Documents Needed to Bid on Public Tenders in Japan (2026)

This is the checklist behind a bid in Japan: every document and step a Japanese government tender involves, in the order you meet them, with who may lawfully handle each one. How Japanese procurement works overall, from thresholds and bid periods to evaluation and payment, is in How to bid for government contracts in Japan; categories, scoring and grades for the central qualification are in Japan’s Unified Qualification, step by step.

Before you bid

1. Your company identifiers. Two records come first.

Corporate number (法人番号): the 13-digit number the National Tax Agency assigns automatically to every registered company. It is free, permanent and public, so it can simply be looked up. It goes on the Unified Qualification form and is required for GビズID.
Registry certificate (登記事項証明書 or 履歴事項全部証明書) from the Legal Affairs Bureau, attached to the Unified Qualification and to most other procurement registrations.
- Cost: ¥600 on paper; ¥520 ordered online and posted; ¥490 ordered online and collected (fees from 1 April 2025).
- Time: the same day at the counter, a few days by post.
- Valid: it must be issued within 3 months of the application it supports.
- Who does it: anyone may request one, so a 行政書士 or 司法書士 orders it and attaches it to the filing.

2. Tax payment certificates. Corporations attach two National Tax Agency certificates to the Unified Qualification: その2, showing the amounts of income or corporation tax, and その3の3, showing no unpaid corporation or consumption tax.

Cost: ¥400 per item on paper, ¥370 through e-Tax. その2 is charged per tax item, year and copy; その3 per copy.
Valid: issued within 3 months of the application.
Who does it: a 税理士, or another agent, at the tax office with your 委任状 and identity documents, or through e-Tax with the agent’s own access. Your part is signing the 委任状, unless you request the certificates yourself through your own e-Tax login.

3. Stand-alone financial statements. The latest settled year of non-consolidated accounts, with sales for 2 years, feeds most of the qualification score. A 税理士 or 公認会計士, or your own accountant, prepares the figures and converts them to yen at the Ministry of Finance notice rate in force on the application date; that rate resets every 1 April. You provide the statements. Leaving them out costs you dearly: the financial fields then score nothing.

4. File the Unified Qualification (全省庁統一資格). This is the one qualification for central-government goods and services; works are handled separately (step 7).

Cost: free; no application fee is stated.
Time: the result notice usually comes about a week after the file reaches the helpdesk, once the reviewing office has finished; much longer right after the regular review window.
Valid: from the grant until 31 March 2028. Applications are taken at any time until 10 March 2028.
Who does it: a 行政書士 prepares the Japanese application and files it as your agent (代理人) under a 委任状. The reviewing office then sends its questions to the agent, and the result can go to the agent’s address.
What only you do: sign the 委任状, supply the documents from steps 1 to 3, and confirm the pledge and officer list (step 5).

5. The organised-crime pledge and officer list (暴力団排除に関する誓約 and 役員等名簿). Part of the qualification form and of most bid documents: the company pledges it has no ties to organised crime and lists each officer’s name, sex and date of birth so the police can check them. It is free and made for each application or bid. The 行政書士 fills in the officers from the registry; only you can confirm that the pledge and the data are true.

6. Decide how you will submit.

E-bidding certificate (電子入札用電子証明書). Registering on the portal, bidding and contracting electronically on GEPS all need a certificate from an accepted certification authority, issued in your representative’s own name. The Legal Affairs Bureau’s commercial-registration certificate costs from ¥500 (1 month) to ¥8,300 (27 months), after a price cut in April 2025. Your representative applies for it, holds it and keeps its PIN; nobody else ever uses it. If someone else is to bid, they register as your agent with their own certificate, and your representative approves that agent in GEPS with the representative’s certificate. Many notices also accept paper bids.
GビズID (GビズIDプライム and メンバー). A free government business login. Since 20 March 2026 it is all you need to quote for small open-counter purchases. Applying online with a My Number card takes from the same day to a few days; by post with the registered seal and a seal certificate, up to 1 month. Your representative applies. Members can only be employees; an outside 行政書士 can act only through GビズID’s 委任 function, with their own GビズIDプライム and your approval.

7. Local and works qualifications, where you need them.

Prefectures and cities keep their own bidder lists and e-procurement systems under the Local Autonomy Act, and the Unified Qualification does not cover them. Many take applications in a regular intake (定期受付) and a rolling intake (随時受付). A 行政書士 files with each authority under your 委任状. Tokyo requires you to buy and register an electronic certificate on its system before you apply.
Central-government works (construction, survey and construction consulting) sit outside the Unified Qualification. Each ministry, such as MLIT’s Regional Development Bureaus, grants its own qualification using your Management Matters Review score, usually for 2 fiscal years. A 行政書士 files it per ministry; you sign the 委任状 and must already hold the licence and a current review.

8. Construction: the licence, the review and social insurance.

Construction business licence (建設業許可), needed for anything beyond minor work and before any public-works qualification. The fee is ¥150,000 registration licence tax for a licence from the Minister (offices in 2 or more prefectures) or ¥90,000 from a prefectural governor; renewal costs ¥50,000, and the licence lasts 5 years. A 行政書士 prepares and files it. You meet the management-experience, qualified-engineer, financial and social-insurance requirements and sign.
Management Matters Review (経営事項審査) with its financial analysis (経営状況分析): an objective score of a licensed contractor’s scale, finances, technical staff and social factors, which every contractor bidding directly for public works must hold. Scale evaluation costs ¥8,100 plus ¥2,300 per trade, and the overall score request ¥400 plus ¥200 per trade, so ¥11,000 for one trade; the registered analysis agency sets its own fee. The 行政書士 files the review and the 税理士 prepares the financial data.
Social insurance (健康保険, 厚生年金 and 雇用保険): enrolment is a licensing condition and a scored item in the review, and works tenders exclude contractors that aren’t enrolled. Your 社会保険労務士 or HR team enrols employees; the 行政書士 attaches the evidence.

9. If you need a presence in Japan: register the foreign company (外国会社の登記). A foreign company that will transact continuously in Japan appoints a representative in Japan, at least one of them resident, and registers within 3 weeks. It is what opens the construction licence, Japanese e-bidding certificates and GビズID. Registration licence tax is ¥60,000 for appointing the representative and ¥90,000 for each branch. A 司法書士 files it as agent. Your part is appointing the resident representative and signing the home-country supporting documents, such as an affidavit of the company’s details, before your notary or consul. Failing to register can bring a non-penal fine of up to ¥1 million.

With your bid

10. Get the tender instructions and specifications (入札説明書 and 仕様書). They are free, downloaded from the portal without logging in or collected from the buyer.

11. Eligibility documents or a technical proposal (適合証明書 and 技術提案書). Many notices want proof that your offer meets the specification, and comprehensive-evaluation tenders want a technical proposal, by a set date before the bid. A Japanese-language bid writer drafts them with you; you approve the technical content and every commitment.

12. The bid itself (入札書). One total price, excluding consumption tax, with the supplier code from your qualification notice. It goes in on GEPS, or on paper where the notice allows. The ceiling price stays secret, and if no bid falls within it there is an immediate re-bid. Your representative submits with their own certificate, or an approved agent submits with the agent’s own certificate. Either way, you approve the price.

13. A bid power of attorney for paper bids (入札委任状). When anyone other than your representative signs or hands in a paper bid, a 委任状 naming the agent, the tender and the powers granted goes to the buyer before bidding. It is free, drafted on the buyer’s form, and covers that tender or the period it names. You sign it, or apply the company seal. Check it carefully: a defective one invalidates the bid.

14. Bid security (入札保証金). The law sets it at no less than 5% of the bid, but buyers routinely waive it (免除) for qualified bidders, for example where an insurance contract is in place or the bidder has a track record. Where it isn’t waived, it can be cash, government bonds, a bank guarantee or bid-bond insurance (入札保証保険); a bank or non-life insurer issues it in your name, and you sign the contract and pay the premium. It runs until the contract is concluded.

If you’re in line for award

In Japan the qualification proof is checked up front, so winning brings few new documents. The exception is the low-price investigation (低入札価格調査): on service and manufacturing contracts over ¥10m, a bid below the buyer’s investigation threshold triggers a review in which you must justify the price, costs and staffing, or lose the award. The buyer sets a short deadline. A bid writer can prepare the cost explanation; you supply the cost data and answer the buyer.

Before the contract and the first invoice

Contract security (契約保証金, or performance bond insurance, 履行保証保険). At least 10% of the contract amount, often waived for goods and services; works contracts commonly require a performance guarantee or 履行保証保険. Banks, non-life insurers and construction guarantee companies issue it for the contract term; you sign and pay the premium.

Sign the contract (契約書). It is written in Japanese and in yen. A written contract can be skipped up to ¥2.5m, or ¥3.5m if signed abroad. It can be signed electronically on GEPS, and electronic contracts carry no stamp duty. Your representative signs, or an agent who has been given contracting authority in GEPS signs with the agent’s own certificate.

Register for qualified invoices (適格請求書発行事業者). Government buyers increasingly expect your registration number on invoices, and some notices check it. A 税理士 files the registration through e-Tax as your tax agent; it lasts until cancelled. Registering makes you a consumption-tax taxable business that must file returns, which is your decision to take.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
Corporate number, registry certificate	Looked up and ordered by a 行政書士 or 司法書士	—
Tax payment certificates	A 税理士 or other agent, under your 委任状	Sign the 委任状, or request them through your own e-Tax login
Stand-alone accounts and yen conversion	A 税理士 or 公認会計士, or your own accountant	Provide the statements
Unified Qualification	A 行政書士, as your agent	Sign the 委任状; confirm the pledge and officer list
Local and ministry works qualifications	A 行政書士, authority by authority	Sign the 委任状; obtain a certificate where the system needs one
Construction licence, Management Matters Review	A 行政書士, with a 税理士 for the financial data	Meet the requirements; sign the applications
E-bidding certificate	—	Obtain it in your representative’s name; keep the PIN
GビズID	A 行政書士 only through GビズID’s 委任 function	Apply as representative; approve any 委任
Technical proposal, compliance documents	A Japanese-language bid writer	Approve the content and commitments
Bid submission	An approved agent with their own certificate; on paper, an agent holding your 委任状	Approve the price; approve the agent with your certificate, or sign the paper 委任状
Bid and contract security	A bank or non-life insurer	Sign the contract; pay the premium
Foreign company registration	A 司法書士	Appoint the resident representative; sign the supporting documents
Japanese translations	A translator	—
Contract	An agent with contracting authority, using their own certificate	Sign it, or approve it
Qualified-invoice registration	A 税理士, as tax agent	Decide to become a taxable business; authorise the 税理士

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
行政書士 (administrative scrivener)	Japan Federation of Gyoseishoshi Lawyer’s Associations and the prefectural 行政書士会, supervised by prefectural governors under the 行政書士法	Prepares and files the Unified Qualification as your agent and receives the result at a Japanese address; files the construction licence, the Management Matters Review and local-government qualifications; prepares other documents for government offices; can act as your GEPS agent if you appoint them and they hold their own certificate
司法書士 (judicial scrivener)	Japan Federation of Shiho-Shoshi Lawyer’s Associations; Ministry of Justice	Files commercial registrations as agent, including a foreign company’s representative and branch; obtains registry certificates
税理士 or 公認会計士	Japan Federation of Certified Public Tax Accountants’ Associations, under the National Tax Agency; JICPA, under the FSA	Obtains tax payment certificates with your 委任状; prepares stand-alone accounts and the yen conversion; handles the qualified-invoice registration and can act as 納税管理人 for a non-resident firm; prepares the financial input for the Management Matters Review
弁護士 or registered foreign lawyer (外国法事務弁護士)	Japan Federation of Bar Associations	Reviews contract terms and joint-venture or consortium agreements; advises on CHANS complaints and bid disputes; advises on bid-rigging risk under the Antimonopoly Act
公証人 at a notary office (公証役場)	Ministry of Justice (Legal Affairs Bureaus)	Certifies private documents, such as a power of attorney or translation declaration, for use abroad, with one-stop apostille or consular legalisation in Tokyo, Osaka, Shizuoka and some other prefectures
Translator	No statutory licence	Translates your home company, tax and financial documents for the Unified Qualification, and the tender instructions and specifications for you
Bank or non-life insurer	Financial Services Agency	Issues guarantees or insurance policies in place of bid or contract security where a tender doesn’t waive it

Tax certificates and tax registrations are 税理士 work, legal advice and disputes are 弁護士 work, and commercial registrations are 司法書士 work.

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need a Japanese company to get the Unified Qualification for goods and services, though construction needs a Japanese licence and e-bidding realistically needs a Japanese registration; who may bid from abroad, and on what terms, is explained in How to bid for government contracts in Japan. For the paperwork:

A foreign head office leaves the corporate-number field blank. In place of the registry certificate it uses a document from its home authority confirming the company, such as a certificate of incorporation or good standing, with a Japanese translation; a registered Japan branch uses its own Japanese registry certificate. A home-country tax document replaces the tax payment certificates, and can be omitted if none exists; a foreign corporation with no Japanese-source income can say so on the form. The financial statements are those of the applying legal entity alone, converted to yen at the rate under 出納官吏事務規程 Art. 16. Officers’ names can be written in the alphabet or in katakana, and a signature instead of a seal is normally accepted on a paper-bid 委任状, though the notice decides. Every foreign-language attachment goes in as the original plus a Japanese translation; Japan has no sworn-translator system, and the qualification guide asks for no certified translation. Notarisation and apostille are needed only where you register a company in Japan or a tender explicitly asks for certified documents: a notary in your home country certifies the affidavit or power of attorney and your competent authority adds the apostille. In Japan, notary offices certify private documents, adding ¥6,000 for a foreign-language one.

Pitfalls

Never hand over your representative’s certificate, IC card or PIN. Agents bid with their own certificates; GEPS won’t accept the representative’s for agent use.
Apply for the Unified Qualification at one office only. Duplicate applications are rejected.
Don’t plan a bid before the qualification is granted. It takes effect only on the grant. GPA-covered tenders are the exception: a pending application counts if it is granted by bid opening.
Enter the price without consumption tax, and go by the Japanese deadline. The English summary on a notice can show the proposal deadline instead of the bid deadline.
Watch the 3-month window. The registry and tax certificates must be issued within 3 months of the application they support.
Never share price information with other bidders. Bid-rigging (入札談合) breaches the Antimonopoly Act and the Bid-Rigging Prevention Act.
One agent, one bidder. An agent (代理人) may not represent two bidders in the same tender (二重代理); bids made that way are void.
Paid filing work belongs to a 行政書士. Since 1 January 2026, only a 行政書士 may prepare or input documents for submission to government offices for a fee, under whatever name it is charged (行政書士法 Art. 19). Use a 行政書士, or file them yourself.

Doing it with askTender

In Japan, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on GEPS and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign what only you can sign: the 委任状, the organised-crime pledge, the approval of any agent with your representative’s own certificate, and the contract. The askTender Desk prepares the bid data, tracks the deadlines and coordinates the certificates and translations; askTender Partners, such as a 行政書士, a 税理士 or a 司法書士, do the steps their licence covers.

Questions

Which documents do I need before I can bid in Japan?

For central-government goods and services, the Unified Qualification. Its application carries a registry certificate (or, for a foreign head office, a home-authority document), the tax payment certificates その2 and その3の3, a year of stand-alone financial statements and the organised-crime pledge with an officer list. The certificates must be issued within 3 months of the application. You also need a way to submit: an e-bidding certificate, an agent, or a paper bid where the notice allows it.

What do the registry and tax certificates cost?

A registry certificate costs ¥600 on paper, ¥520 ordered online and posted, or ¥490 ordered online and collected. Tax payment certificates cost ¥400 per item on paper or ¥370 through e-Tax; その2 is charged per tax item, year and copy, その3 per copy.

Can someone else submit my bid on GEPS?

Yes, as your agent (代理人), using their own electronic certificate, once your representative has approved the agent’s power of attorney in GEPS with the representative’s own certificate. Nobody may use your representative’s certificate. On paper, an agent signs or brings the bid with your signed 委任状.

Do I have to put up bid or contract security in Japan?

By law, bid security is at least 5% of the bid and contract security at least 10% of the contract, but both are routinely waived for qualified bidders; the notice says so with the word 免除. Where security is required, a bank or non-life insurer can issue a guarantee or policy in your name.

What does a construction firm need on top?

A construction business licence (¥150,000 registration licence tax from the Minister, ¥90,000 from a governor, ¥50,000 to renew, valid 5 years), a current Management Matters Review, social insurance enrolment, and each ministry’s own works qualification. A 行政書士 files the licence, the review and the qualifications.

Do foreign documents need an apostille?

Not for the Unified Qualification, which asks for originals with Japanese translations. Registering a foreign company in Japan is different: its supporting documents must be certified by the home authority or a consul, and Japan accepts apostilles.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.