The municipality requests this directly from your parent's regular doctor once you apply, so there is rarely a separate form for you to chase. Its weight is why the family physician matters: their account of cognition and mobility feeds the level. If your parent has no steady doctor, establish one before applying. From abroad, confirm the doctor knows the recent decline, since a thin report yields a thin level.
Read more: The certification process
Related terms
- かかりつけ医（kakaritsuke-i）— regular doctor
- 要介護認定（youkaigo nintei）— care-need certification
- 認定調査（nintei chousa）— assessment visit
Getting help with this
See the full Japanese elder care glossary, or start with our long-term care insurance guide. If you would rather have someone handle the Japanese side, our care navigation service helps foreign families step by step, and you can contact us with your situation. Definitions are general orientation; rules vary by municipality (see our editorial policy).