Sell/Dispose of a car
1. Sell your Car to a Private Party
Selling your car to a private party almost always result in a higher sales price. The only cons here are that you have to collect the required documents and do the car ownership transfer on your own(paperwork is only available in Japanese, and the transfer can be done at the Transportation office in Urasoe). However, if you'd like to avoid the complexity, you can ask a third company, such as car garages or insurance companies, to do the transfer on your behalf. It usually costs less than 4,000 JPY.
Don't forget to cancel your voluntary insurance.
Current Owner |
New Owner |
| ・Car Registration Paper(Shakenshou) | ・Certificate of Resident(Juminhyo) |
| ・Road Tax Receipt | ・Inkan ( doesn`t need to be registered) |
| ・Inkan ( doesn`t need to be registered) |
Current Owner |
New Owner |
| ・Car Registration Paper(Shakenshou) | ・Certificate of Resident(Juminhyo) |
| ・Road Tax Receipt | ・Inkan |
| ・Inkan & Inkan Certificate (issued within 3 months) | ・Inkan Certificate(Inkan shoumeisho) |
| ・Deed of transfer (Jyoto Shomeisho) * download here | ・Parking Certificate(Shakoshoumeisho) depending on the city you live *No need for Onna and Yomitan residents |
*Power of Attorney is required if one or both of you are not going to submit the documents to the Land Transportation Office.
2. Sell your Car to a Car Dealer
This may be the easiest way to get rid of your car as the dealer manages all the paperwork, including title transfer. Usually, you take your car to a car dealer, and they will give you a quote for the car right away. However, you'll probably get less money for your car to avoid all the hassles involved in actually finding a new owner. Also, sometimes dealers don't take your car if it was old or not in good condition.
Current Owner |
New Owner |
| ・Car Registration Paper(Shakenshou) | ・Certificate of Resident(Juminhyo) |
| ・Road Tax Receipt | ・Inkan ( doesn`t need to be registered) |
| ・Inkan ( doesn`t need to be registered) |
Current Owner |
New Owner |
| ・Car Registration Paper(Shakenshou) | ・Certificate of Resident(Juminhyo) |
| ・Road Tax Receipt | ・Inkan |
| ・Inkan & Inkan Certificate (issued within 3 months) | ・Inkan Certificate(Inkan shoumeisho) |
| ・Parking Certificate(Shakoshoumeisho) depending on the city you live *No need for Onna and Yomitan residents |
3. Scrap Your Car
If the first two options fail, the last option would be scrapping your car. Usually, you will receive some cash. Make sure not to forget to de-register your car title.
Car junk and car deregistration are available at Miyagi Kaitai(English available) in Chatan or MR Shatai(Japanese only) in Uruma city. Please bring your car registration paper to the Resource Center to contact them in advance to proceed with the junk and deregistration if you need any assistance.
No appointment is required; however, if you wish to deregister the car with them,
Miyagi Kaitai |
MR Shatai |
| Drop off your car at their Junk Yard. No appointment is needed. | Free car pick-up available at OIST |
| There usually is some cashback | No Cashback |
| Car de-registration: 3,000 JPY | Car de-registration: Free |
*Make sure you take your car registration paper(Shakenshou), recycle ticket, Inkan, and inkan certificate with you
** Inkan and inkan certificate is required for white plate car only
Frequently Asked Car Questions ←Click here