Pass the Written Exam Fast with Drivey: The Most Efficient Way to Pass on Your First Try

Every type of written driving exam in Japan requires 90% or more correct answers to pass. The regular license exam has 95 questions, the provisional license 50, the moped license 48, the license conversion knowledge test 50, and the Class 2 license 95. The number of questions differs, but the required accuracy is the same.

For foreign residents in Japan in particular, this 90% standard is high, and the exam is fairly difficult. Without proper preparation, passing on the first try is not easy.

To solve these problems, a new written exam study app, Drivey, was released in December 2025. This article explains how to pass the written exam efficiently with Drivey.

How many questions do the 5 written exams have?

👉 For every exam, the pass line is 90% correct. Most questions are answered true/false (○×), but even with only 2 choices, guessing will not get you there.

👉 Only for the moped license does each prefecture decide its own exam languages. Some prefectures offer Japanese only, while others offer 20 languages.

👉 Each illustration question has 3 sub-questions for one illustration, and points are given only when all 3 are correct. The regular license and Class 2 license have 5 of these at 2 points each (10 points), and the moped license has 2 at 2 points each (4 points).

👉 Only license conversion has a test in a real vehicle in addition to the written part (knowledge test). When you convert to a license other than a moped license, such as a regular license, you need the driving skills test (pass rate 13.1%), so preparing for the written part alone is not enough. Conversion to a moped license is exempt from the driving skills test.

What is each exam like?

Regular license: written exam

This is the important written exam you take at the end of getting your license. It tests traffic rules, road signs, safe driving and hazard prediction as a whole. Most questions are true/false (○×) and text questions, and many ask you to imagine real traffic situations. There are 90 text questions + 5 illustration questions, and you pass with 90 points or more out of 100. The exam time is 50 minutes.

👉 See how to use the regular license exam course in detail

Provisional license: written exam

This exam is the first step toward driving on public roads. Questions focus on traffic laws, road signs and basic rules, and test the basic knowledge beginners must have. There are 50 text questions, and you pass with 45 points or more out of 50. The exam time is 30 minutes. When you pass, you receive a provisional license and can take lessons on real roads. Expressway driving is not in the exam range.

👉 See how to use the provisional license exam course in detail

License conversion: knowledge test

This written test is required when you convert a foreign license to a Japanese license. It uses text questions to check road signs unique to Japan, the Road Traffic Act, and the Japanese approach to safe driving. With the October 2025 revision, the questions increased from 10 to 50, the illustration questions were removed, and the pass line was raised from 70% to 90%. The pass rate fell from 92.5% to 42.8%.

However, 42.8% is the figure for the knowledge test only. When you convert to a license other than a moped license, such as a regular license, the driving skills test (pass rate 13.1%) comes after it. You receive a license only when you pass both, so the share of people who pass both is about 5.6%. This 5.6% is a rough figure for passing both on the first attempt, taking each once. You can retake either test, so the final success rate for people who take them several times is higher than this. Before the revision, the rates were 92.5% for the knowledge test and 30.4% for the driving skills test, so the real hurdle has always been the driving skills test. Conversion to a moped license is exempt from the driving skills test.

👉 See the exam content, pass rate and preparation in detail / Practice questions (with answers and explanations) / How to use the license conversion course / 60,000 licenses a year and the impact of the revision

Moped license: written exam

This written exam checks the basic knowledge needed to ride a moped (gentsuki; officially called a motorized bicycle) safely. Most questions ask you to judge speed, signs and hazards from short sentences. There are 46 text questions + 2 illustration questions, and you pass with 45 points or more out of 50. The exam time is 30 minutes. The exam languages are set by each prefecture, ranging from 0 to 20 languages.

👉 See languages, documents and fees in 47 prefectures / How to use the moped license exam course

Class 2 license: written exam

This exam is for professional drivers who carry passengers safely. In addition to the content for general drivers, it has many specialized questions on passenger safety, operation management, customer service and hazard prediction. There are 90 text questions + 5 illustration questions, and you pass with 90 points or more out of 100. To take it, you must be 21 or older and have held a regular license or similar license for a total of 3 years or more.

👉 See the guide for taxi and bus company recruiters

5 reasons people choose Drivey

It is not just a study app. Drivey is a study platform that brings together "everything you need to pass" in one place.

① Anytime, anywhere: "spare moments" turn directly into skill

Drivey's biggest strength is that you can study right when you want to, wherever you are.

The morning commute, a break, 10 minutes before bed. Time that would normally just pass becomes "study time that brings you closer to passing" as soon as you open Drivey.

The videos and texts are optimized, so you understand even in a short time. It removes the burden of "I can only study at a desk", and is designed so that you gain skill before you know it.

Even busy people can keep going without strain. This is one of the main reasons people choose Drivey.

② Available in 6 languages, so you understand in your own language

Drivey supports 6 languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Myanmar. It is not just translated: specialist staff for each language have localized it into "easy-to-understand wording".

So you can understand difficult traffic rules and legal terms almost as if in your native language. You can focus on "studying for your license", not "studying Japanese". There is also Japanese with furigana, so people taking the exam in Japanese can study without getting stuck on kanji.

When a company introduces Drivey, it can also serve as a single set of materials that all foreign staff can learn from equally. Even if their nationalities differ, they get the same quality of learning.

③ A dashboard that shows your weak points at a glance

The hardest part of studying is knowing "what you understand and what you don't". Drivey's dashboard makes this easy to see.

• Which units are still weak

• Which questions you got wrong recently

• How far you have progressed

• How far you are from the passing level

You can see all this at a glance, so doubts about what to study disappear and you can focus only on what you need to do. Instead of "studying more", you can study efficiently by "focusing only on what you need".

④ 3 study methods that make understanding stick

You cannot handle the written exam by simple memorization. What you really need is a good balance of 3 things: "understanding", "memory" and "judgment".

1. Videos deepen understanding

Complex traffic rules and dangerous situations are explained with diagrams and animations so you can "understand just by watching". Examiners from designated driving schools supervise the content, so it is highly reliable.

2. Interactive Q&A makes knowledge stick

You learn at a good pace in a quick one-question, one-answer format. You can immediately put what you understood into practice, so you forget less.

3. Check tests quickly strengthen weak points

There is a mini test for each section. You can accurately know your level before the real exam.

Combining these 3 creates the shortest route: "understand → able to do → able to pass".

⑤ From mini tests to mock exams: finish at "real exam level"

Drivey is not just a study app. It is a complete training tool designed for the real exam.

• Road sign tests

• Road marking tests

• Practice questions by unit

• Question sets focused only on weak points

• Mock exams with a time limit

You can use all of these freely, so you can measure where you are accurately and bring yourself up to real exam level. Mock exams in particular let you experience "the same tension as the real exam", which helps raise your chance of passing.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I need to study to pass?

About 2 to 4 weeks is a guide for covering the whole range. At 4 to 5 lessons a day it takes about 4 weeks, and if you can set aside a lot of time you can go through everything in about 2 weeks. Please continue the glossary alongside throughout this period. The license conversion knowledge test, with a 42.8% pass rate, is not a test you can pass by cramming just before. When converting to a regular license or similar, the driving skills test (pass rate 13.1%) also comes after it.

For license conversion, which is harder: the knowledge test or the driving skills test?

The driving skills test. In October–December 2025, the pass rate was 42.8% for the knowledge test and 13.1% for the driving skills test, a difference of more than 3 times. Before the revision, in 2024, the rates were 92.5% for the knowledge test and 30.4% for the driving skills test. Drivey's license conversion course prepares you for the knowledge test. If you aim to convert to a regular license or similar, please plan practice in a real vehicle separately. For conversion to a moped license, the driving skills test is not required.

Where can I check which languages I can take the exam in?

The regular license, provisional license, Class 2 license and license conversion knowledge test are offered in 20 languages nationwide. Only the moped license differs by prefecture, so please check our article listing the exam languages in all 47 prefectures.

Can I use it if I take the exam in Japanese?

Yes. We provide Japanese with furigana, so you can study without getting stuck on kanji. People taking the exam in Japanese can first understand in their native language and then get used to the Japanese question text.

Signing up for a course and corporate use

Drivey is a written exam study app with video lessons supervised and explained by examiners from designated driving schools, which you can study at home or on the go. It provides a learning environment to get closer to passing "efficiently, clearly and reliably".

For personal use, you can check the content with a free trial from each course page.

• Regular license course (3,300 yen per month, tax included)

• Provisional license course (2,200 yen per month, tax included)

• Moped license course (2,200 yen per month, tax included)

• License conversion course (from 1,980 yen per month, tax included)

• Class 2 license course (corporate plans only, 8,800 yen per month, tax included) — to apply, please contact us through our corporate services

👉 The prices above are for 1 month of personal use. It is a monthly plan, so if you use it for 2 months, you pay for 2 months. For companies and organizations using it together, the price is different, because they can see employees' study progress on an admin screen (corporate services).

If you support several learners at a company, supervising organization, registered support organization or newspaper distributor, please see our corporate services. On the corporate admin screen, you can check remotely who has progressed how far. If learners start before entering Japan, they can move on to the exam procedures soon after arriving.

👉 For quotes and demos, please use our contact form. If you tell us the number of learners and which courses you need for how many people, we can give you a quote right away.

*This information is as of September 2026. Rules, exam languages and fees can change. Before taking the exam, please check with the police or driver's license center in the prefecture where you will take it.

Sources: Osaka Prefectural Police, "Regular License" (full license exam 95 questions, 50 minutes, 90% or more; provisional license exam 50 questions, 30 minutes, 90% or more) / Kanagawa Prefectural Police, "Exam procedures for Class 2 large, medium and regular licenses (designated school graduates)" (Class 2: 90 text + 5 illustration questions, 90 points or more) / Kanagawa Prefectural Police, "Exam procedures for moped and small special vehicle licenses" (46 text + 2 illustration questions, 45 points or more) / Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Amended Enforcement Regulations of the Road Traffic Act, effective October 1, 2025" (knowledge test 50 questions, 45 or more correct, illustration questions removed) / Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Written exams available in foreign languages" (updated May 11, 2026) / License conversion pass rates published by the National Police Agency on March 2, 2026 (2024: knowledge test 92.5%, driving skills test 30.4%; October–December 2025: knowledge test 42.8%, driving skills test 13.1%)