Converting a Foreign License in Kumamoto: Booking and Documents

The Kumamoto flow: phone booking → document review and interview → tests

These are the steps Kumamoto police list. If you fail the knowledge or driving test, you book the next slot and retake it. A moped (原付) license only needs the knowledge test — there's no driving test.

How to book by phone, and who can convert

The booking number is 096-233-0116; at the voice guidance press 2, then 3. Hours: Monday–Friday (excluding weekends, holidays and the New Year period) 11:00–12:00 and 14:00–16:00. Calls are in Japanese only; have your foreign license and passport at hand when you call.

If you can't communicate in Japanese, you must come with an interpreter. If communication isn't sufficient, you can't convert. Even if you meet the conditions, you may be refused depending on the document review.

• Your residence (住民票) is registered in Kumamoto Prefecture
• You hold a valid foreign license
• After getting it, you stayed in that country for a total of 3 months or more

Documents needed in Kumamoto

The police checklist says all documents must be originals. Depending on the issuing country or region and how you got your license, you may be asked for individual documents (see also the police's 'documents by country' list).

• Your valid foreign license. If no issue date is shown, a document proving it
• Japanese translation (日本語翻訳文), only from the issuing country's authority or consulate, a body approved by the National Public Safety Commission (Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, German Automobile Club) or one it designates (such as JAF)
• Residence certificate (住民票) issued within 6 months. Foreign nationals need nationality, the date you became a foreign resident, the Article 30-45 category, residence status, period of stay, its expiry date and residence card number. Needed even if you have a valid Japanese license
• Passport. Without entry/exit stamps for the issuing country, you need proof of stay (entry/exit record certificate, employment certificate, university transcript, tax certificate, etc.). Bring all old passports if needed to prove your stay
• Residence card (在留カード), original
• Photos: 2 per license class (3cm tall × 2.4cm wide, taken within 6 months). They can also be taken at the center on the day (for a fee)
• Your Japanese license if you have one (valid or expired). If it's valid and your address changed, update the address first
• International Driving Permit (if you have one), fees (cash only), glasses etc., an interpreter (if needed)

Who is exempt from the knowledge and driving tests

Both tests are waived for: (1) people who previously held a Japanese license of the same class; (2) people converting a license from Iceland, Ireland, the USA (Ohio, Oregon, Colorado, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland and Washington only), the UK, Italy, Australia, Austria, the Netherlands, Canada, South Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Hungary, Finland, France, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Monaco, Luxembourg or Taiwan.

An Indiana (USA) license is exempt from the driving test only. Licenses from countries not on the list — such as Vietnam, China, the Philippines or Nepal — require both tests.

Also, if you can prove you stayed in the issuing country for a year or more after getting your license, you may be exempt from displaying the beginner driver sign (初心者マーク).

Test languages and fees (cash only)

The knowledge test is given in 20 languages: Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Tagalog, Thai, Indonesian, Nepali, Khmer, Mongolian, Burmese, Russian, Korean, Persian, Spanish, Urdu, Arabic, Sinhala, Hindi and Ukrainian. On your booked day, say which language you want.

Fees are cash only, and there is no ATM at the license center. Kumamoto police's fee table (as of 24 March 2025) lists the following application fees under 'foreign license conversion' and issuance fees on passing. If you apply for several classes at once, the issuance fee rises by 200 yen per extra class.

Driving test day: the course is announced at 7:30 a.m.

The day's driving test course is announced at 7:30 a.m. on the electronic board in the center's 2nd-floor lobby. On weekdays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and from noon to 1 p.m., you may walk the test course to preview it. If you need a course map, ask the test section staff.

Wear shoes suitable for driving (sneakers, etc.) — sandals are not allowed. For a motorcycle test you need suitable gear: helmet, gloves, long sleeves, long trousers, sneakers and so on.

Getting to the center, and preparing for the test

The Kumamoto Driver's License Center is at 菊池郡菊陽町大字辛川2655番地. Conversion is handled by the license test section (運転免許試験課) on the left of the 2nd floor, phone 096-233-0116.

You need 45 correct answers in the knowledge test, and failing means booking again. menkyopass mock tests let you practise the same 50-question, 30-minute format in Vietnamese, English, Chinese or Japanese.

FAQ

Related guides

• Japan License Conversion Process: 6 Steps from Booking to License
• Japan License Conversion Documents: Juminhyo, Translation, Passport
• Japan License Conversion: Countries Exempt from Tests
• Japan License Conversion Driving Test: Tasks, Scoring, Fails
• Fukuoka Foreign License Conversion: Test Centers, Booking, Fees

Sources (in Japanese)

• 熊本県警察「外国免許から日本免許への切替え（要予約）」（2026年10月1日更新）
• 熊本県警察「必要書類チェックリスト」PDF
• 熊本県警察「国別必要書類一覧」PDF
• 熊本県警察「運転免許試験手数料」
• 熊本県警察「運転免許試験等手数料表」PDF（令和7年3月24日現在）
• 熊本県警察「運転免許関係事務の委託に係る公安委員会の認定審査」（運転免許センター所在地）
• 警察庁 丙運発第59号（令和8年1月8日）別添「外国免許等関係事務取扱い要領」