Licence conversion (外免切替) step by step

1. Check that you can apply

• You hold a valid foreign licence.
• After the licence was issued, you stayed in that country for at least 3 months in total. Your passport stamps are the usual proof.
• You live in Japan and have a 住民票 (residence record). Short-term visitors (短期滞在) cannot apply.
• You apply in the prefecture where you live.

2. Prepare the documents

• 住民票の写し showing nationality, residence status and period of stay (no My Number). Many prefectures ask for one issued within the last 6 months.
• Your original foreign licence, and a Japanese translation from your country's embassy or consulate, JAF, or another body the police accept.
• Passport (including old passports that show your stay after getting the licence).
• Photo and the application form. Some centres ask for copies too.

Each centre has its own list: see the test centre pages.

3. Book and apply

Most centres need a booking (phone or online). On the day, staff check your documents and you take an eyesight test.

4. Written knowledge check (知識確認)

• 50 true-or-false questions in sentences.
• 30 minutes.
• 45 correct (90%) to pass.
• Offered in several languages depending on the centre.

Try 10 free practice questions.

5. Driving test (技能確認)

You drive a course at the centre with an examiner. You start with 100 points and need 70 or more. Points are taken off for things like not checking safety, signalling late and turning the wrong way. Some mistakes end the test at once, for example not stopping before a railway crossing, going through a red light or not making a required stop. The driving test is on a booked day, not the day you apply.

6. If you fail

You book again. If you passed the written check, you do not need to take it again for 6 months from that date.

Official sources

• National Police Agency: 外国免許等関係事務取扱い要領 (PDF)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Police: 外国免許からの切替