Gaimen Kirikae: Converting a Foreign License
Gaimen kirikae Japan converts a valid foreign driver's license into a Japanese license without attending driving school from scratch.1 The payoff is largest for new residents whose International Driving Permit window is closing, since the permit alone never converts into a Japanese license.1
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the National Police Agency and your prefectural Driver's License Center.
Overview
外国免許切替 (gaimen kirikae, "foreign license conversion") is the procedure that switches a license issued by a foreign authority into a Japanese license.1 You apply at the 運転免許試験場 (unten menkyo shikenjo, "Driver's License Center") run by the prefectural police where your address is registered.1
Who this is for and when it applies
This guide serves new residents who hold a valid foreign driver's license and plan to drive beyond the one-year International Driving Permit window.1 Since the October 1, 2025 rule revision, foreign residents normally need coverage under the Basic Resident Registration Act, proven with a 住民票 (juminhyo, "residence certificate") showing the required entries.23
Tourists without a resident record are out of scope for conversion under the revised rules, with only diplomat and equivalent exceptions.2 If you are unsure whether your case qualifies, confirm with the licensing center before gathering documents.1
What conversion gives you
Conversion grants a standard Japanese license for the matching vehicle class, with no driving-school course required.1 A newly converted ordinary license in the Tokyo example runs until one month after the third birthday from issuance, after which the normal renewal cycle applies.3
Whether you also sit the knowledge and skill checks depends on your issuing authority.3 The full exemption list lives in the test-difference sibling article; confirm your own case with the licensing center.3
Eligibility and the Three-Month Rule
Eligibility rests on two conditions: a currently valid foreign license, and proof that you lived in the issuing country for at least three months in total after the license was granted.1
A valid foreign license from a recognized authority
Your foreign license must be valid on the day you apply. Expired licenses cannot be transferred.14
The national license itself is required. An International Driving Permit on its own is not accepted, and JAF does not translate IDPs.14
You must apply in person. Applications by agents are not allowed.5
If your card shows only the latest renewal date, the center may treat that date as the relevant issue date for the residence proof. Bring old passports and, where needed, an official driving record proving the original issue date.6
Proof of three months in the issuing country after issuance
Prove the three-month stay with passports carrying entry and exit stamps, including expired passports where the history spans them.13 Automated gates and renewed passports can leave gaps in the stamp record, so collect entry or exit records and an official driving record early when your history is hard to read.6
The rule is strictly enforced and no issuing-country waiver list was found in the licensing primaries reviewed. Even the accommodation for evacuees from Ukraine keeps the three-month condition.3 If you believe an exception covers you, confirm it with the licensing center rather than assuming it.
Required Documents and Certified Translation
Prepare originals of everything. Tokyo requires original documents at reception and does not accept copies.3
The document checklist
The national frame lists eight items: the application form, an application photograph, a juminhyo copy (or passport for those outside the Resident Register System), an identity document such as a My Number card or 在留カード (zairyū kādo, "residence card"), the original valid foreign license, the accepted Japanese translation, the three-month stay evidence, and the prefectural fee.1
The photograph is generally 3.0 x 2.4 cm taken within the last six months (as of 2026-07-17; confirm current figures with the licensing center).63 Juminhyo copies submitted for licensing procedures should have been issued within the last six months (as of 2026-04-24).2
Foreign residents covered by the Resident Register System submit a juminhyo copy with the required specific entries, covering nationality, visa status, period of stay, and residence card number.3 Diplomats and equivalent non-covered persons instead present a Ministry of Foreign Affairs identity certificate or equivalent, plus a public-agency document verifying their address, plus a passport.32
Centers commonly ask for extras depending on the issuing country and how the license reads: an official driving history, a first-issue certificate, previous licenses, old passports, or an explanation of license classes and restrictions.6
The Japan-side certified translation
The translation must come from a translator Japan recognizes. Cabinet Order categories cover the issuing authority or its embassy or consulate in Japan, entities notified by the foreign authority and recognized by the National Public Safety Commission, and designated legal persons in the JAF class.5
JAF is the default route for most applicants. Applications run online only from inside Japan, and counter or postal applications are no longer accepted.4 The conversion-purpose translation costs ¥6,600 including tax plus ¥20 per page for convenience-store printing (as of 2026-07-01).4
Average JAF issuance runs 2–3 business days for licenses from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco, and Taiwan, and 5–10 business days for other countries or regions (as of 2026-07).4 A renewed license or any changed details require a fresh translation, since the translation stays valid only while the underlying license does.4
Where to Apply: The Licensing Center
Apply through the prefectural police with jurisdiction over your registered address, not whichever center looks most convenient.16
Which center and how to book
Booking is reservation-based (as of 2026-09-07; confirm current figures with the prefectural licensing center).3 Tokyo runs three centers: Fuchu, Samezu, and Koto. Fuchu and Samezu handle every issuing authority, while Koto accepts only exemption-country licenses.3
Tokyo offers web booking for standard cases and telephone booking for diplomats and designated-skill-system cases, with cancellations handled by phone to the center.3 Reception hours at Tokyo centers run weekdays 8:30–15:00 excluding 11:00–13:00, with weekends, holidays, and December 29–January 3 closed (as of 2026-09-07).3 Readers who cannot speak Japanese may be asked to bring an interpreter.3
Prefectures differ on booking channels, hours, and extra documents, so Tokyo practice never stands in for your own prefecture. Check your own center's page before traveling.6
What happens on the day
Document screening comes first. Staff verify the file and may ask when and how you learned to drive, where you lived, and which vehicles you drove.6 Eyesight and aptitude checks follow at the center.63
The ordinary-license eyesight standard is 0.7 or better with both eyes and 0.3 or better in each eye, with a wide-field alternative for one-eyed applicants; larger vehicle classes add stricter acuity plus a depth-perception test.3 The skill check cannot be taken on reception day because it runs on its own reservation (as of 2026-09-07).3
The full sequence looks like this:
Costs and Timelines
Fees below are Tokyo figures plus the national JAF translation fee. Your prefecture sets its own application and issuance fees, so treat these as planning anchors rather than a nationwide schedule.34
Application and translation fees
The Tokyo ordinary-vehicle route costs ¥2,500 to apply plus ¥2,350 at issuance, or about ¥5,000 before translation, photos, transport, and any lessons or retakes (as of 2026-09-07; confirm current figures with the prefectural licensing center).3
| Item | Amount | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application fee, ordinary vehicle (Tokyo) | ¥2,500 | 2026-09-073 | Paid at the center |
| Issuance fee (Tokyo) | ¥2,350 | 2026-09-073 | Paid when the license is issued |
| JAF translation for conversion | ¥6,600 incl. tax, plus ¥20 per page printing | 2026-07-014 | Online application, convenience-store print |
| Photograph | ¥800–1,000 | 2026-04-097 | Commercial booth guide figure |
One commercial 2026 guide totals roughly ¥11,650–11,850 for translation plus application plus issuance plus photo, rising to roughly ¥14,150–14,350 on a first attempt where a paid written check applies, before lessons and retakes (as of 2026-04-09).7 Transport, certificate copies, practice lessons, and repeat skill checks can outweigh the official fees, so budget beyond the table.6
How long it takes
Exempt cases can finish in days once the documents and translation are ready.7 Cases that require checks typically run one to three months, driven almost entirely by appointment availability and retakes (as of 2026-04-09).73
Booking the document review or written check often takes weeks to months, and the skill-check date is chosen only after passing the written check, sitting weeks to months further out depending on the center (as of 2026-04-09).7
The Tests: Knowledge Check and Driving Skill Check
Testing depends on the issuing authority, not on the applicant's nationality in the abstract. Confirm your exact route with the prefectural licensing center.3
How exemption works by issuing country
Tokyo exempts 29 issuing authorities from both the knowledge and skill checks and exempts one US state from the skill check only, with every other issuing authority taking both (as of 2026-09-07; confirm current figures with the prefectural licensing center).3 This article does not reproduce the list because exemption lists are date-stamped and shift with bilateral arrangements; the test-difference sibling owns the full table.3
Knowledge-check language options exist, and Tokyo points applicants to its foreign-language exam page for what is actually offered.3
What the checks cover since the October 2025 reform
From October 1, 2025 the knowledge check runs 50 questions with 45 correct required to pass, replacing the old 10-question, 7-correct format, and illustration questions were abolished (as of 2026-04-24).2 The check runs once in the afternoon under the revised Tokyo operation.2
The skill check added pedestrian-crossing passage tasks and tightened its scoring criteria (as of 2026-04-24).2 Preparation should target Japanese observation routines, lane position, stopping points, signals, and pedestrian priority, not only basic vehicle control.6
Good to know
An International Driving Permit alone does not convert
Bring the national foreign license itself, not just the permit booklet. Conversion requires the underlying license, and the translation workflow assumes it too.14 Readers planning a long stay should start conversion while the permit still covers their driving, rather than after it lapses.1
A renewed license can restart the three-month clock
A card that displays only the newest renewal date hides the original issue date the center needs. Keep expired licenses and old passports, request an official driving record where needed, and obtain a fresh translation after every renewal or detail change.64
Appointments fill early so book before your IDP window closes
Reservation-based screening and skill checks plus weeks-to-months lead times can consume most of the one-year permit window.37 File the translation application and reserve the review as soon as the decision to convert is made, and keep the foreign license valid throughout.4
Tourists are out of scope since the October 2025 reform
Hotel addresses no longer satisfy the application. Foreign applicants normally present a juminhyo with the required entries, and only diplomat and equivalent cases use the alternative identity-plus-address documents.23 Anyone on a short stay who was told otherwise by an older guide should recheck with the center.
Tourist passes are out of scope here
JR Pass and Tokyo Metro tourist passes belong to short-term visitor travel and are not covered in this resident guide. They neither substitute for a license nor affect the conversion procedure.
See also
- Tier-1 vs. Tier-2 Country: The Test Difference
- Taking the Japanese Driver's License from Scratch
- International Driving Permit (IDP) Limits
- License Renewal and the Gold-License Bonus
- Jūminhyō: Japan's Residence Record Explained