ても差し支えないmay; there is no objection to
The official "you may". 差し支え is a hindrance, so the words say nothing stands in the way. A doctor, an office or a manual gives permission this way, where a friend would say てもいい.
a doctor
You may take a bath from tomorrow.
the rules
As long as it is within the deadline, it may be sent by email.
asking
Would it be all right to start the meeting thirty minutes later?
How to form it
Verb in the て-form + も差し支えない
Polite 差し支えありません. A noun takes でも: コピーでも差し支えない, "a copy will do". なくても差し支えない is "need not".
- Said by
- Whoever judges whether it is safe or within the rules: a doctor, a clerk, a company, the writer of a manual.
- Tone
- Careful and detached. To a friend it sounds like a notice on a wall.
- Where you'll meet it
- Official notices, application forms, instructions, medical advice, business email. You read it far more than you say it.
In use
The application may be submitted by mail.
It will not affect the result, so the figures may be rounded to whole numbers.
Please check with the other side whether it would be a problem to move the date to next week.
Two phrases worth having
差し支えなければif you don't mind
If you don't mind, could you give me your contact details?
A polite opening before you ask for something, at work or to a customer. This one people say all the time.
と言っても差し支えないit is fair to say
It is fair to call her one of the leading writers of present-day Japan.
In essays: nobody could object to putting it this way.
Close neighbours
てもかまわないN4
"I don't mind if you do": it is about whether the person speaking would be put out. ても差し支えない is about rules and consequences.
You may submit the materials on paper.
Check yourself
1Your little brother asks if he can eat the last cake. Which answer is natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this notice say?
写真は
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
差し支える is also a verb by itself, "to get in the way of":
If you drink too much, it will affect your work tomorrow.
More sentences
With the approval of the person in charge, a representative may collect the documents.
If the regulations allow it, the interview may be held online.
A certified copy may be submitted in place of the original.
As far as the running of the event goes, the start may be put back ten minutes.