On the Day
On the day — from the desk to the new card
What happens, in what order, and whether it ends in one day. In one prefecture the desk is open for 20 minutes. If you are late, your day is over.
The order is intake, paper check, eye check, knowledge test, driving test, handover. People from the no-test group do the paper check and the eye check only. It does not always end in one day — in many prefectures the two tests fall on other days. Turn your phone off and put it in your bag. Silent mode is not enough.
The order on the day
At the time and the window they gave you. In one prefecture the desk is open for 20 minutes
They look at your papers and at the 3-month stay. They ask you questions here
Sight, colors and hearing. Bring your glasses or contact lenses
Not for the no-test group
Not for the no-test group, and not for Indiana
They take your photo and give you the license
With the papers in order, the license can come the same day. → Countries with no test
Intake — do not be late
Intake times are completely different in each prefecture. Some of them are short.
| Prefecture | Intake |
|---|---|
| Ishikawa | 13:00 to 13:20 on your day (20 minutes) |
| Shizuoka | Every Wednesday, meet at 9:30. Be on time. If you are late, you come back next week |
| Aomori | 13:00 to 13:30 on your day (9:30 to 10:00 for a Friday morning slot) |
| Fukushima | Fukushima, Monday to Friday 9:30 to 10:00 / Koriyama, Thursday and Friday 10:00 to 10:30 |
| Kanagawa | They give you either 8:30 to 9:00 or the afternoon slot |
| Tokyo | Weekdays 8:30 to 15:00, closed 11:00 to 13:00 |
| Chiba | Weekdays 8:30 to 9:00 and 13:00 to 13:30 |
| Aichi (Hirabari) | 8:45 to 11:45 and 12:45 to 14:45. The knowledge test runs once a day, from 13:30 |
A license center is usually outside the city, and some have few buses. Check the route and the travel time the day before. Some desks are open for 20 minutes. Being late there throws away a booking you waited months for.
The paper check
They look at whether your papers are complete and whether you meet the rules. → Documents
- Does your residence record show your status of residence and how long it runs
- Is your foreign license valid
- Is the translation from one of the named bodies
- Does your passport show the 3 months after you got the license
When you got the license, how long you stayed there after that, when you came to Japan, and what work you do. This is where an interpreter matters most. The Chiba police write that the paper check "takes a long time, and the result may come the next day or later". → Interpreters
The eye check — sight, colors, hearing
Article 23 of the Road Traffic Act Rules sets this. It is the same all over Japan.
| License | Sight |
|---|---|
| Normal, motorcycle, large special | 0.7 or better with both eyes, and 0.3 or better in each eye |
| Large, medium, semi-medium, towing, Class 2 | 0.8 with both eyes, and 0.5 in each eye |
| Moped, small special | 0.5 with both eyes |
- If one eye is under 0.3 or does not see, you can still pass with 150 degrees of field in the other eye and 0.7 sight
- Colors — you tell red, blue and yellow apart. People who already hold another license do not take this
- Depth — only for large, medium, semi-medium, towing and Class 2. Three tries at 2.5 meters, average error 2 cm or less
- Hearing — a 90-decibel horn at 10 meters, with both ears. Hearing aids are allowed. For normal and semi-medium, a special mirror condition is possible instead
If you wear glasses, take them with you. Without them you may not reach the number, and the day stops there. If you wear contact lenses, bring a spare pair.
The knowledge test
- 50 written questions, 30 minutes, 45 right to pass (→ Knowledge test)
- Turn your phone off and put it in your bag. Silent mode is not enough. It cannot sit on the desk
- Your interpreter cannot come into the room
- Say which language you want when you book. In Aichi the language depends on the day of the week
- You get the result the same day
The driving test
- Start at 100 points and keep 70 (→ Driving test)
- You drive the center's car. You cannot bring your own
- Your route is decided on the day. Some centers hand out a map
- In many prefectures it falls on another day. Mie books all three steps separately
- If you fail, you take the driving test only for 6 months. The knowledge test result stays
Some centers let you walk around the course when no test is running. It depends on the center. Ask on the booking call.
The handover
- They take your photo. Most prefectures take a new one there, even if you brought photos
- You pay the handover fee. The old card alone is 2,350 yen, the My Number license alone 1,550 yen, and both together 2,450 yen
- You set two 4-digit codes. Do not forget them
- Your foreign license may be marked, or held, depending on the prefecture
A license from this route is still a new license. For one year from the day Japan first gave you a license, you are a beginner driver. You put the beginner mark on the car.
Does it end in one day
| You | What you do | One day? |
|---|---|---|
| The no-test group | Paper check, eye check, handover | Usually yes |
| Indiana | Plus the knowledge test | It depends on the prefecture |
| Everyone else | Plus the knowledge test and the driving test | Almost never |
Outside the group, the three steps normally fall on three days. Where each needs its own booking, you take three days off work. Test centers open on weekdays only.
What to bring
- Residence record (with your status of residence and its length, without your My Number)
- Your foreign driver's license (valid)
- The Japanese translation
- Passports (the old ones too)
- Residence card
- Photos (the size and number your prefecture asks for)
- Cash (test fee, handover fee, car fee)
- Glasses or contact lenses
- Your Japanese license, if you have one
- Your interpreter, where the prefecture asks for one
- A ballpoint pen
One missing item ends the day. The next slot can be months away. → Documents / All 47 prefectures