Kyoto Foreign License Conversion: Phone Booking, Fees, Documents

Booking: by phone only, weekdays 3-5 pm

According to Kyoto police, conversion applications are accepted by phone appointment only. Kyoto's online booking page covers license renewal and regular written tests, not foreign license conversion.

You are told the date and time to submit your application during the call. Questions about documents are also answered in the same phone window. If your Japanese is limited, ask someone who speaks Japanese to call with you.

Process and waiting time: about two months per stage

The steps are: document review (書類審査: license, name, address, length of stay, interview) → aptitude test (適性試験, eyesight etc.) → knowledge check (知識の確認) → skills check (技能の確認) → license issued. Licenses from exempt countries and regions such as South Korea and Taiwan skip both checks.

Kyoto police say the document review and knowledge check are about two months away, and the skills check another two months or so. They explain that many applicants fail the review because of missing documents or an expired foreign license, fail the knowledge check from not studying Japanese rules, or fail the skills check from lack of driving practice, which slows everything down.

Your foreign license must stay valid until you pass the skills check, so check its expiry date first. Applicants who cannot hold a conversation in Japanese cannot do the interview and must bring an interpreter (通訳).

Knowledge and skills checks (changes from October 2025)

Kyoto police's notice says the knowledge check went from 10 to 50 questions on October 1, 2025, and is still offered in 20 foreign languages. Nationally, it is 50 true/false questions in 30 minutes, and you pass with 45 or more correct (90%).

The skills check now uses several courses: three for cars and two for motorcycles, posted in the main building. From April 1, 2026, a regular car license (普通免許) is tested in a manual (MT) car, or an automatic car if you apply for an AT-only license (AT限定).

If you pass the knowledge check but fail the skills check, reapplying within six months of the knowledge check date exempts you from the knowledge check (National Police Agency guidelines).

Fees (Kyoto police)

For a regular car license issued as a plastic card: application fee 2,500 yen + issuance fee 2,350 yen + car rental fee for the skills check (貸車料) 1,750 yen.

Kyoto police's required documents list

Bring originals of everything (no photocopies). Depending on the review, you may be asked for other certificates too.

• Valid foreign license. If the name differs from your passport, an official document explaining why
• Driving record (運転経歴証明書) – needed even if your country is not on the country list
• Japanese translation of the license (翻訳文), only from designated makers such as JAF or the issuing authority or a consulate (embassy etc.)
• Residence card (在留カード)
• Certificate of residence (住民票の写し) showing nationality, status of residence, period and expiry, residence card number, resident category and the date you became a resident; no My Number, issued within 6 months
• Passport with entry/exit stamps showing you were in the issuing country when you got the license and stayed 3+ months afterwards; bring old passports too
• Photo 3cm × 2.4cm, taken within 6 months, no hat, name and date on the back
• Black ballpoint pen (not erasable), your postcode, glasses if needed
• If you have them: ID card, Japanese license (even expired), マイナ免許証

Extra documents by country (excerpt from Kyoto's list)

If passport stamps cannot prove your stay, you need an entry/exit record or proof of stay from the issuing country. If that is still not enough, Kyoto asks for several documents in your name with clear dates, such as employment or school certificates with pay records, transcripts and graduation certificates, a lease with rent receipts, or utility bills.

Location, access and preparation

Kyoto Prefectural Police Driver's License Examination Center: 647 Hazukashi Furukawa-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto (京都市伏見区羽束師古川町647), tel. 075-631-5181. This is not the renewal center in front of Kyoto Station. Buses: Hankyu Bus route 12 from Hankyu Nagaoka-tenjin Station or the west exit of JR Nagaokakyo; city bus route 南2 from the east exit of JR Nagaokakyo or Takeda Station to 免許試験場前; city bus route 20 from Chushojima, Keihan Yodo or Kintetsu Momoyamagoryo-mae. Buses are infrequent, and there is no restaurant inside or convenience store nearby, so bring lunch.

After waiting around two months for the knowledge check, failing costs you even more time. menkyopass's mock exams follow the real 50-question, 30-minute format in English so you can practice first.

FAQ

Related guides

• Japan License Conversion Process: 6 Steps from Booking to License
• Japan License Conversion Documents: Juminhyo, Translation, Passport
• How to Book a License Conversion Appointment in Japan
• Failed Japan License Conversion? Reapplying and the 6-Month Rule
• Converting a Foreign License in Osaka: Kadoma & Komyoike Booking

Sources (in Japanese)

• 京都府警察「外国免許からの切替え」
• 京都府警察「外国免許から日本の運転免許証への切替手続（御案内）」PDF
• 京都府警察「外国免許切替 必要（国別）書類一覧」PDF
• 京都府警察「外国免許切替手続に関する制度改正について」PDF
• 京都府警察「アクセス（運転免許試験場・京都駅前運転免許更新センター）」
• 京都府警察 Procedures for Converting a Foreign Driver's License（英語PDF）
• 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」