How to Convert a Chinese Driver’s License to a Japanese License

There are generally three ways to obtain a Japanese driver’s license: converting an existing license, attending a driving school, or joining a driving-camp program.

When I first wrote this article, I had not yet obtained a Japanese license, but I already knew a little about the process. I had spent a lot of time researching it the previous year, contacted several driving schools, and knew people who had obtained licenses through all three methods.

My conclusion was: if you already have a Chinese driver’s license, your first choice should be conversion.

That was the situation when I first wrote this article. Now I have obtained my Japanese license, and the whole article has been updated.

Advantages of License Conversion

• It costs much less, perhaps only one-tenth of the cost of learning and taking the test from scratch in Japan.
• I took the conversion driving test three times and spent less than 50,000 yen in total, including one practice session and all transportation costs. So the original statement that it may cost only one-tenth is not far off. In my own case, it was roughly one-eighth.
• Conversion has lower Japanese-language requirements. By contrast, attending a regular driving school or driving camp requires higher Japanese ability. There are Chinese-speaking instructors, but they are genuinely rare.
• The time from application to obtaining the license should fall somewhere between regular school and driving camp.
• From preparing documents and submitting the application to receiving my license, the total span was under five months. During those five months, the actual time spent on the license process was five days. I spent no other time on it.
• Because I had more than ten years of driving experience and had driven both manual and automatic cars for many years, the timeline above should also apply to many people.

Starting this month, October 2025, new rules for license conversion have taken effect. Document requirements are stricter, the written test is much harder, medical-check requirements have increased, and the driving test has added items and difficulty. So the relative advantage of conversion will decrease quite a bit.

Steps for License Conversion

Converting a Chinese driver’s license to a Japanese license generally involves four or five steps: preparing documents, document screening, written test, driving practice if needed, and the skills test.

Now you need to make an appointment in advance before applying on site.

1. Preparing Documents

Chinese Passport

This includes old passports that have been canceled, or entry-exit records.

Entry-exit records can be downloaded from the WeChat mini program “Immigration Bureau 12367.” You may need to use a VPN and switch to a China node; otherwise it may not work.

Valid Chinese Driver’s License

Prepare the latest main and secondary copies. After obtaining the license, you must have stayed in China for a cumulative total of more than three months.

License Translation

Only translations issued by an embassy or the Japan Automobile Federation, JAF, are valid. Required documents include your license, residence card, and residence certificate.

The JAF translation fee is around 4,000 yen. After submitting the application, you may receive it within an hour if things are fast. You can also apply on the JAF website.

Driver’s license translation

Driver Basic Information Form

This is issued by the driver management center or vehicle management office in the place where your license was issued. It must be stamped with the official seal of the driver management center or vehicle management office, and the original must be submitted.

Some regions also require proof of test results.

For B2 or higher licenses, you may need to provide additional medical certificates and violation records.

Residence Certificate

It must show nationality, but should not include your My Number. It is valid within six months after issuance, and each later use also needs to be within six months.

Based on the latest residence-certificate requirements, I think people holding tourist visas can no longer convert a driver’s license.

ID Photo

A recent one-inch ID photo, 2.5 cm wide by 3 cm high, with a white background. You may only need to submit one.

Residence Card

The residence period must extend beyond the scheduled test time.

2. Document Screening

Now you need to make an appointment by phone or online before going on site for document screening. Because the new policy started in October 2025, there may be many more people making appointments during these two months than usual.

Reservation procedure

Fill Out the Application Form

Go to the driver licensing center under the jurisdiction of your current address on your residence card and fill out the application form.

Submit Materials

The police will verify the submitted documents one by one. The applicant also needs to answer questions at the counter. If you do not speak Japanese, bring an interpreter.

After passing the screening, your documents are returned, the approved application form is issued, and you then pay the fees.

The general licensing-center fees are roughly:

• Ordinary license: 2,550 yen
• Large, medium, and semi-medium licenses: 4,100 yen
• Issuance fee: 2,050 yen, paid when receiving the license
• Additional-category listing fee: 200 yen

Medical Check

The medical check mainly tests eyesight and color blindness. For the road test, your eyesight test must have been completed within six months.

If you cannot see clearly without glasses, tell the doctor you need to take the vision test with glasses. In that case, your license will require you to wear glasses while driving.

3. Written Test

After document screening, you take the written test. It now has 50 questions, and you must answer at least 45 correctly to pass. The test is arranged in the afternoon, takes 30 minutes, and is taken together with others. Previously, it was taken individually on a computer, and the time limit was not strict.

After passing the written test, you receive the skills-test notes and the test-route map. Then you can go to the counter to reserve a skills-test date.

At most licensing centers, after passing the written test, the skills test may be scheduled about one to four months later.

Each time I booked a test, the wait was a little over one month at the shortest and nearly two months at the longest.

4. Skills Test

The skills test is only on a designated course inside the test center. The examiner sits in the passenger seat and tells you which numbered intersection to turn left or right at. If you pass the on-site skills test, you can receive your Japanese license the same day.

The new rules have added items such as pedestrian-crossing checks, and the evaluation standards have also become stricter.

The skills test is quite strict. If you obtained your license in China but have not driven much, it is best to practice in advance. I heard you can reserve practice at some test centers. If you drive often and have good habits, I do not think practice matters that much. The key is not to be nervous during the exam. Below are the most important points.

Immediate Failure Points

• Running red or yellow lights: because examinees are nervous and Japanese driving tests require exaggerated safety confirmation, it is easy to focus on one thing and miss another.
• Failing to stop at a stop sign: when you see tomare, you must stop and must not cross the stop line.
• Failing to stop before entering a larger road from a small road: in the test, this happens when exiting the right-angle turn and S-curve.
• Driving on the wrong side: this can easily happen when making a wide right turn.
• Continuing after touching an obstacle: this usually means hitting or riding over the curb.
• Obstructing other vehicles, leaving the test route, or failing to follow the examiner’s instructions.

Before Getting In

1. Walk to about two meters in front of the car and check under the car, approaching from the left.
2. Walk to about two meters behind the car and check under the car, also from the left.
3. At the right rear light, check the right rear area.
4. When you reach the driver’s door, check the right rear area again.
5. Open the door and enter the driver’s seat.

In actual exams, these five points are not examined too strictly. One test car needs to examine around ten people in a morning, so time does not really allow for every detail. Do not worry too much if you cannot remember everything. Follow the actual situation on the exam day.

Before Starting the Car

1. After gently closing the door, lock it first.
2. Greet the examiner, for example: ohayo gozaimasu. You can also add yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
3. Adjust the seat, side mirrors, and rearview mirror. A good position allows you to press the clutch fully and place your wrists on the top of the steering wheel with your arms extended. Usually you do not need to adjust the side mirrors, but you should let the examiner know you have checked them, perhaps with a gesture. Then use your index finger and thumb on the upper and lower edges of the rearview mirror to adjust it slightly.
4. Fasten your seat belt. If the examiner has not fastened theirs, remind them before departure. You can say: sensei, seat belt o shikkari shimete kudasai. If your Japanese is weak, saying seat belt, onegaishimasu should also be fine as long as you say “seat belt.”
5. Check the handbrake and gear. Make sure the handbrake is engaged. Fully depress the clutch, while also pressing the brake, and test whether gear shifting works normally. Finally leave it in neutral.
6. Start the engine. Fully depress the clutch, hold the brake, and start the car.
7. Report that you are ready. You can say: junbi dekimashita. Based on my exams, the examiner usually gives you at most one or two minutes, so some steps are skipped in practice. For example, you may never get a chance to say you are ready because the examiner has already urged you to depart.
8. After the examiner gives the departure instruction, perform five checks:
   1. Turn your head to check the left rear.
   2. Check the left side mirror.
   3. Check the rearview mirror.
   4. Check the right side mirror.
   5. Turn your head to check the right rear.
9. Depart. Turn on the right indicator, perform three-point confirmation, then shift into first gear, release the handbrake, lift the clutch, and start.

After Stopping

1. After the car stops completely, pull the handbrake, shift into neutral, turn off the indicator, and switch off the engine.
2. Shift into reverse, unfasten your seat belt, and move the seat back.
3. Report that the exam is over. You can say: owarimashita.
4. Get out of the car. Unlock the door, check the right mirror, open the door slightly, turn your head to confirm safety, and then get out. Close the door gently.
5. Get the result. Walk around from the rear of the car to the passenger side.

Do not feel too burdened by the steps after stopping. In actual exams, examiners generally do not pay much attention to these details.

However, never be careless. Safety is the most important thing. For example, after the exam, when opening the door to get out, checking whether another vehicle is coming from behind is the most important point. If another test car is approaching, the examiner will be even more worried than you that you might suddenly open the door and get out.

Points While Driving

Changing Lanes to the Right

First check the rearview mirror, turn on the right indicator, check the right side mirror, turn your head to check the right rear, then steer to change lanes.

Changing Lanes to the Left

First check the rearview mirror, turn on the left indicator, check the left side mirror, turn your head to check the left rear, then steer to change lanes.

Turning Right

First check the right front and right side mirror, then the left side mirror, then turn your head to check the right rear, and make a wide turn.

Turning Left

First check the right front and right side mirror, then the left side mirror, then turn your head to check the left rear, and make a tight turn.

Before turning, move toward the edge in advance: left edge for a left turn, right edge for a right turn.

5. Passing and Receiving the License

After the test, you immediately know whether you passed. If you fail, the examiner tells you why and reminds you to reserve the next test. If you pass, your appointment card is collected on the spot.

My license-issuance process was:

1. After everyone finished testing, around noon, staff called names and handed each person their file paper. Then we went to pay the fee.
2. After paying, all materials were submitted again, such as the residence certificate, license translation, and Chinese driver basic information form.
3. At a self-service machine, I set a password and printed it. It was needed later during photo collection.
4. I took the photo. If you passed the vision test with glasses during the medical check, you also need to wear glasses for the photo.
5. Wait for the license to be produced, then receive it.

In short, receiving the license takes several hours, with quite a lot of waiting between steps.

Other Information

About Test Centers

Foreigners living in Tokyo can choose between Fuchu Driver’s License Center and Samezu Driver’s License Center.

Switching a foreign driver’s license to a Japanese driver’s license

About Mindset

Based on what I have learned and observed, the daily pass rate for license conversion is usually around 30%. If the pass rate reaches 50% to 60%, that is already quite high. So there is no need to chase a first-time pass. On exam day, keep a good mindset and do not be nervous. There is no need to repeatedly pressure yourself by thinking, “I must pass, I must pass.”

Taking the test a few more times does not cost much. It is cheaper than repeatedly paying for practice sessions, and it does not create much financial pressure. Under normal circumstances, many people need two or three, or even three or four attempts to obtain the license. If you do not pass the first time, there is no need to feel discouraged.

If you are familiar with license conversion, you are welcome to correct or supplement this information. This article will be updated over time, and friends who need it are welcome to follow and share it.

What Age Can You Drive in Japan?

In Japan, the minimum age to officially obtain a standard driver’s license for a regular passenger car is 18 years old.

Although many driving schools allow students to enroll about two months before turning 18, you still must be at least 18 years old to take the official exam and receive a regular driver’s license.

In addition, different vehicle types have different age requirements in Japan: