How a foreign company gets Japan's Unified Qualification and bids on…

What the Unified Qualification is

The Unified Qualification for all ministries (全省庁統一資格) is the supplier qualification for Japan’s central-government purchases of goods and services. You apply once and it’s valid with every listed ministry in the regions you choose. The current period runs to 31 March 2028, and applications are accepted at any time until 10 March 2028.

Construction isn’t covered. Public works need a separate qualification from each ministry, plus a Japanese construction licence.

Step 1: choose your categories and regions

There are four qualification types:

Type	Covers
物品の製造 (manufacture)	Making goods for the government (27 item groups)
物品の販売 (sales)	Selling goods (the same 27 groups)
役務の提供等 (services)	Services, in 15 groups, such as IT (情報処理), software development, translation, research
物品の買受け (buying)	Buying goods from the state

Choose any of 8 regional blocs; several are allowed. Rules to know:

There’s one qualification per legal entity, so branches apply under the head office’s name.
Joint ventures can’t apply.
Non-resident sole proprietors generally can’t either.

Step 2: prepare and file your application

How to file:

Online on the Government Procurement Portal. New applicants must use “ログインせずに申請” (apply without logging in). You can file the form online and post the attachments by registered mail.
On paper, by post or in person, using the official 7-page A4 form only.
Technical requirement: the online system needs Windows 11 with Edge or Chrome; macOS isn’t supported.
One application only. File at one office; duplicates are rejected.

Documents if your foreign head office applies:

A document from your home authority confirming the company. If you have a Japan branch, use its registry certificate instead, issued within 3 months.
A home-country tax document. It can be omitted if none exists.
One year of stand-alone (non-consolidated) financial statements showing capital and net assets. You also enter sales for the last two years, which are averaged, so attach both.
Originals plus Japanese translations of all of the above.
A power of attorney (委任状) if an agent files for you.

You also give a pledge that you have no ties to organised crime, with a list of every officer’s name, sex and date of birth. No seal or signature is needed, and names and addresses can be entered in English or katakana.

If a registered Japan branch applies, it files the same documents a Japanese company would, using the branch’s own registry certificate, tax certificates and financial statements.

Currency. Convert figures into yen at the Ministry of Finance official rate on the day you apply. It resets every 1 April. From 1 April 2026 the rates are:

Currency	Yen
US dollar	¥149
Euro	¥166
Pound sterling	¥195
Swiss franc	¥177
Canadian dollar	¥107
Australian dollar	¥96
Singapore dollar	¥114
UAE dirham	¥41
Chinese yuan	¥21
₹100 (Indian rupees)	¥173
₩100 (Korean won)	¥11

Enter amounts in units of ¥1,000.

How you’re scored

The maximum is 100 points. Where two scores are shown, the first is for manufacture and the second for sales and services:

Factor	Points
Average annual sales (last two years)	From 10/15 (under ¥25 million) to 60/65 (¥20 billion or more). For example, ¥1–2.5 billion scores 40/45 and ¥5–10 billion scores 50/55.
Equity (net assets)	From 2/3 (under ¥1 million) to 10/15 (¥1 billion or more)
Current ratio	4 (under 100%) to 10 (140% or more)
Years in business	3/6 (under 10) to 5/10 (20 or more)
Equipment (manufacture only, excluding land and buildings)	3 (under ¥10 million) to 15 (¥1 billion or more)

Grades for sales and services:

Grade	Score	Contracts
A	90 or more	¥30 million and up
B	80–89	¥15–30 million
C	55–79	¥3–15 million
D	under 55	under ¥3 million

Manufacturing grades use the same scores, with B covering ¥20–30 million and C covering ¥4–20 million. Agencies can let other grades compete, and many notices accept A to D.

Example: a services company with ¥6 billion average sales (55), ¥1.2 billion equity (15), a 150% current ratio (10) and 25 years in business (10) scores 90, which is grade A.

Don’t skip the financial statements. If you submit none, the financial fields score zero and you will land in grade D.

Step 3: wait for the result

Timing: the result notice (資格審査結果通知書) is usually posted about a week after your file reaches the helpdesk once the reviewing office has finished. Just after the regular review window it can take months.
Address: it is sent by ordinary post only to an address in Japan. If you have no Japanese office, apply through an agent with a power of attorney and use the agent’s address.
Public register: qualified suppliers are listed on the portal, with code, address and grade.

The qualification only takes effect when granted, so apply early. For tenders covered by the WTO agreement, a bid submitted while your application is pending must be accepted, provided you qualify by bid opening.

Step 4: set up e-bidding

E-bidding on the portal needs an electronic certificate from an accepted Japanese certification authority:

NTT West e-Probatio
Mitsubishi Electric DIACERT-PLUS
SECOM Passport for G-ID
The Legal Affairs Bureau’s commercial-registration certificate
Nippon Denshi Ninsho
TOiNX
The My Number card, for sole proprietors and registered agents

Teikoku Databank stopped issuing new certificates on 12 June 2026.

For a foreign company with no Japanese registration, this is the real barrier. The commercial-registration certificate needs a Japanese registry entry, and private authorities such as SECOM require Japanese resident and seal-registration documents. The usual routes are:

A Japan branch or subsidiary.
An agent registered under an electronic power of attorney (電子委任状). The agent can bid for you.
Paper bids, which many notices allow for bidders who can’t bid electronically.

GビズID, Japan’s business login, requires a Japanese corporate number. Since 20 March 2026 it can be used to quote for small open-counter purchases (goods under ¥3 million, services under ¥2 million) without the qualification or a certificate.

Step 5: find tenders and read the notice

Where to look:

The Government Procurement Portal: search without logging in. There is an English search page, but notices are in Japanese. Notices covered by the WTO agreement end with an English summary.
The Kanpo: the official gazette, which publishes WTO-covered notices. The last 90 days are free online.
JETRO’s procurement database: an English summary of Kanpo notices, usually by the next business day.

What a notice (入札公告) tells you:

The subject, quantity, place and delivery period.
Lowest price or comprehensive evaluation (総合評価).
Whether e-bidding is used and paper bids are allowed.
The qualification type and grade required.
Where to get the tender instructions (入札説明書).
The proposal deadline, the bid deadline and the opening date.
Language and currency (Japanese and yen).
Whether bid and contract security are waived (usually 免除).

Two traps. The English summary’s “time-limit for tender” can be the proposal deadline, not the bid deadline, so rely on the Japanese text. And bids are usually entered tax-exclusive (100/110), whatever your tax status.

Before large tenders. For purchases of about ¥160 million or more (SDR 800,000), buyers publish the draft specification for comment at least 30 days before the notice, with at least 20 days to respond. That’s your chance to shape the specification.

Time to bid: at least 40 days for WTO-covered tenders, which can legally fall to 25 days with electronic notice, documents and bidding. Japan’s voluntary norm is 50 days, but real notices often give less.

Step 6: bid

Bid form (入札書): your company, the supplier code from your qualification notice, the subject and a total, tax-exclusive amount. If an agent bids, add a power of attorney and the agent’s name.
Bid security is legally at least 5%, and contract security at least 10%, but both are routinely waived for qualified bidders.
The ceiling price (予定価格) is secret until opening. If no bid falls within it, there’s an immediate re-bid, and if that fails, the buyer may negotiate.
Lowest price wins by default. Comprehensive evaluation weighs quality too.
Very low bids: for service and manufacturing contracts over ¥10 million, they trigger an investigation. You must explain your price, costs and staffing, or you can lose the award.

Step 7: after you win

Contract: a written contract in Japanese and yen. It can be omitted for contracts up to ¥2.5 million (¥3.5 million if signed abroad), and can be signed electronically.
Inspection within 10 days of your completion notice.
Payment within 30 days of a proper invoice after inspection (40 for works), with 3.0% a year interest if late.
Invoicing: the portal supports electronic invoicing, though each agency decides whether to use it.

Practical tips

Use an agent. An administrative scrivener (行政書士) or another agent can file your application with a power of attorney, and gives you the Japanese address you need for the result.
The lowest-friction route is often a Japanese distributor or subsidiary that already holds the qualification and an e-bidding certificate. A Japan branch qualifies on its own financial statements.
Notarisation: we found no notarisation or apostille requirement for the application, only originals plus Japanese translations.
Construction is a separate path: each ministry’s own qualification plus a Japanese licence.

What changed in 2025–2026

January 2025: WTO-covered bid periods can fall from 40 to 25 days when the notice, documents and bids are electronic.
April 2025: small-contract limits rose, the contract-document waiver rose to ¥2.5 million, and the online Kanpo became official.
November 2025: a new edition of the application guide was published.
20 March 2026: small open-counter quotes were opened to GビズID.
1 April 2026: new official exchange rates and new procurement thresholds.
12 June 2026: Teikoku Databank stopped issuing new e-bidding certificates.
15 June 2026: macOS was declared unsupported for the portal.

Questions

Can a foreign company apply for Japan’s Unified Qualification from abroad?

Yes. A foreign head office can apply with a document from its home authority confirming the company, a home-country tax document (which can be omitted if none exists), and one year of stand-alone financial statements, all with Japanese translations. No seal or signature is needed. But the result notice is posted only to an address in Japan, so a company with no Japanese office applies through an agent with a power of attorney.

How is the Unified Qualification graded?

On a 100-point score: average annual sales over the last two years (up to 60 or 65 points), equity (up to 10 or 15), current ratio (up to 10), years in business (up to 5 or 10) and, for manufacturers, equipment (up to 15). For sales and services, grade A is 90 points and up (contracts of ¥30 million or more), B is 80–89, C is 55–79 and D is under 55 (under ¥3 million). Agencies can let other grades compete.

What happens if I don’t submit financial statements?

The financial fields are scored as zero and you must attach a note explaining why. In practice that puts you in grade D, which limits you to small contracts. Submit stand-alone (non-consolidated) statements, converted into yen at the Ministry of Finance rate.

Can a foreign company bid electronically in Japan?

In practice, only with a Japanese presence or agent. E-bidding needs a certificate from one of the accepted Japanese certification authorities, which require a Japanese registry entry or Japanese resident documents. The usual routes are a Japan branch or subsidiary, or an agent registered under an electronic power of attorney. Many notices also allow paper bids.

How long does the Unified Qualification take?

The result is usually posted about a week after your file reaches the helpdesk once the reviewing office has finished, but it can take months right after the regular review window. The qualification only takes effect when granted, so apply well before you want to bid. For tenders covered by the WTO agreement, a bid submitted while your application is pending must be accepted if you qualify by bid opening.

Do I need the Unified Qualification for very small purchases?

No. Since 20 March 2026, open-counter purchases of goods under ¥3 million and services under ¥2 million can be quoted with just a GビズID business login, without the qualification or a certificate. But GビズID requires a Japanese corporate number.

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.

Japan's Unified Qualification, step by step.