How To Check If A Japanese Property Has A Provisional Registration

What a provisional registration actually reserves

Under Japan's Real Property Registration Act (不動産登記法), a formal registration (本登記, hon touki) normally requires both a completed right and the paperwork to prove it — the registration certificate information, the parties' identity documents, and so on. A provisional registration exists for the gap between "the right is agreed" and "the paperwork is ready," and comes in two forms:

• 1号仮登記 (Type 1): the right itself already exists, but something needed to formally register it is still missing — for example, a required document has not been prepared yet.
• 2号仮登記 (Type 2): the right does not exist yet, only a claim to it — most commonly a reservation agreement (予約) that gives someone the right to demand a future ownership transfer or mortgage, such as a preliminary sale agreement before the final contract is signed.

Either way, what gets recorded is the reservation, not a completed transaction — the entry's 登記の目的 (purpose of registration) column will say something like 所有権移転請求権仮登記 ("provisional registration of a claim to an ownership transfer") or 抵当権設定仮登記 ("provisional registration of a mortgage to be created").

Why a small entry can outrank your purchase

This is the part that catches buyers off guard: a provisional registration has a legal effect called 順位保全 (juni hozen, "priority preservation"). If the person holding the provisional registration later completes it into a full 本登記, that formal registration ranks from the date of the provisional registration — not the date it was finally perfected. That means a claim filed years ago, sitting quietly on the record, can jump ahead of a sale or mortgage registered in between if it is ever completed. It does not matter that the current owner in 甲区 looks clean and uncontested; the provisional entry is a separate line that keeps its own place in line.

Where it appears, and why it's easy to miss

Restrictions on ownership itself — including a provisional registration of an ownership-related claim — are recorded in 甲区 (the ownership section), alongside the current owner. A provisional registration tied to a future mortgage or other right is recorded in 乙区. Neither is underlined unless it has since been cancelled, and an uncancelled 仮登記 sits on the record indefinitely — Japan's registry does not expire these entries automatically just because time has passed since they were filed.

Common reasons a provisional registration exists

The most frequent case is a preliminary sale agreement (売買予約) — a seller granted someone else a right to buy at a later date, and that right was never exercised, cancelled, or converted into a real sale. It also shows up from old lending arrangements that used a reservation for a substitute-performance transfer (代物弁済予約) as informal collateral, and occasionally from a family or inheritance dispute where someone provisionally registered a competing claim to a share of the property while the underlying disagreement was unresolved.

Here is a practical way to check before you get attached to a listing:

1. Order the registration record and read both 甲区 and 乙区 for any 仮登記 entry, not just the current owner's name. A clean-looking current owner in 甲区 tells you nothing about a competing claim sitting further up the same section, or a provisional mortgage sitting in 乙区.
2. Confirm the entry is not underlined. An underlined (下線) 仮登記 has already been cancelled and no longer matters. An entry without an underline is still active, regardless of how old it looks.
3. Identify the type and what right it claims. A 1号仮登記 means the underlying right already exists and just needs paperwork; a 2号仮登記 means someone holds a reservation that has not been exercised. Either way, find out who the beneficiary is and what agreement created it.
4. Ask the seller's agent how and when it will be cancelled. A provisional registration does not disappear on its own — cancelling it generally requires either the beneficiary's consent or a court judgment. Get written confirmation of who is responsible for clearing it, and when, before you rely on a closing date.
5. Do not assume an old-looking entry has lapsed. Because the registry does not remove these entries automatically, a provisional registration from decades ago still shows as active on the record exactly like one filed last month, unless a cancellation was actually filed. That only tells you the entry is uncancelled, not that the underlying claim is still enforceable — the right behind it may have expired or been superseded without anyone updating the record, which is a question for a professional, not a guess based on age.
6. Involve a judicial scrivener (司法書士) once you find one. A live provisional registration on a property you are about to buy is a professional-hands situation — the same way an active mortgage or seizure is — not something to negotiate around informally with the seller.

The most common mistake is reading only the most recent, non-underlined entry in 甲区 and treating that as the whole ownership picture — a provisional registration can sit above or below the current owner's entry and still be active. A close second is assuming that because a reservation agreement is old, whoever holds it has lost interest or the right has lapsed; without a filed cancellation, it hasn't.

What the registry can and cannot tell you here:

• What it shows reliably: whether a provisional registration exists, which section it's in (甲区 for ownership-related claims, 乙区 for others), the type (1号 or 2号), the beneficiary's name, and the date it was filed.
• What it does not show: whether the underlying reservation agreement is still considered valid by the parties, whether the beneficiary still intends to exercise it, or how a dispute over it would resolve — those depend on the private agreement behind the entry, not on anything the registry records.
• How to order the record: On Japan Property Research, locate the property and order the land registration record for ¥1,500. If the property includes a house, order the building registration record as well — land and buildings are separately registered immovables, and a provisional registration can appear on only one of them, so checking just one record can miss an active claim on the other.

None of this makes a property with a provisional registration untouchable — reservation agreements get abandoned or superseded all the time, and many are cleared as a routine part of closing once the beneficiary consents. But it is not something to notice for the first time at signing. Our Japan property due diligence checklist covers where this check fits alongside ownership, mortgages, and boundaries.

FAQ

What does 仮登記 mean? It means "provisional registration" — a placeholder that reserves someone's place in line for a future right (often an ownership transfer or mortgage) before the paperwork to make that right final is complete.

Is a provisional registration on the record a red flag? It is a reason to ask questions, not necessarily to walk away. Many provisional registrations are old reservation agreements that both sides intend to cancel, or already treat as dead, without having filed the paperwork. The problem is that "intend to cancel" is not the same as "cancelled" on the record.

Can I still buy a property with an existing 仮登記? Yes, but the safest path is to have it cancelled before or at closing, with the beneficiary's written consent, rather than closing around it. Because it can outrank your purchase if the holder later perfects it, this is a professional-hands situation for a judicial scrivener (司法書士), not something to leave informal.

Does a provisional registration expire automatically? No. Japan's registry does not remove these entries with the passage of time — an uncancelled 仮登記 from years ago is just as active as a recent one until someone actually files to cancel it.

How is a provisional registration cancelled? Generally by the consent of the person who holds the reserved right, or by a court judgment ordering its removal if they cannot be reached or refuse. The seller cannot simply agree with the buyer to disregard it.

Where do I find a provisional registration on the record? Ownership-related claims (like a reserved right to a future sale) appear in 甲区 alongside the current owner. Claims tied to a future mortgage or other right appear in 乙区. Check both — do not assume the current owner's name in 甲区 is the end of the ownership story.

Related guides:

• How To Read A Japanese Property Registration Record
• How To Check If A Japanese Property Has A Mortgage
• How To Check If A Japanese Property Has Unregistered Inheritance
• Japan Property Due Diligence Checklist
• How To Order A Japan Property Registration Record In English