Procedure to change a foreign driver’s license to a
Japanese driver’s license
From November 13, 2023, the procedure will be changed.

Please be mindful that from this day shown above, you are required to make areservation to apply.
●A first-time applicant①Please make a reservation to apply.
・Day: Monday through Friday 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
・Place: Driver’s License Center, Window 14
・Things to bring: Foreign driver’s license / Residence Card / Passport
2 Your documents will be screened. (applied on reservation day)
3 After you have passed the documents screening, please make a reservation forknowledge test, which will be held on another day.
4 On the reserved day, knowledge test will be conducted.
5 Driving skill test will be subsequently conducted.
●An applicant who has applied or taken the test before October 13, 2023,①Please make a reservation for knowledge test.
・Day: Monday through Friday 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
・How to make a reservation: by phone
Tell the clerk the six-digit number written on the right bottom of yourexaminee card.
②Knowledge test will be conducted.
③Driving skill test will be conducted.

Procedure of application (only persons with reservation to be accepted)●A first-time applicant
Please come to the center on your reserved day and time. Your documents will
be screened. Make a reservation for the knowledge test which will be held on
another day.
●An applicant to apply for knowledge test
Please come to the center on the reserved day and time. Knowledge test will beconducted. If you have passed the knowledge test, driving skill test will beconducted.
●An applicant to apply for driving skill test
Please come to the center on the reserved day and time. Driving skill test will
be conducted.

Eligibility requirements for the tests※If you had your driver’s license revoked in the past (novice license revocation
exempted), you are required to attend the course for persons with license
revocation.

You meet the eligible requirements for the tests.
You have a valid foreign driver’s license.
After you got a foreign driver’s license, you stayed in that country for a total
period of three months or longer, which must be proved by the date stamped
on your passport at the Immigration and the date of issue written on yourdriver’s license. The period that you had your foreign driver’s license must
overlap the period that you stayed in that issuing country for more than threemonths.
4. Your address is in Ibaraki prefecture.
5. Your period of stay (VISA) is not expired.
6. Age16 years of age or older: Standard motorcycle / Special small motor vehicle /Scooter
18 years of age or older: Semi-mid-sized motor vehicle / Standard motorvehicle / Special large motor vehicle / Towing / Large motorcycle20 years of age or older: Mid-sized motor vehicle (After you obtained aJapanese license of a semi-mid-sized, standard or special large motor vehicle,
you must have more than two-year driving experience with a Japanese
driver’s license and/or a foreign driver’s license.)
21 years of age or older: Large Vehicle (After you obtained a Japanese license of
a mid-sized, semi-mid-sized, standard or special large motor vehicle, you musthave more than three-year driving experience with a Japanese driver’s license
and/or a foreign driver’s license.)
1.
2.
3.

Required documents for the tests●Application form (placed at the Center, Window 14)●Examinee Card (placed at the Center, Window 14)●Questionnaire (placed at the Center, Window 14)●Japanese driver’s license(1) If you don’t have a valid Japanese driver’s license, please bring yourcertificate of residence.
・If you are a foreign national, please bring your certificate of residence withyour nationality written.
If you are a short-term resident, and cannot get a certificate of residence, pleasebring some documents to certify your residence in Ibaraki prefecture, such as
copies of certificate of your place to stay and ID (e.g. Residence Card) or others.
・If you are a Japanese national, please bring your certificate of residence withyour legal address written.

・If you are a Japanese national with your residence card registered abroad andhave been returning to Japan temporarily, please bring an extract from yourfamily register and some documents to certify your place to stay in Ibaraki
prefecture, such as copies of certificate of residence and ID (e.g. a driver’s license)or others.
(2) If you have a non-valid Japanese driver’s license, please bring it together withyour certificate of residence.
(3) If you have moved in Ibaraki prefecture recently, please bring somedocuments which can certify your place of residence. (e.g.rental agreement)●If you have several foreign driver’s licenses, please bring all of them including
the old ones. If those licenses don’t indicate the dates of obtainment or dates ofissue, please bring some documents that can certify those dates. (Note: Somecountries require a use of certificate.)●Please bring Japanese translation of your foreign driver’s license translated byits embassy, consulate, JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) or ZIPLUS Co.,Ltd.
Information about JAF and ZIPLUS are available on their home pages. Also, forthe licenses of Taiwan and Germany, translations by Taiwan-Japan Relations
Association and ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club e.V.) are bothadmissible.
●Please bring your passports from the one you were using during the time when
you obtained a foreign driver’s license to the one you are currently using fromwhich your entry/exit date in that foreign country can be traced.
※In case you traveled within the EU or lost your passport or no entry/exit sealof that foreign country was stamped on your passport, we cannot confirm theperiod of times you stayed in that country. In this case, please present somedocuments to certify such as entry/exit record, certificate of employment, pay slipof workplace or the original copy of graduation certificate of university or othersof that country.
●International driving permit (If you have any.)●Two photographs
3 x 2.4 cm / no hat / facing straight / face-to-shoulder / no background /taken within the last 6 months●If you are a foreign national, please bring your Residence Card or Special
Permanent Resident Certificate (card-type.)●If you apply for the license of motorcycle (except for scooter under 49cc), pleasebring a helmet, long-sleeve shirt, gloves, long pants and shoes to wear.
※Please make sure that each certificate you will bring to the center must be theoriginal.

Languages used for knowledge test

English / Arabic / Indonesian / Ukrainian / Urdu / Korean / Khmer / Sinhala /Spanish / Thai / Tagalog / Chinese / Nepali / Hindi / Vietnamese / Persian /Portuguese / Burmese / Mongolian / Russian

Handling Fees

●Scooter / Small special vehicle 1,500 yen●Standard vehicle 2,550 yen●Large vehicle / Medium-sized vehicle / Semi-mid-sized vehicle 4,100 yen●Others 2,600 yen●Driver’s license issuance fee 2,050 yen

Date of issuance

A Japanese driver’s license will be issued on the same day after the tests.

Notes・If you cannot speak Japanese well, please come to the center with an interpreter
who will help you throughout the procedure. For the clerical procedure's sake,an interpreter can accompany up to two applicants.
・ We will ask you in an interview how you obtained your foreign driver's license. Yourapplication may not be accepted as a result of our examining your documents andinterviewing.
・You may be required to get some certificates to verify the record of how you
obtained your foreign driver's license.
・Waiting may get long depending on the circumstances.
・ You cannot practice driving for skill test in Driver's License Center.

・ If you have any questions, please contact Driver's License Center, Traffic Department at029-293-8811.