The certificate arrives as a small booklet or a few printed pages, entirely in Japanese. Here is what each part means, what to check the day it arrives, and what happens at renewal. Layouts differ slightly from ward to ward; the boxes below appear on all of them.
| Japanese on the certificate | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 受給者証番号 | Certificate number | The classroom will ask for this at contract. Keep a photo of it on your phone. |
| 児童氏名／生年月日 | Child's name and date of birth | Spelling of the name as registered (katakana for most foreign names). |
| 保護者氏名／住所 | Guardian's name and address | Must match your resident registration; tell the ward if you move. |
| 支給決定障害児通所支援の種類 | The services approved | 児童発達支援 = child development support; 保育所等訪問支援 = visiting support at daycare; 放課後等デイサービス = after-school day service (school age). Only the services listed can be used. |
| 支給量（日／月） | Days per month | How many days a month your child may attend in total across all classrooms. If you want more, ask the ward at renewal or mid-term. |
| 支給決定期間 | Validity period | Usually about a year. The end date is when you must have renewed by. |
| 利用者負担上限月額 | Monthly cap on the family share | ¥0 / ¥0 / ¥4,600 / ¥37,200 by household income. For most preschool years it is ¥0 under the free programs — see the fees guide. |
| 上限額管理事業所 | Cap-managing provider | If your child uses more than one classroom, one of them is named here to make sure you never pay above the cap in total. |
| 事業者記入欄（契約支給量） | Provider section — contracted days | Each classroom writes how many of the monthly days are contracted with them, the contract date, and stamps it. Check that the total across classrooms does not exceed 支給量. |
| 特記事項 | Notes | Any conditions the ward attached. |
If a box is blank or you cannot read a handwritten entry, bring the certificate to us at your next visit and we will go through it with you in English.
Anything wrong: call the counter that issued it (each ward page on this site lists the number) — corrections are routine.
The ward sends a renewal notice before the period ends — in Japanese. The steps are: check the notice, prepare the documents it lists, renew at the counter, receive the new certificate. Renewal is also the moment to ask for more days per month, and a review of the service-use plan (モニタリング) may be part of it. If you move to another ward, you apply to the new ward; tell us and we will help with the timing so that sessions are not interrupted.
Bring the certificate to your first session and whenever a new service or classroom starts. Many families keep a photo of every page on their phone. If it is lost, the ward reissues it.
Sources: Children and Families Agency — user fees for children's attendance support (Japanese) · Children and Families Agency — free preschool development support (Japanese)
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You do not need a diagnosis, a certificate, or fluent Japanese to take the first step. Send us a message in English, tell us your child's age and what you are noticing about their speech and language, and we will take it from there.
