Gaimen50-question practice tests in the real exam formatAfter Converting Your License in Japan: Renewal and Beginner Mark
Updated: 2026-10
When you get a Japanese license through conversion (外免切替), first-time license holders in Japan fall into the “new licensee” category, and the license is valid until one month after your third birthday following the aptitude test (about 3 years). You don't need the beginner mark (初心者マーク) if the time you held your foreign license while living in that country adds up to at least 1 year. Your foreign license is returned after checking, and if your address changes you must report it promptly.
The license you receive: validity and band color
You receive the Class 1 license (第一種免許) matching the vehicles your foreign license covers (see the license types article). Validity is set by Article 95-6 of the Road Traffic Act (道路交通法): for anyone who has held a license continuously for less than 5 years, it ends on “the day one month passes counting from the third birthday after the aptitude test (適性試験).” The legal category is called “violators, etc.” (違反運転者等), but everyone with under 5 years of license history is in it, violations or not. If the last day is a Sunday or similar, it moves to the next day.
Because it counts to your third birthday, the actual length is from just over 2 to just over 3 years. For example, if you take the aptitude test in November 2026 and your birthday is in May, it lasts until about a month after your May 2029 birthday. Check the exact date on the license where it says ○年○月○日まで有効.
According to Chiba Prefectural Police (千葉県警), a “new licensee” (新規取得者) license has a green band and 3-year validity; from the first renewal (初回更新者) it is blue; excellent drivers get gold. Japanese license validity is based on your birthday and is separate from your period of stay.
| Category (千葉県警) | Band color | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| New licensee (first license) | Green | 3 years |
| First renewal (under 5 years) | Blue | 3 years |
| Violator | Blue | 3 years |
| Standard driver (5+ years, one minor violation) | Blue | 5 years (under 70) |
| Excellent driver (5+ years, clean record) | Gold | 5 years (under 70) |
Your first renewal: when, where and the lecture
You can renew from one month before the birthday immediately preceding the expiry date until the expiry date (Road Traffic Act Article 101), i.e. roughly a month either side of your birthday. The Public Safety Commission sends a notice with your renewal period; in Tokyo, the 運転免許証更新のお知らせ postcard is mailed so it arrives by the day before the renewal period starts. It won't reach you if you haven't updated your address.
For drivers with under 5 years of history, the first renewal involves the “first-renewal lecture” (初回更新者講習, 2 hours) (警視庁). In Tokyo, renewal centers and designated police stations only handle people taking the excellent-driver lecture and similar (Kanda also takes the standard lecture), so first renewals are done at a driving license test center (運転免許試験場: Fuchu, Samezu or Koto). Renewal in Tokyo requires a reservation.
Foreign residents need their license plus one of: residence card (在留カード), special permanent resident certificate, or a certificate of residence (住民票) showing the specified items (or the マイナ免許証 card if you have one). The 警察庁 guidelines say people who cannot present these cannot renew.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Renewal period | One month before the birthday preceding expiry, until the expiry date (Article 101) |
| Lecture (under 5 years) | First-renewal lecture, 2 hours (警視庁) |
| Where (Tokyo example) | First renewals: driving license test center (Fuchu, Samezu, Koto) |
| What foreign residents bring | License + residence card, special permanent resident certificate or 住民票 with specified items |
If you can't renew in time or it has expired
If you don't renew, the license loses its validity (失効, Article 105). If you know you'll be abroad during the renewal period, people with an unavoidable reason such as overseas travel can apply to renew before the renewal period (Article 101-2).
If it has already lapsed, within 6 months you are exempt from the written and driving tests and can get it back with an aptitude test and a lecture. After 6 months but within 1 year, for standard and larger car licenses the written and driving tests for the provisional license are waived. If an unavoidable reason such as being overseas or a disaster prevented you, the same exemption applies within 3 years of the lapse and within 1 month after the reason ends (Article 97-2).
- Within 6 months of lapse: written and driving tests waived (aptitude test and lecture still required)
- 6 months to 1 year: provisional-license written and driving tests waived (large, medium, semi-medium, standard)
- With an unavoidable reason: within 3 years of lapse and 1 month after the reason ends
Beginner mark: not needed with 1+ year of experience abroad
Road Traffic Act Article 71-5 requires drivers who have held a standard (or semi-medium) license for less than 1 year in total to display the beginner driver mark (初心運転者標識). However, under Article 26-4 of the Enforcement Order (施行令), you are excluded if, within 6 months before getting your Japanese license, you held a foreign license equivalent to a standard car license and the time you stayed in that country while holding it adds up to at least 1 year. 警視庁 checks this “1 year in total” during document screening.
What counts is not how many years you held the license, but how long you were in the issuing country while holding it. The “beginner driver period” system (初心運転者期間, Article 100-2), under which certain violations in the first year lead to a lecture or re-test, also does not apply to people with the same 1 year abroad (Enforcement Order Article 37).
For carrying a passenger on a motorcycle, 警視庁 also checks your stay during screening. If your stay in the issuing country after getting the license is at least 3 months but under 1 year, you cannot carry a passenger right away.
| Total stay in issuing country while licensed | Beginner mark (cars) | Motorcycle passenger (警視庁) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months to under 1 year | Required for 1 year after getting the Japanese license | Ordinary roads: once stay there plus in Japan totals 1 year; expressways: 3 years |
| 1 year to under 3 years | Not required | Ordinary roads OK; expressways not until the total reaches 3 years |
| 3 years or more | Not required | Stay requirement met |
Report changes of address, name or nationality
The license shows its number, license and expiry dates, class, registered domicile (nationality etc. for foreigners), address, name and date of birth (Article 93). When any of these change, you must promptly notify the Public Safety Commission of your place of residence; if you move to another prefecture, notify the new one (Article 94).
In Tokyo, every police station, the renewal centers (Kanda, Shinjuku) and the test centers accept this, free of charge, on weekdays 8:30–16:30. Your period of stay and status of residence are not among the Article 93 items, but you need your residence card etc. when renewing, so always keep it valid.
If you lose or damage your license, apply for reissue at the commission for your place of residence (Article 94(2)). The 要領 states that while your Japanese license is valid, you cannot obtain the same license again through conversion.
| What changed | Reporting at 警視庁 (foreign residents registered in Japan) |
|---|---|
| Address | Show license + residence card, special permanent resident certificate or 住民票 with specified items (no copies) |
| Nationality or name | License + submit 住民票 showing nationality etc. (no copies) |
| マイナ免許証 holders | Update address/name on your My Number card at the city office first |
You get your foreign license back
The 警察庁 guidelines say the foreign license presented with the application is checked, its issuing country, number, expiry date and so on are recorded in the conversion register (外国免許による試験の一部免除台帳), and it is then returned. Converting does not mean your foreign license is taken away.
Your returned foreign license remains subject to its own country's validity rules. If you plan to drive back home in the future, keep track of its renewal deadline separately from your Japanese license.
After conversion, keep driving by Japanese rules
The rules you learned for the knowledge test still apply after you get your license. Since September 1, 2026, the legal speed limit on residential roads without a center line and similar is 30 km/h (警察庁).
If you haven't converted yet, prepare for the knowledge test first (50 questions, 45 correct to pass). Review Japanese rules in the real format with menkyopass's English practice tests.
FAQ
Q. How long is my converted license valid?
A. For first-time license holders in Japan, until one month after the third birthday following the aptitude test (Article 95-6). That's about 3 years, with a green band. Check the exact date on the license.
Q. Do I have to display the beginner mark?
A. Not if the time you held a foreign car license while staying in that country totals at least 1 year (Enforcement Order Article 26-4). If under 1 year, you must display it for 1 year after getting the Japanese license.
Q. Will they keep my foreign license?
A. No. The 要領 says the foreign license is checked, recorded in the register and returned.
Q. Do I need to report a visa extension to the license office?
A. Your period of stay isn't an item on the license (Article 93). You report changes of address, name, nationality and similar. But you need your residence card etc. when renewing your license.