Okinawa Foreign License Conversion: Booking, Center, 22 Languages

Booking: phone or counter, about four months ahead

Okinawa runs conversions by appointment only, and there is no document screening (not even a consultation) without one. You book by phone or at the center's counter. Document screening (書類審査) can be booked from about four months before the date you want.

If nobody answers, staff may be busy at the counter and will call you back. Applicants with the "Designated Activities" (特定活動) status for the motor transport industry can get priority booking: have your Ministry of Justice designation document (指定書) ready and say so when booking. If you live on an outlying island, mention it when you call; the pre-screening is done through the island branch or police box before you book a visit to the center.

Eligibility and documents (originals only, no copies)

You need a foreign license that is still valid (one close to expiry may be refused), resident registration (住民登録) in Okinawa as a rule — short-term visitors such as tourists cannot apply — and proof that you stayed in the issuing country for at least three months after getting or renewing the license. Only first-class licenses (第一種免許) can be obtained.

The center's branch offices do not accept applications, and the Okinawa Prefectural Police headquarters in Izumizaki, Naha, is a different place, so do not go there by mistake.

• Your valid foreign license (if it shows no issue date or first-issue date, a driving record or your pre-renewal licenses may be required)
• A Japanese translation made only by the issuing authority, your embassy or consulate in Japan, or a body designated by the National Public Safety Commission (such as JAF). Translations by individuals or non-designated companies are rejected
• Residence certificate (住民票) issued within 6 months, without your My Number (個人番号). Foreign nationals need every item listed for foreign residents, including nationality, status and period of stay
• ID (foreign nationals: residence card 在留カード)
• Passport (if you renewed it after getting or renewing your license, bring old and new ones; dual nationals bring both countries' passports)
• Two photos, 3cm × 2.4cm, taken within 6 months, front-facing, no hat, plain background (more if you apply for several classes)
• Proof of a stay of at least three months in the issuing country
• Country- or status-specific documents, e.g. Philippines: apostille and official receipt; China: resident ID card (居民身分証) or a printout of the 12123 e-license screen; South Korea: English driver's license certificate

Proving your three-month stay: a passport is often not enough

Okinawa police note that with automated immigration gates, many people can no longer prove their stay from passport stamps alone, so they publish a PDF of acceptable documents. The stay must overlap with the validity period of your foreign license.

If you can prove at least one year in the issuing country during the period your license history covers, you are exempt from the novice-driver period (初心運転者期間), for example no beginner's mark.

• Passport (only if it has every entry and exit stamp of the issuing country)
• Official entry/exit records (confirmed as issued by: China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Israel)
• University transcripts, or completion certificates from schools or training institutions showing dates
• Employment certificates or payslips (checked against your passport for the same period)
• Utility bills — electricity, gas, water, landline (mobile phone bills are not accepted)
• Country-specific papers: US Form W-2, Canada T4, UK income tax for 3 years, Brazil work booklet (carteira de trabalho)

Test day: check in at 10:00, knowledge test at 13:00, 22 languages

Once you pass document screening, your application forms are prepared and you book the knowledge test (知識確認). You cannot take it on the screening day. You must attend in person; if you do not speak Japanese, bring an interpreter (otherwise you may be asked to use a translation device, app or phone interpreter, and screening may be stopped or refused if it takes too long).

On the knowledge test day, check in at 10:00 at Counter 2 on the 1st floor, pay the fee, take the aptitude test (eyesight etc.), then sit the test at 13:00 in Exam Room A on the 2nd floor. You pass with at least 45 of 50 correct. The questions are translated from Japanese, and the police warn that some legal and traffic terms are rendered with similar, not identical, expressions.

Besides Japanese, the test is available in 22 languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Indonesian, Ukrainian, Urdu, Khmer, Sinhala, Spanish, Thai, Tagalog, Nepali, Hindi, French, Vietnamese, Persian, Bengali, Portuguese, Burmese (Myanmar), Mongolian and Russian (checked October 2026). Moped (原付) applicants who pass the knowledge test go straight to issuance, with no skills test.

The skills test (技能確認) requires at least 70 of 100 points; if you fail, you book another day. Under the nationwide rule, if you reapply within six months of the knowledge test date, the knowledge test is waived.

Fees: Okinawa revenue stamps, cash only

Fees are paid with Okinawa prefectural revenue stamps (沖縄県証紙), sold at banks in the prefecture and by the traffic safety association office inside the center. Inside the center you need cash (Japanese yen); credit cards and cashless payments are not accepted.

For the skills test, a vehicle rental fee of 1,750 yen applies on the first attempt. Each further attempt costs the application fee plus 1,750 yen again. A separate issuance fee is charged once you pass (check the amount on the official page).

Who is exempt, and other cautions

Licenses from 29 countries and regions, including Iceland, Ireland, the UK, Italy, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Germany, France and Taiwan (for the US, only Ohio, Oregon, Colorado, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland and Washington), are exempt from both tests. Indiana (US) is exempt from the skills test only. People who previously held the same class of Japanese license, and people applying for the same class as their US Forces Japan private vehicle permit (SOFA免許), are also exempt — whether you are actually exempted is decided at screening.

• A SOFA permit alone, without a foreign license, cannot be converted
• If your Japanese license was ever revoked or you were caught driving without a license in Japan, confirm your eligibility at the administrative sanctions desk on the 3rd floor of the center before applying (not by phone)
• If a health condition worries you, you can get an aptitude consultation in advance
• If you do not pass document screening, you will be directed to the regular license exam

Bookings run four months out: prepare for the test first

It takes time to get from document screening to the knowledge test, and failing it means booking again. Use the wait to get used to the 50-question, 30-minute format. menkyopass's practice exam uses the same format in Vietnamese, English, Chinese and Japanese.

FAQ

Related guides

• Japan License Conversion Process: 6 Steps from Booking to License
• Japan License Conversion Documents: Juminhyo, Translation, Passport
• Japanese Translation of Your License for Conversion: JAF, Fees
• How Much Does License Conversion Cost in Japan? Fees Explained
• Failed Japan License Conversion? Reapplying and the 6-Month Rule

Sources (in Japanese)

• 沖縄県警察「外国の運転免許から日本国の運転免許への切替え手続きの申請（外免切替）」（2026年1月13日更新）
• 沖縄県警察「滞在を証明する書類の例」（PDF）
• 沖縄県警察「免許発給国や地位協定の身分により必要な書類」（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」