# 民法 / Civil Code — 第四百八十八条 (Article 488)

- Law: 民法 (Civil Code), 明治二十九年法律第八十九号
- English title "Civil Code": Ministry of Justice translation
- Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say.
- Provision: 第四百八十八条 (Article 488)（同種の給付を目的とする数個の債務がある場合の充当） — address `art-488`
- Text in force since: 2026-06-24
- URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488
- Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488
- Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it.
- Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below.

Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text
below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and
says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this
site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names.
They are never merged and never substituted for one another.

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### 第四百八十八条（同種の給付を目的とする数個の債務がある場合の充当） — (Appropriation of One Payment or Delivery among Two or More Obligations Requiring the Same Kind of Payment or Delivery)
<sup>caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>
<sup>art-488 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488</sup>

        **第一項**  債務者が同一の債権者に対して同種の給付を目的とする数個の債務を負担する場合において、弁済として提供した給付が全ての債務を消滅させるのに足りないとき（次条第一項に規定する場合を除く。）は、弁済をする者は、給付の時に、その弁済を充当すべき債務を指定することができる。
        <sup>art-488/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-1</sup>
        If an obligor bears to a single obligee two or more obligations which require the same kind of payment or delivery, and the payment or delivery provided in performance of the obligations is not sufficient to extinguish all of these obligations (excluding the case prescribed in paragraph (1) of the following Article), the person that performs the obligation may, at the time of the payment or delivery, designate a particular obligation to which that performance should be appropriated before any others.
        <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

        **第二項**  弁済をする者が前項の規定による指定をしないときは、弁済を受領する者は、その受領の時に、その弁済を充当すべき債務を指定することができる。ただし、弁済をする者がその充当に対して直ちに異議を述べたときは、この限りでない。
        <sup>art-488/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-2</sup>
        If the person performing an obligation does not make the designation under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the person receiving the performance may, at the time of that receipt, designate a particular obligation to which the performance should be appropriated before any others; provided, however, that this does not apply if the person performing the obligation immediately raises an objection to that appropriation.
        <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

        **第三項**  前二項の場合における弁済の充当の指定は、相手方に対する意思表示によってする。
        <sup>art-488/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-3</sup>
        The designation of the appropriation of the performance under the preceding two paragraphs is effected through a manifestation of intention to the counterparty.
        <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

        **第四項**  弁済をする者及び弁済を受領する者がいずれも第一項又は第二項の規定による指定をしないときは、次の各号の定めるところに従い、その弁済を充当する。
        <sup>art-488/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4</sup>
        Neither the person that makes the performance nor the person that accepts the performance makes designation under the provisions of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2), the performance is appropriated pursuant to the provisions of the following items:
        <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

          **一**  債務の中に弁済期にあるものと弁済期にないものとがあるときは、弁済期にあるものに先に充当する。
          <sup>art-488/par-4/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4/item-1</sup>
          if the obligations include those which are due and those which are not yet due, the performance is appropriated to those which are due;
          <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

          **二**  全ての債務が弁済期にあるとき、又は弁済期にないときは、債務者のために弁済の利益が多いものに先に充当する。
          <sup>art-488/par-4/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4/item-2</sup>
          if all obligations are due, or none of the obligations is due, the performance is appropriated in the order of the obligations which are to result in more benefit to the obligor when performed;
          <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

          **三**  債務者のために弁済の利益が相等しいときは、弁済期が先に到来したもの又は先に到来すべきものに先に充当する。
          <sup>art-488/par-4/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4/item-3</sup>
          if all obligations would have equal benefit to the obligor when performed, the performance is appropriated in the order of the obligations which have, or should have, the earliest due date; or
          <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

          **四**  前二号に掲げる事項が相等しい債務の弁済は、各債務の額に応じて充当する。
          <sup>art-488/par-4/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4/item-4</sup>
          the performance of obligations which are equal in terms of the particulars stated in the preceding two items is appropriated in proportion to the amount of each obligation.
          <sup>Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System</sup>

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## Cites
- art-488/par-1: 次条第一項 → 民法 第四百八十九条第一項 (Article 489, paragraph (1)), art-489/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-489/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-489/par-1
- art-488/par-2: 前項 → 民法 第四百八十八条第一項 (Article 488, paragraph (1)), art-488/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-1
- art-488/par-3: 前二項 → 民法 第四百八十八条第一項 (Article 488, paragraph (1)), art-488/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-1
- art-488/par-3: 前二項 → 民法 第四百八十八条第二項 (Article 488, paragraph (2)), art-488/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-2
- art-488/par-4: 第一項 → 民法 第四百八十八条第一項 (Article 488, paragraph (1)), art-488/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-1
- art-488/par-4: 第二項 → 民法 第四百八十八条第二項 (Article 488, paragraph (2)), art-488/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-2
- art-488/par-4/item-4: 前二号 → 民法 第四百八十八条第四項第二号 (Article 488, paragraph (4), item (ii)), art-488/par-4/item-2 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4/item-2
- art-488/par-4/item-4: 前二号 → 民法 第四百八十八条第四項第三号 (Article 488, paragraph (4), item (iii)), art-488/par-4/item-3 — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4/item-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4/item-3

## Cited by

10 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction.

- 民法 第四百八十八条第二項（同種の給付を目的とする数個の債務がある場合の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-2
- 民法 第四百八十八条第三項（同種の給付を目的とする数個の債務がある場合の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-3
- 民法 第四百八十八条第四項（同種の給付を目的とする数個の債務がある場合の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4
- 民法 第四百八十八条第四項第四号（同種の給付を目的とする数個の債務がある場合の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-488/par-4/item-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-488/par-4/item-4
- 民法 第四百八十九条第二項（元本、利息及び費用を支払うべき場合の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-489/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-489/par-2
- 民法 第四百九十条第一項（合意による弁済の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-490/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-490/par-1
- 民法 第四百九十一条第一項（数個の給付をすべき場合の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-491/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-491/par-1
- 民法 第五百十二条第二項第一号（相殺の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-512/par-2/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-512/par-2/item-1
- 民法 第五百十二条第二項第二号（相殺の充当） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/art-512/par-2/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-512/par-2/item-2
- 民法 附則第二十五条第二項（弁済に関する経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/ja/civil-code/suppl-4291-44/art-25/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/suppl-4291-44/art-25/par-2

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## Sources

- e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/129AC0000000089/20260624_508AC0000000045), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Civil Code — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4848/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11
- This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11