). By contrast, a coin laundry (coin-operation cleaning), where the customer operates the washer and dryer and washes themselves, is not a facility regulated by the Cleaning Business Act, because the operator does not process another person's laundry. So no opening notification or cleaning technician under the Cleaning Business Act is required.

That does not mean no filing at all, however. For a coin-operation cleaning business, following the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Guidelines on hygiene measures for coin-operation cleaning business facilities" (Kanshi No. 39 of 29 March 1983), many municipalities set their own hygiene guidance rules, and the practice is to notify the public health centre before opening and receive hygiene guidance. Forms and timing differ by municipality, so confirm with the opening area's public health centre. The premises-side requirements (zoning, drainage, electrical capacity, etc.) are organised in a separate article, Premises suitable for a coin laundry.

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Type	Cleaning Business Act notification	Cleaning technician	Main basis
Washing shop (in-house)	Required (Art. 5(1)) + pre-use confirmation (Art. 5-2)	Required (Art. 4, at least one)	Cleaning Business Act
Agency shop (receiving/delivery only)	Required (Art. 5; only receives and delivers laundry)	Not required (parenthetical in Art. 4)	Cleaning Business Act
Coin laundry (customer washes themselves)	Not a facility regulated by the Cleaning Business Act	—	Municipal hygiene guidance rules (following Kanshi No. 39)

Who should you ask about premises, labour and tax?

Because opening a cleaning shop crosses several fields, the roles are divided as follows.

• Preparation of the cleaning-establishment opening notification and support for prior consultation with the public health centre → Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office (administrative scrivener)
• Selection, lease and important-matters explanation of the business premises → Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.
• Employees' working conditions, social insurance and work rules → Yotsuba Labour and Social Security Attorney Office (labour and social security attorney)
• Accounting and tax after opening → a tax accountant
• Individual legal judgement on disputes over the lease or transactions and on rights and obligations → an attorney

Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office and Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. are separate businesses. Our office handles only support for the cleaning-establishment opening notification as an independent business, and premises, labour and tax are contracted or consulted separately with each qualified professional and business. Our office receives no referral fee. For the whole picture of licensing, see Licensing and Permits; for the flow of engagement, see Engagement Flow; and for fees, see Fee Schedule. On notification to the public health centre and structural facilities, Restaurant business permit and the public health centre's facility standards and Beauty-salon opening notification and facility standards take a similar approach, so please also check them. The acceptance, inspection and confirmation themselves are decided by the public health centre.

FAQ

Q. Do I need a permit to open a cleaning shop?
A. Not a permit but a notification. A person intending to open files, in advance, the location, structural facilities and other matters with the prefectural governor (Cleaning Business Act, Article 5(1)). However, you may not use it until the notified structural facilities are confirmed (Article 5-2). It is not "filed = operate at once"; there is an inspection-and-confirmation stage after the notification.

Q. Does a receiving-and-delivery-only agency shop still need a cleaning technician?
A. An agency shop that only receives and delivers laundry is exempt from placing a cleaning technician (the parenthetical in Cleaning Business Act, Article 4). But an agency shop is still a "cleaning establishment," so the opening notification itself is required (Article 5). If even part of the washing or finishing is done on the same premises, it becomes a "washing shop" and a cleaning technician is required.

Q. Does a coin laundry also need a Cleaning Business Act notification?
A. A coin laundry (coin-operation cleaning) where the customer washes themselves is not a facility regulated by the Cleaning Business Act. So no opening notification or cleaning technician under the Cleaning Business Act is required. However, many municipalities set hygiene guidance rules and expect notification to the public health centre and hygiene guidance before opening, so confirm with the opening area's public health centre.

Q. How far can I take the interior works?
A. It is safest to build the washing place, water supply/drainage, partitions, disinfection equipment and ventilation into the design from the design stage in line with the structural-facility standards. Filing after all works are finished may require rework if the standards are not met. After the notification there is an inspection and confirmation of the structural facilities, and you can use the establishment only after that confirmation (Cleaning Business Act, Article 5-2). Consulting the public health centre before signing the premises contract helps avoid rework.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search, "Cleaning Business Act" (Act No. 207 of 27 May 1950; last amended by Act No. 69 of 13 June 2014), Article 2 (definitions), Article 3 (environmental-hygiene measures), Article 4 (placing a cleaning technician), Article 5 (opening notification, etc.), Article 5-2 (inspection and confirmation before use), Article 6 (cleaning-technician licence) (accessed 2026-09-20)
• e-Gov Law Search, "Regulation for Enforcement of the Cleaning Business Act" (Ordinance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare No. 35 of 1950) (accessed 2026-09-20)
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Hygiene Management Guidelines for Cleaning Establishments" (accessed 2026-09-20)
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "On the Guidelines on hygiene measures for coin-operation cleaning business facilities" (Kanshi No. 39 of 29 March 1983) (accessed 2026-09-20)
• Guides to cleaning-establishment opening notifications published by the public health centre of the planned site, and each prefecture's ordinance and enforcement rules (standards for structural facilities and hygiene measures; forms and required documents; hygiene guidance rules for coin-operation cleaning; accessed 2026-09-20)

This article is general information and does not guarantee individual acceptance of a notification, conformity with the standards for structural facilities and hygiene measures, or the result of an inspection. Acceptance, inspection and confirmation of the cleaning-establishment opening notification are made by the public health centre (prefecture, city with a public health centre, or special ward). Concrete standards for structural facilities are delegated to the Regulation for Enforcement of the Cleaning Business Act and each prefecture's ordinance and enforcement rules; confirm the standards, forms and required documents for each facility on the relevant municipality's official page. Selection, lease and important-matters explanation of the business premises are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.; employees' working conditions, social insurance and work rules by Yotsuba Labour and Social Security Attorney Office; accounting and tax by a tax accountant; and individual legal judgement on rights, obligations and disputes by an attorney, each as an independent business under a separate contract or consultation. Our office receives no referral fee. Individual judgements are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real estate broker.