Exchange your foreign licence for a Japanese one. Known as gaimen kirikae.
Not verified yet
Drafted from general knowledge. Licence conversion rules depend on your issuing country and are handled by prefectural licence centres with differing practice — confirm with your prefecture before travelling to the centre.
Why it matters
This is the only durable way to keep driving as a resident. Whether it is a formality or a months-long ordeal depends almost entirely on which country issued your licence — some are exempt from testing, others must pass both a written and a practical exam that has a reputation for failing confident drivers on their first attempt.
- Deadline
- No legal deadline
- Cost
- Set by your city
- Time
- One day if exempt; often several months if tests are required
Do these first
What to bring
- Your foreign driving licence外国の運転免許証·gaikoku no unten menkyoshō
Must generally still be valid.
- Official Japanese translation of your licence運転免許証の日本語翻訳文·unten menkyoshō no nihongo hon’yakubun
Must come from an accepted issuer — typically JAF or your country’s embassy. Your own translation will not be accepted.
- Passportパスポート·pasupōto
Including old passports. They are used to prove you spent a qualifying period in the issuing country after your licence was issued — this trips up a lot of applicants.
- Residence Certificate住民票·jūminhyō
- ID photo証明写真·shōmei shashin
How it goes
- 1
Find out whether your country is exempt from testing
A number of countries have agreements letting their licence holders convert with paperwork and an eyesight check only. Others must sit a knowledge test and a practical driving test. This single fact determines whether your process takes a day or several months, so establish it first.
- 2
Get the official translation
Order it from JAF or your embassy early — it takes time and you cannot book anything without it.
- 3
Prove your post-issue residency in the issuing country
You generally must show you lived in the issuing country for a qualifying period after the licence was issued. This is proven with passport stamps, which is why old passports matter. Applicants who obtained a licence shortly before moving are the most common rejections.
- 4
Book at your prefectural licence centre
Not city hall — a separate prefectural facility, often inconveniently located and open limited hours for this procedure. Appointments can be booked out weeks ahead.
Say this
外国免許からの切替をお願いします。
Gaikoku menkyo kara no kirikae o onegai shimasu.
I would like to convert my foreign driving licence.
- 5
If you must take the practical test, prepare specifically for it
The practical test assesses a precise, formalised driving style rather than general competence — exaggerated safety checks, specific lane positioning, and a set route. Experienced drivers fail it routinely by driving normally. Lessons at a practice course are a common and worthwhile expense.