Moped Licenses for Technical Intern Trainees and Specified Skilled Workers | Securing a Commute for Supervising Organizations and Registered Support Organizations, and the Route Available in Their Native Language [2026 Edition]

Whether public transportation can be used in the municipality where the person is placed decides whether a moped license is needed

For technical intern trainees and Specified Skilled Workers, a moped license is different from a license used for the work itself, as in newspaper delivery. In most cases it is about securing a way to commute.

At workplaces in rural areas, it is not unusual for buses from the nearest station to run only a few times a day. Not being able to commute leads directly to workers not staying. For the host side, it is practical work on the same level as arranging housing.

This article is for staff at supervising organizations, registered support organizations and host companies. It sorts out how far the host side is responsible under the rules, which route to use for the license, and when to act, counting back from the placement date.

*This article is based on information as of September 2026. Rules, exam languages and fees can change. Before starting the procedures, always check with the police or driver's license center in the prefecture where the person will take the exam.

For Specified Skilled Workers, is guidance on driver's licenses mandatory?

First, the position in the rules that is easy to overlook. For Specified Skilled Workers, driver's licenses are not "a nice extra" but part of the support plan.

It is one of the items to explain in the life orientation

The Immigration Services Agency's "Operational Guidelines on Support for Specified Skilled Workers (i)" lists the items to explain in the life orientation. Under "③ Traffic rules, etc.", it includes this sentence:

"That a driver's license is required to drive a car, motorcycle or similar vehicle (and, as necessary, how to obtain a driver's license, taking out voluntary car insurance, etc.)"

In other words, guidance on how to obtain a driver's license falls within the scope of mandatory support. If the person is expected to commute by motorcycle, it is natural to consider that "as necessary" is met.

"In a language the person can fully understand", for 8 hours or more

The same guidelines require the life orientation to be given in a language the person can fully understand, and state that at least 8 hours are needed for the person to fully understand the content.

👉 The rules say "explain in the native language". If so, it makes no sense to leave only the preparation for the written exam that follows entirely in Japanese.

Explaining the commuting route is also mandatory support

The next item, "④ How to use transportation, etc.", requires explaining the most suitable public transportation for commuting in the area where the person works and lives, and the route and travel time to the workplace.

Put the other way, the rules make the host side answer "how will this person commute?" In areas where public transportation does not give an answer, the answer is a moped.

For technical intern training, when should the person get the license?

For technical intern training, we could not find a rule that specifically names driver's license guidance, equivalent to the life orientation for Specified Skilled Workers. Since we could not confirm it, this article does not say "it is mandatory".

However, the practical reality that training cannot continue without securing a way to commute is exactly the same. And technical intern training has a period in the rules that is easy to use for getting a license.

👉 It is the post-entry training period. Under the Enforcement Regulations of the Technical Intern Training Act, technical intern trainees must not be engaged in work during the post-entry training. The training time is at least one-sixth of the total planned hours of Technical Intern Training (i) (at least one-twelfth if the person took pre-entry training). This is the time when a block of time is available, not after placement.

Is there a driving test for a moped license?

Now to how to get the license, starting with a common misunderstanding. No practical driving test is required for a moped license. This is the same whether the person gets a new license at the driver's license center or through license conversion.

In license conversion, people normally take a driving skills test (a test where you actually drive) in addition to the knowledge test. The driving skills test became stricter with the October 2025 revision, and the pass rate fell to 13.1%. But when applying for a moped license, the driving skills test is not required. The moped training course is not required either.

👉 The judgment "avoid license conversion because the practical test is hard" does not apply to mopeds. What you should compare are 3 points: pass rate, exam languages and the order of procedures.

How many ways are there to get a moped license?

👉 The deciding point is "whether the person can take the written exam in their native language in the prefecture where they are placed". If they can, a new license with its higher pass rate is better. If they cannot, license conversion, which can be taken in 20 languages, is more realistic.

Which languages is the moped written exam available in?

Since June 2024, 20-language support has been spreading nationwide, but it covers the written exams for Class 1 and Class 2 licenses and the provisional license, and the license conversion knowledge test. The moped license written exam is decided by each prefecture on its own, and is handled differently. (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Written exams available in foreign languages")

The available exam languages change depending on where the host workplace is. Even within the Tokyo area, the conditions change when the prefecture changes.

For example, if an Indonesian speaker is placed at a workplace in Kanagawa, they cannot take the moped written exam in their native language. In this case, if the person has a license from their home country, getting a moped license through license conversion, available in 20 languages, becomes a useful option. There is neither a driving skills test nor a moped training course, so the only Japanese-language barrier is the 50-question knowledge test.

👉 Check the exam languages of the prefecture before deciding the placement. Some prefectures are moving the moped exam to 20 languages, so do not decide based on last year's information.

👉 We have a separate article with a list of the exam languages in all 47 prefectures. For prefectures without information on their official pages, we confirmed by calling the driver's license center. It can also be used as material to give to the person. It is written for the person taking the exam and covers the required documents, fees and the flow on the day.

If you choose license conversion, where do people get stuck?

License conversion has steps that getting a new license at the driver's license center does not. Before the knowledge test, there is a document review.

The document review also needs a reservation

First, reserve the document review, and after passing it, move on to the knowledge test. Some prefectures let people take the knowledge test on the same day they pass the document review, while in others the knowledge test is on a separate day. If it is on a separate day, the time until getting the license gets longer by that much.

What happens if the documents are incomplete?

If the documents are incomplete, the application is not accepted on the spot, and the person must start again from making a reservation. They cannot even move on to the knowledge test. The main required documents are as follows (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department).

• Foreign driver's license (within its validity period)

• Japanese translation of the driver's license — made by ZIPLUS, JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) or a similar organization

• Copy of the certificate of residence (juminhyo) — showing nationality, residence status, residence period expiry date, residence card number and other items

• Residence card and passport — an old passport may be needed to confirm a stay of 3 months or more in that country after getting the license

• 1 photo — 3 cm tall × 2.4 cm wide, taken within 6 months

ZIPLUS can make the Japanese translation of the driver's license

Of the required documents, the one most often missing, and the one the host side can prepare in advance, is the "Japanese translation of the driver's license". If it is left to the person, they may reach the day without knowing where to ask, and get stuck at the document review.

ZIPLUS Co., Ltd., which runs Drivey, also makes this translation.

• Study and document preparation are handled through one contact — there is no need to arrange materials and documents separately

• You can request for several people at once — when trainees entering Japan at the same time are processed together, this is more reliable than each person arranging it separately

• You can start before entry — if you do it at the same time as starting study, the person can go to the document review soon after entering Japan

👉 Getting stuck on the translation and having to rebook is the most wasteful kind of delay in license conversion. When the placement date is fixed, this one delay affects securing a way to commute itself.

Which countries are exempt from the tests?

In license conversion, both the knowledge test and the driving skills test may be waived depending on the country where the license was obtained. The following 29 countries and regions are covered (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department).

Iceland / Ireland / United States (only Ohio, Oregon, Colorado, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland and Washington) / United Kingdom / Italy / Australia / Austria / Netherlands / Canada / South Korea / Greece / Switzerland / Sweden / Spain / Slovenia / Czech Republic / Denmark / Germany / New Zealand / Norway / Hungary / Finland / France / Belgium / Poland / Portugal / Monaco / Luxembourg / Taiwan

None of the main sending countries for technical intern training and Specified Skilled Workers — Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan — are included. So they will always take the 50-question knowledge test.

A schedule counted back from the placement date

A way to commute is needed from the first day of placement, so count back from the placement date. This is a guide for getting a new license at the driver's license center.

If you choose license conversion, add the document review reservation and 1 to 3 months of waiting. First check whether it will be in time, counting back from the placement date.

If the person fails, this backward schedule breaks down. The exam fee must be paid again, and the reservation must be made again.

The moped written exam is not an exam you can pass "without studying"

• 48 questions, 50 points in total (46 text questions + 2 illustration questions); you pass with 45 points or more (90%) (Kanagawa Prefectural Police)

• The pass rate is 58.7%

• According to National Police Agency statistics, 162,668 people took the exam in a year and 95,495 passed. Put the other way, 67,173 people failed

The pass line is a high 90%, and most questions are text questions. Even if the person can take the exam in their native language, they will not reach it without an accurate understanding of Japanese traffic rules.

👉 If you choose license conversion, first check what the knowledge test asks. We have published an article on the exam content, pass rate and preparation and practice questions (with answers and explanations) in the actual question format. People from different countries get stuck in different places, so knowing the person's weak points before they arrive speeds up preparation.

Lost points concentrate on "differences from home country practice"

• Japan drives on the left — it is easy to confuse the direction of signs and how right and left turns work

• Pedestrian priority at crosswalks — the rule is "if a pedestrian is about to cross, always stop"

• Always stop at railroad crossings, open the window and check for safety — this is handled very differently from country to country

• The definition of "going slow (jokou)" — it means moving at a speed at which you can stop immediately, which is different from "driving slowly"

If the person starts by memorizing Japanese, they fall apart when the wording changes even slightly. Understanding "why that rule exists" in the native language gives them the ability to handle questions they see for the first time.

Practical tips when handling several people together

Fees (Tokyo, as of September 2026)

Fees are based on Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Moped license exam". If the person fails, the exam fee is charged again. When 10 or 20 people are processed at the same time, applying the 58.7% pass rate as-is means about 40% will need to retake. The quality of preparation feeds directly into costs and schedules.

Keep progress visible

When several people are handled at the same time, it becomes hard to see "who has studied how far". If you rely on self-reports, lack of preparation comes to light just before the exam. This is even more true when people study before entry: the host side needs a way to check the progress of people in a distant place.

About the Drivey corporate plan

Drivey's corporate services are a corporate platform that completes written driving exam preparation and safe driving education online and "makes visible" progress and results. It is run by ZIPLUS Co., Ltd., which also makes Japanese translations of driver's licenses.

Study can start before entry

With internet access and a device, people can start studying while still in the sending country. On the corporate admin screen, the host side can check remotely who has progressed how far. Compared with cramming during the post-entry training, the margin before placement is completely different.

Supports both mopeds and license conversion

It supports the moped license course, license conversion course, provisional license course, regular license course and Class 2 license, so preparation can start before the route is decided. Even if you "check the exam languages of the placement prefecture and then decide the route", study does not stop.

6 languages

Japanese, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Myanmar. Learners can understand the meaning of Japanese traffic rules in their native language before the real exam. There is also Japanese with furigana, so people taking the exam in Japanese can study without getting stuck on kanji.

Corporate admin screen

What learners study

• Videos — situations that text alone cannot convey, such as stopping at crosswalks and passing railroad crossings, can be seen on video

• Interactive Q&A — one question, one answer to check that knowledge sticks

• Understanding checks and mock exams — from road sign tests to timed mock exams, measure ability in the same format as the real exam

• Beyond getting the license — also covers knowledge to prevent accidents while commuting, such as hazard prediction, traffic ethics and manners

Prices (tax included, per license per month)

Corporate plans include the corporate admin screen. For the "License Conversion Peace-of-Mind Package", we will give a separate quote. Please also ask us about making translations. We can also discuss payment by invoice.

👉 You can check the course content on the moped license course / license conversion course pages. For personal use, you can start with a free trial.

👉 Features, prices and the setup process are on the corporate services page. 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.

Summary

• A moped license is a question of "securing a way to commute". In areas with little public transportation, not being able to commute leads directly to workers not staying

• For Specified Skilled Workers, guidance on how to get a driver's license is one of the items to explain in the life orientation. It is mandatory support, and 8 hours or more in the native language is required

• For technical intern training, we could not find a rule that names driver's licenses, but the practical reality is the same. Trainees are not engaged in work during the post-entry training, so it is an easy time to fit in the exam date

• Neither route for a moped license has a driving test. When getting a moped license through license conversion, neither the driving skills test nor the moped training course is required (conversion to a regular license or similar requires the driving skills test, 13.1%)

• A new license at the driver's license center has a written exam pass rate of 58.7%, and one reservation is easy to get. However, exam languages range from 0 to 20 depending on the prefecture, and a moped training course held in Japanese is required

• A moped license through license conversion has a lower pass rate, 42.8% on the knowledge test, but can be taken in 20 languages. However, the document review also needs a reservation, and incomplete documents lead to rejection. ZIPLUS can make the translation

• The decision depends on the placement prefecture. Tokyo offers the moped exam in 5 languages on weekdays; Kanagawa and Chiba offer English only

• 67,173 people fail the moped written exam each year. It cannot be passed without studying in advance

• Study can start 2 months before entry. The host side should be able to check progress remotely

Rules, exam languages and fees can change. This article is based on information as of September 2026. Before starting the procedures, check the latest information with the police or driver's license center in the prefecture where the person will take the exam.

Sources: Immigration Services Agency, "Operational Guidelines on Support for Specified Skilled Workers (i): Standards for the Support Plan", partly revised April 1, 2025 (the life orientation is mandatory support, given in a language the person can fully understand for at least 8 hours, with items including "③ Traffic rules, etc." and "④ How to use transportation, etc.") / Enforcement Regulations of the Act on Proper Technical Intern Training and Protection of Technical Intern Trainees (trainees must not be engaged in work during the post-entry training; training time is at least one-sixth of the total planned hours of Technical Intern Training (i)) / National Police Agency, "Driver's License Statistics, 2025 edition" (moped written exam: 162,668 examinees, 95,495 passed, pass rate 58.7%) / License conversion results for October–December 2025 published by the National Police Agency (knowledge test 42.8%, driving skills test 13.1%; reported by Yomiuri Shimbun, Nikkei and NTV NEWS NNN) / Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Written exams available in foreign languages" (updated May 11, 2026) / Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Converting a driver's license obtained abroad to a Japanese driver's license" (required documents, 29 exempt countries, stay of 3 months 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, stricter driving skills test) / 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, "Moped license exam" (fees, moped training course) / Fukuoka Prefectural Police, "Conversion from a foreign license" (no practical check needed when applying for a moped license)