Kei cars are the yellow-plate vehicles with engines up to 660 cc: Suzuki Wagon R, Honda N-BOX, Daihatsu Tanto, Suzuki Every, Nissan Dayz, Mitsubishi eK. They are cheaper to tax and insure, and the paperwork is simpler than a registered car. Ownership is recorded at the Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Organization (軽自動車検査協会), not the transport bureau, and the rules are different. Do not use a white-plate checklist for a kei car.
What is different from a registered car
| Kei car (yellow plate) | Registered car (white plate) | |
|---|---|---|
| Registered seal (実印) | Not required | Required |
| Seal certificate (印鑑登録証明書) | Not required; a certificate of residence is enough | Required, within 3 months |
| Parking certificate before name change | Not required at the association | Required in most areas |
| Parking paperwork | Parking notification (保管場所届出) only in designated cities, after registration | Parking certificate (車庫証明) from the police before registration |
| Where the name change is filed | 軽自動車検査協会 office for your area | 運輸支局 (transport bureau) for your area |
| Name-change fee at the office | Free | Registration stamp fee |
Documents you provide
Individual buyer
- Certificate of residence 住民票の写し without the My Number, issued within 3 months. A seal certificate is accepted instead. A clear copy is acceptable.
- Application request form 申請依頼書, signed so that Yamaguchi Motors files for you. We prepare it.
- That is all for the name change itself. No registered seal, no proof of income.
Company buyer
- Registry extract 登記事項証明書 or the company seal certificate, within 3 months.
- Application request form 申請依頼書 with the company name.
What Yamaguchi Motors files
- Vehicle inspection certificate (車検証) original.
- Change-of-record application (自動車検査証変更記録申請書, 軽第1号様式) with your address proof.
- Light vehicle tax declaration (軽自動車税（種別割）申告書) at the tax window next to the association.
- New plates when your place of use is in a different plate area from the current plates.
Parking for a kei car
Most of Japan requires nothing for a kei car. In designated cities, a parking notification (自動車保管場所届出) must be filed with the police station covering the parking place after the car is registered. Tokyo’s 23 wards and most large cities nationwide are designated; each prefecture publishes its own list. The notification uses the same location and layout maps and the same proof of the right to use the space as a certificate, but the fee is set by each prefecture (some charge nothing) and there is no waiting period before registration. We check your parking address against the designated-area list and tell you whether a notification applies. Kei parking details.
Timeline
Typical: 1 to 3 days for you to collect the certificate of residence, then 1 to 2 working days for the name change and plates. With a fresh Shaken included, allow one extra week. Many kei-car purchases are ready within 7 to 10 days of full payment.
Costs that depend on your address
Light vehicle tax is annual and charged to the owner on 1 April; no monthly proration applies when you buy mid-year. Plate fees apply only when the plate area changes. Recycle fee transfer is itemised. Everything is shown on the invoice before the balance is due.
Generate my document checklist See kei cars in stock
Sources: 軽自動車検査協会 name-change procedure page; prefectural police parking-notification pages; National Police Agency, checked September 2026. Designated areas and details change over time; Yamaguchi Motors confirms your exact list before registration.