Peniphora sp. JS17, isolated from forest old tree, produced extracellular enzymes that decolorized human hair melanin. The JS17 strain had laccase and manganese peroxidase activity while it did not has lignin peroxidase activity. Batch culture indicated that the melanin decolorization activity of JS17 strain originated from laccase. The culture conditions to maximize the production of melanin bleaching enzymes from Peniophora sp. JS17 mycelia were investigated. Among the tested media for the laccase production, minimal medium (2% glucose, 0.2% malt extract, 0.1% KH₂PO₄, 0.4% MgSO₄·7H₂O) showed the highest activity of laccase. Then, to optimize the culture condition for the laccase activity, the influence of various carbon and nitrogen sources was investigated in minimal medium. Among various carbon and nitrogen sources, 2% xylose and 0.4% tryptone showed the highest production of laccase, respectively. The enzyme was purified using (NH₄)₂SO₄ precipitation and Hitrap Q sepharose column, and the purified enzyme showed two isoenzymatic bands with molecular masses of about 70 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The melanin decolorization activity was 77% and 55% within 48 h in the presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT) and syringaldehyde, respectively, whereas only about 9% melanin decolorized in case of no mediator.