What is the HANKO registration form required for company establishment?

What is a HANKO registration form?

First, I will explain the outline of the HANKO registration form.

Register HANKO with the Legal Affairs Bureau

A HANKO registration form is a document used to register a corporate HANKO, known as the "representative seal," which is the most important part of a company, with the legal affairs bureau that has jurisdiction over the region where the corporation is located. It is similar to the image of an individual registering a registered seal with a local government, and in the case of a corporation's registered seal, it is stipulated that it must be registered with the Legal Affairs Bureau. Additionally, by registering a corporate HANKO with the Legal Affairs Bureau, a HANKO certificate can be issued for the registered HANKO . Regarding the "representative seal" to be registered, even if there are multiple representatives of the corporation, there is no problem in registering only one representative seal. However, if you wish to register HANKO for multiple representatives, you will need to submit a separate HANKO for each representative.

Types of corporate HANKO

HANKO notification form and HANKO certificate

Cases in which it is necessary to submit a HANKO registration form

When establishing a company

The first case is when establishing a company. This is because, according to the Commercial Registration Act, when completing company registration procedures, you are required to submit the HANKO that will be used as the corporate seal. A HANKO certificate will be issued upon registration, so the HANKO to be submitted should be the representative seal, which is the registered seal of the corporation. Strictly speaking, it is possible to register another corporate HANKO, but there is a risk of forgery or unauthorized use, so basically, the seal of the corporation's representative is stamped on the HANKO registration form and submitted. . Additionally, from February 15, 2021, when applying for company registration online, submission of a HANKO registration form is optional, meaning that the obligation to register has been abolished. However, for procedures carried out at counters or by mail, it is still mandatory to submit a HANKO registration form. Even if notification at the time of online application becomes optional, there are many cases where a HANKO certificate is required, so there is no doubt that it will be required later. If you apply online, there is no problem even if it is not done at the same time as registration, but please do the notification procedure later.

When changing HANKO

The second case is when changing the registered HANKO. Specifically, this happens when the representative of a company resigns and a new representative takes office, when the representative seal of the company making the notification is lost, or when the representative seal of the company making the notification is damaged, etc. . In either case, you will have to go through the procedure of resealing. Prepare a seal impression certificate for the new corporation's registered seal, the representative's personal seal, and the individual's registered HANKO, and carry out the seal change procedure at the Legal Affairs Bureau that has jurisdiction over the corporate address. The HANKO registration form and seal change notification form are the same document, so you can change your seal by following the same procedures as when establishing a company.

When relocating the head office

The third case is when you move your headquarters. Strictly speaking, procedures are required when you leave the jurisdiction of the Legal Affairs Bureau that has jurisdiction over your previous address. You will need to complete a new HANKO procedure at the Legal Affairs Bureau that has jurisdiction over the address to which your head office will be relocated. However, when submitting a notification form at the new location, the representative's personal seal or HANKO certificate is not required. Since there are no changes to the registered information, the procedure can be completed by simply affixing the seal of the representative and the personal seal on the notification form. Even so, if the representative is changed and the head office is moved at the same time, the registered information of the representative will change, so the new representative's personal seal and HANKO certificate will be required.

When liquidating a company

The fourth case is when liquidating a company. The reason is that when a company is liquidated, a liquidator acts as the company's representative. Normally, the representative seal that has been used for notification is changed to the liquidator and the HANKO form is submitted at the same time as the dissolution registration.

How to write a HANKO registration form

I will explain how to write a HANKO form. You can also view the HANKO form here .

Upper left stamp field

At the top left of the notification form, there is a field to fill in, surrounded by a large frame, where the seal of the representative of the corporation making the notification will be affixed. The imprint of your seal will be registered as is, so be sure to affix your seal carefully so that it leaves a clear impression. By the way, the size of the representative seal that can be registered must be more than 1 cm and less than 3 cm on each side. When asking a professional to create a representative seal, be careful not to deviate from the specified size.

HANKO submitter

At the top right of the notification form is a field to enter company information and representative information. Fill in the company's Shop Name and office address, select the appropriate position of the representative, and fill in the representative's information. When establishing a new company, a corporate number is not assigned, so you can leave it blank. Also, when a new company is established, there will be no HANKO card, so check "HANKO card will not be inherited." If you wish to inherit your HANKO card due to a relocation of your head office, etc., please enter HANKO card number and your predecessor's information.

Notifier information and seal column on the bottom right

Finally, fill in the notifier information and affix the notifier's personal seal in the seal column at the bottom right. Check "HANKO applicant" in the Notifier column.

When a representative makes a notification

If a proxy is acting as the filer, check the box for ``proxy'' in the filer's column, fill in the proxy's personal information, and affix the seal of the proxy. Please fill in the information about the proxy in the "Power of Attorney" column at the bottom of the form. Please note that the delegator's seal must be affixed in the delegator's seal column.

If the corporation has a representative company seal

If a corporation such as a limited liability company acts as the representative of the company, enter the address, Shop Name , and name of the representative corporation in the name column of the person submitting the HANKO . Fill in the address, title and name of the representative corporation in the notifier's address, and affix the seal of the representative of the representative corporation.

HANKO certificate can be used

To register a company, it is necessary to submit HANKO certificates for all directors, but if you also attach them to the HANKO notification form, the documents to be submitted will be duplicated. By checking the box "...Use the information attached to the registration application form" written in the margin of the notification form, you will be able to submit the HANKO certificate for each director in one go.

Online application for HANKO registration form

You can also apply for a HANKO form online.

Advantages of online application

The advantage of applying for notification online is that you can complete the procedure without going to the Legal Affairs Bureau. Under the previous law, you had to go directly to the Legal Affairs Bureau or complete the procedure by mail, but the Legal Affairs Bureau has limited opening hours, and sending by mail can take time if the materials are incomplete. Due to the influence of the coronavirus, there is a tendency to avoid face-to-face procedures, so the demand for online applications that do not require an in-person visit and are time-consuming is increasing.

How to apply online

The online application for a HANKO registration form can be completed in the following three steps.

• Creating a HANKO notification form: Download and print the HANKO notification form from the Ministry of Justice website.
• Granting an electronic certificate: convert the notification form stamped with the seal of the corporation's representative into a PDF file and obtain an electronic certificate.
• Online application: Apply by attaching the notification form along with the registration application documents from "Registration Net".

Points to note when applying online

Finally, be sure to check the points to note when applying online.

Perform together with registration

The online application for the HANKO registration form is based on the assumption that the application has been applied for online registration. Please note that it is necessary to apply for a HANKO registration form at the same time as online registration, or at the same time as online registration is completed.

Preparation required before application

In order to apply online, you will need to register on the system and obtain an electronic certificate. If you are not good at working online, you may find it troublesome. Registration Net has a support desk, so please check with them by phone or email as you proceed with the process.

summary

We explained the HANKO registration form required for company establishment. There are some cases where notification is not required due to the start of online application, but there are many transactions that require a HANKO certificate, so it is not possible to avoid notification. Please use this article as a reference to proceed with the HANKO procedure.