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Chinese License Conversion in Japan: Getting 出入境记录 and 基本信息

Updated: 2026-10

You can look up your own entry/exit records (出入境记录) for the past ten years on the National Immigration Administration (NIA) service platform, the 移民局 app or the 移民局 mini-program on WeChat/Alipay, and download a PDF with an electronic signature; Tokyo police ask you to print it and bring it. The 基本信息 must carry the vehicle management office (车管所) seal, while the score, history or credit-status certificate can be obtained online if it has the office's electronic seal, or replaced with a printout of your digital license.

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Overview: the Chinese documents Tokyo asks for and where to get them

Which documents you need is covered in our Chinese license article. This one focuses on where and how to get each of them. The table follows Tokyo Metropolitan Police's (警視庁) list of documents by country (as of August 2026).

Requirements vary by prefecture. If you apply outside Tokyo, use the table as a guide and always check your prefecture's list.

Document (Tokyo)	Where	Key points
1. 基本信息	Vehicle management office (车辆管理所)	Must be sealed. Beijing: 4 sealed certificates (license, accidents, violations, 12-point record) also accepted. Tianjin: a sealed 登记信息 also accepted
2. One of the following	车辆管理所 or online	Score certificate, driving history or credit status (violations, accidents), sealed by the office or obtained online with its electronic seal. A printout of your digital license is also accepted
3. Entry/exit records (10 years)	National Immigration Administration (NIA)	Apply online and bring a printout; Tokyo says this cuts waiting time a lot
Two or more license classes	—	Documents showing the acquisition date of each class

Entry/exit records: look up ten years online

Under NIA Announcement No. 5 of 2019, from 1 April 2019 mainland residents can look up their own entry/exit records on the NIA service platform and generate an electronic file with NIA's electronic signature. The announcement says this file has the same effect as a paper document sealed by the exit-entry authorities.

Where to look it up: the NIA service platform (s.nia.gov.cn) under 中国公民服务 → 出入境记录查询, the 移民局 app, and the 移民局 mini-program on WeChat and Alipay. According to a Beijing government site, the online service covers your own records for the past ten years.

On the platform you choose a time range such as 三个月, 一年, 五年 or 十年. Tokyo asks for 10 years, so choose 十年. You can download the result (本地下载) or have it emailed (邮件发送); for email you set a file password of 6 to 12 characters.

You need real-person verification (实人认证). When verification fails, the platform tells you to check your details or make sure you are inside China and try again, so it may not work from Japan. The safest plan is to get the records while you are still in China.

The PDF is a data message with the electronic signature data in the top-left icon. Keep both the printout and the original PDF
Aichi's Higashi-Mikawa center also asks you to be able to show the web screen at the counter
The PDF lists dates, ports, document numbers and flight numbers. Check yourself that it shows at least 3 months' total stay after you got the license

Getting it at a counter, and whether someone else can apply

According to the NIA FAQ, you can apply at a border inspection station (边防检查站) or the exit-entry department of a public security bureau at prefecture/city level or above. You submit the 查询出入境记录申请表 in person, show your travel document or 居民身份证 original, and receive a sealed 出入境记录查询结果.

The same page says that if special circumstances prevent you from going, someone else can apply with your original ID document, their own 居民身份证 and an authorisation letter signed by both of you. However, the Beijing Mentougou branch's guide says applications must be made in person and that its counter covers the past 5 years. Practice may differ by office, so if a family member will go for you, check with that office first.

Since Tokyo wants 10 years, the online lookup is the most reliable route.

Getting the 基本信息 and the "one of the following" item

The 基本信息 must carry the vehicle management office seal. In Tokyo's list, "online is OK (with the office's electronic seal)" is written for item 2 (score certificate, driving history, credit status), not for item 1. For a paper copy, ask the 车管所 that holds your license record.

For item 2, you can get the digital license (电子驾驶证) in the 交管12123 app via 电子证件凭证 on the home screen (free, valid nationwide). When printing, pick a screen that shows your photo, name, QR code, address, license class (准驾车型) and acquisition date.

China's traffic management bureau notes that the digital license uses a dynamic QR code: screenshots and printed QR codes expire and fail verification. Tokyo accepts the printout as a document, but some places, such as Aichi (Higashi-Mikawa), ask you to operate the app at the counter, so bring a phone that can log in to the app.

The 交管12123 app can also issue a 安全驾驶记录 covering the last three years of accidents, class changes, violations and full-point records (per Shijiazhuang traffic police; one online request per day). Tokyo's list does not say whether it counts as the "credit status" document, so ask where you apply before relying on it.

On the Japanese side: originals, translations and prefecture differences

Tokyo requires all documents as originals and does not accept copies. The entry/exit records are meant to be applied for online and printed, and item 2 may be obtained online with the electronic seal.

The Japanese translation (日本語翻訳文) with designated providers is for your foreign license itself. JAF asks for images of the front, back and supplementary page (副页). If you are unsure whether the extra documents need a translation, ask when you book.

Requirements change by prefecture. Examples checked in October 2026: Wakayama police list the 居民身份证, 基本信息, the supplementary page, and one of a score certificate, credit status or digital license printout as a reference example; Tochigi police ask for entry/exit records, 基本信息 and the 居民身份证.

Common mistakes

These are where applications often stall at the document review. Preparing everything before leaving China saves you from redoing it from Japan.

Choosing 五年 or a shorter range, so the records do not cover 10 years
A digital license printout missing required items such as address or acquisition date
Holding two or more classes without proof of each acquisition date
A 基本信息 without the 车管所 seal
Having only the electronic license and no original card (an electronic license alone cannot be converted)
Entry/exit records that do not show 3 months' total stay after you got the license

Prepare for the knowledge test while you wait

Once your documents are ready, the next step is the knowledge test (知識確認: 50 true/false questions, 30 minutes, at least 45 correct). Tokyo offers it in Chinese, but it tests Japanese traffic rules. While waiting for documents and the translation, get used to the format with menkyopass's mock test.

FAQ

Q. Can I get the entry/exit records while I'm in Japan?

A. The online lookup needs real-person verification, and when it fails the platform asks you to make sure you are inside China. It may not work from Japan, so get the records while you are in China.

Q. Is a printout of the entry/exit records OK?

A. Tokyo asks you to apply on the NIA website and bring a printout. The electronic signature is in the PDF, so keep the original file too.

Q. Can a family member get it for me?

A. The NIA FAQ allows an agent with a signed authorisation letter in special circumstances, but a Beijing office guide requires the applicant in person. Check with the office first.

Q. Does a digital license printout alone count as item 2?

A. In Tokyo, yes, if it shows your photo, name, QR code, address, class and acquisition date. Some prefectures also ask to see the app screen.