Who Can Apply
Who can use gaimen kirikae — this is decided first
Gaimen kirikae is not open to everyone. If you do not meet the rules, you take the full Japanese license course. Check this page before you book anything.
You stayed 3 months or more in the country after you got the license. Your foreign license is valid now. You have an address in Japan. Those three things are the base. Class 2 licenses (taxi, bus) are not covered. If Japan took your license away before, you wait until that period ends.
The four rules
| Rule | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1. A valid foreign license | Valid on the day you apply. A license that has run out cannot be used | Road Traffic Act, Article 97-2 |
| 2. Three months | After you got the license, you stayed 3 months or more in total in the country that gave it | Road Traffic Act Enforcement Order, Article 34-4 |
| 3. An address in Japan | You apply in the prefecture on your residence record. Some people use their place of stay instead | Notice 丙運発第59号, Ch.1 Part 1, 1(3) |
| 4. No bar in Japan | Age, a past license cancellation, a double license, and the lower-license rules | Same notice, 1(8)(i) |
The correct name of gaimen kirikae is "a partial waiver of the driving license exam". In place of the full written and driving exams, you take two short checks. They are the knowledge test (50 questions) and the driving test. Some countries skip both. → Countries with no test
The 3 months — how it is counted
This is where most people get stuck. There are three points.
Time before the license does not count. Only the days after the date on the license
The days do not have to run together. Several short stays can be added up
Days in other countries do not count
How you show it
The usual proof is the entry and exit stamps in your passport. The notice also allows other papers.
"Besides a passport, there are seafarer's books and so on. … When the exit cannot be confirmed, ask to see related papers such as proof of employment or school, pay slips, or an apartment lease, and confirm by asking questions, to work out the length of the stay."
So people with no stamps because of an automatic gate, and people from countries that do not stamp, still have a way. Proof of work, pay slips, or a lease can show the stay. Do not decide by yourself that you cannot apply. Ask at the counter.
The stamps for that stay may be in an old passport. Keep them and bring them all. If you no longer have them, ask about the other papers above.
Only Class 1 licenses
Class 2 licenses are not covered. Those are for taxi, bus, and other work that carries paying passengers.
There are two reasons.
- The title of the notice — Chapter 1, Part 1 of 丙運発第59号 is called "partial waiver of the exam for Class 1 licenses". Class 2 is not in it
- How the Order is written — Article 34-4 covers the waiver. Article 34-5 covers Class 2 separately
What is closed is the short route. Getting a Class 2 license in Japan is still possible. There are rules on age and on how long you have held a Class 1 license. You take the same exam as everyone else.
Which license you get
You get the Japanese Class 1 license that matches the vehicles on your foreign license. You cannot move up to a bigger class. You may also ask for an automatic-only license. Then you take the driving test in an automatic car.
You apply in the prefecture where you live
"The Public Safety Commission of the prefecture that covers the applicant's address (or place of stay, for a person outside the Basic Resident Register Act)."
So you can apply only in the prefecture on your residence record.
- The next prefecture may have shorter waits. You still cannot use it
- It is not the prefecture where you work. It is where you live
- Some prefectures have more than one test center. The prefecture decides which one you use. A few send the no-test group to a separate center, such as Koto in Tokyo
Phone numbers are on the list of all 47 prefectures.
A license that has run out cannot be used
Your foreign license has to be valid on the day you apply. If it has run out, this route is closed.
In some prefectures, the whole process takes several months. Your license can be valid at the start and dead by the driving test. Prefectures handle this in different ways. Almost none of them write it on their pages. If your license ends soon, say so on the booking call.
If you still have a long time to drive in Japan
Some people can still drive in Japan on an international permit. The notice tells the staff this.
"Guide them to apply from about one month before the day their right to drive in Japan ends … and hand over the license as close as possible to the day that period ends."
This does not mean an early application is turned away. It is about when the card is handed over. Still, waits run for months. One month is far too late to start. Book early.
Japan also checks its own bars
People think about the 3 months and the country list. The notice says the staff run the same checks as for any license at the same time.
At intake, check "the license age, the bar period, double licenses, and the lower-license rules".
| Item | What it means |
|---|---|
| Age | A normal car license needs age 18 or over. Motorcycle 16, medium 20, large 21 |
| Bar period | If Japan canceled your license before, you wait until that period ends |
| Double license | You cannot hold two Japanese licenses of the same kind |
| Lower license | A bigger license needs a smaller one held for a set time |
The Mie police write it plainly: no application during a penalty period, and past traffic offenses may block you. If this may be you, call the counter before you book.
People with no residence record
Diplomats and consular staff are outside the Basic Resident Register Act. There is a route for them.
- You apply where your place of stay is (notice, Ch.1 Part 1, 1(3))
- In place of a residence record, you show an ID paper from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attach a public paper that shows your address (notice, 1(6)(a))
- In Tokyo, diplomats and their families book by phone, not on the web
The notice, Ch.1 Part 1, 1(2), also covers US forces permit holders. It applies to a person about to lose that status. They apply from about one month before. The license is handed over just before the status ends.
Meeting the rules does not mean you skip the tests
Everything above is about whether you can use this route at all. Whether you take the two tests is a separate question.
Find your country on Countries with no test. It changes a lot.