How Foreign Residents Get a Regular Driver's License in Japan | Take the Provisional License Written Exam in 20 Languages at the License Center [2026 Edition]

When getting a driver's license in Japan, the first place many foreign residents get stuck is the "provisional license (karimen) written exam". It is a test where you answer 50 questions on paper.

At many driving schools, this exam is held inside the driving school. And each school decides which languages you can take it in. Some schools offer Japanese only. Some offer only English and Chinese.

But don't give up. You can take this exam first at a driver's license center. At the license center, you can choose your language from 20 languages.

When you pass, you receive a document called a driver's license exam results certificate (unten menkyo shiken seiseki shomeisho). If you give it to your driving school, you do not need to take the exam inside the school.

For the full license (honmen) written exam that you take at the end, you can also choose from 20 languages at the license center.

👉 If you have a driver's license from your home country, you may not need to go to a driving school. The procedure is called license conversion (gaimen kirikae). You exchange your home country license for a Japanese license. However, the exam became harder from October 2025.

*This information is as of September 2026. The procedures are different in each prefecture. Before you take the exam, always check with the police or driver's license center in the prefecture where you live.

The steps to getting a license

First, look at the whole process. This article explains step 4.

*A "period (jigen)" means one class. One period is 50 minutes.

👉 Steps 3 and 7 are "driving tests", and steps 4 and 8 are "paper tests". This article is about the paper tests (written exams).

What ways are there for foreign residents to get a regular license?

There are 3 ways. Which way you choose depends on whether you have a driver's license from your home country.

👉 This article explains the way of going to a driving school. In the direct test, you take the driving test at the license center. People who have never driven cannot pass without practice.

Which languages can I take the written exam in?

At a driver's license center, there are 20 languages

Written exams taken at a driver's license center (driver's license test center) are available in 20 languages. These 4 exams are covered.

• Class 1 driver's license written exams (except moped and small special vehicle)

• Class 2 driver's license written exams (taxi, bus and similar)

• Provisional license written exam

• License conversion knowledge test

The 20 languages you can choose are as follows.

English / Chinese / Korean / Vietnamese / Indonesian / Spanish / Portuguese / Russian / Thai / Tagalog / Persian / Khmer / Nepali / Myanmar / Mongolian / Ukrainian / Sinhala / Urdu / Arabic / Hindi

Drivey supports 6 languages

Being able to take the exam in 20 languages is different from having study materials in 20 languages. Drivey supports the following 6 languages.

It is not a word-for-word translation. Staff for each language have rewritten it in easy-to-understand wording. You can read traffic rules and legal words almost as if in your native language.

👉 It is OK if your language is not one of these 6. You can study in a language you can read and take the exam in your native language. For example, Tagalog or Nepali speakers can study in English and take the exam in Tagalog or Nepali. The language you study in and the language you take the exam in can be different.

However, the provisional license written exam inside a driving school is different

At a driving school, you usually go in this order. You finish the stage 1 lessons. You pass the completion test (shuryo kentei) (a driving test inside the driving school). After the results are announced, only people who passed take the provisional license written exam inside the driving school.

For this written exam inside the school, the driving school decides which languages you can take it in. Some schools offer Japanese only. Some offer only English and Chinese. This is separate from the 20 languages at the license center.

👉 This is the first barrier for foreign residents getting a regular license. Even if your driving lessons are going well, if you cannot read the 50 questions, you will be stuck at the provisional license.

You can take the provisional license written exam first at the license center

You can take only the provisional license written exam first at a driver's license center. At the license center, you can choose your language from 20 languages.

When you pass, you receive a driver's license exam results certificate. Give this document to your driving school. Then you do not need to take the written exam inside the school.

👉 You still get the provisional license itself from the driving school. At the license center, you only take the paper test. This does not mean quitting the driving school.

The timing is different for commuting and residential courses

There are 2 ways to attend a driving school. Commuting (tsugaku) means going to the school from your home. A residential course (gasshuku) means staying near the school for about 2 weeks and taking intensive lessons every day.

👉 If you apply for a residential course, study between applying and enrolling. Your enrollment date is fixed, so you can plan by counting back from it. If you finish the written part before you enroll, you can focus on driving practice.

You need a reservation to take the exam. Also, many driving schools assume you will "take it inside the school" in their guidance. Talk to your driving school before or when you enroll.

By when do I need to take it?

To get a regular license, there are 5 deadlines. If you miss even one, you have to redo the procedures up to that point.

There are two "6 months", but they are different. One is the deadline of the certificate showing you passed the paper test. The other is the deadline of the provisional license itself.

👉 If you apply for a residential course, be careful about the 6 months of the results certificate. If more than 6 months pass between applying and enrolling, the written exam you took first will expire. Take it a few months before your enrollment date.

Be careful about the days and places you can take it

Not all 20 languages can be taken at any time or any place. The days and places are fixed for each language.

In Tokyo, 5 languages including English can be taken on weekdays at the Fuchu, Samezu and Koto test centers. The other 15 languages are only on a set day at each test center (Tuesday at Fuchu, Wednesday at Samezu, Thursday at Koto).

👉 If your language is only offered 1 day a week and you cannot get a reservation for that day, the next chance is 1 week later. When counting back from your residential course enrollment date, include this in your plan.

The procedures are different in each prefecture. On the website of the police or driver's license center in the prefecture where you live, look at the page on "written exams in foreign languages".

What should I ask the driving school?

Before you enroll, ask 3 questions. If you find out after enrolling, the money you paid will not come back.

1. Which languages are the classroom lessons in?

2. Which languages do the online lessons (classes over the internet) support?

3. Which languages can I take the provisional license written exam in? Can I take it first at the license center and submit a driver's license exam results certificate?

👉 If you can choose a driving school that supports your language for all 3, that is the best way. You do not need to go to the license center, and you do not need a reservation.

If there is no such school near you, the third option, "take it first at the license center", is useful.

How are the provisional and full license written exams different?

Each illustration question has 3 questions about one illustration. You get 2 points only when all 3 are correct. If even one is wrong, you get 0 points. The 5 questions are worth 10 points, so if you lose all of them, you would need to get all 90 text questions right to reach 90 points.

👉 The materials you used for the provisional license are not enough for the full license. Questions on driving on expressways are added.

How many people fail?

We calculated the number of people who took the exams and passed from National Police Agency statistics.

*These are figures for 2025. They may count the number of attempts. Also, the full license figures mix people who graduated from driving schools (who are exempt from the driving test) and people who took the direct test. You cannot simply read this as "7 in 10 people pass".

👉 For the provisional and full licenses together, there are about 690,000 failures a year. A 90% pass line is not easy, even if you take the exam in your native language.

There are 26 classroom periods, and you cannot watch all 26 again before the exam

By law, regular license classroom lessons are 26 periods in total: 10 periods in stage 1 and 16 periods in stage 2. One period is 50 minutes, so the total is 21 hours and 40 minutes.

You must take these 26 periods. If you do not, you cannot graduate from the driving school.

The problem comes before the exam

Even after taking all the lessons, you get unsure as the exam gets close. "Where did they explain the rules for going slow (jokou)?" "Was the signal 3 seconds before, or 30 meters before?"

Now, many driving schools hold classroom lessons over the internet (online lessons). They are very convenient because you can take them at any time and place. However, they are made to be watched in order from beginning to end. Even if you only want to check one thing, you have to search from the beginning.

👉 Materials for learning and materials for remembering have different roles.

This is how different the review time is

Drivey is a material for exam preparation. It is divided into units, so you can open only the parts you need.

This does not mean the 26 periods become 6.5 hours. The lessons are set by law, and you must take them. Drivey does not replace them.

The difference is after that. When you review everything again before the exam, with online lessons you watch 21 hours and 40 minutes from the beginning. With Drivey, you can go through everything once in 6.5 hours and repeat only the parts you got wrong.

👉 If you take the provisional license written exam before enrolling, you learn the written content before the lessons start. These 3 hours become your preparation before enrolling.

Finish with 2 to 4 mock exams

Mock exams have the same number of questions and the same time as the real exam. For the full license, you answer 95 questions in 50 minutes, so you have only 30 seconds per question.

👉 Take the real exam once you are steadily above 90%. Some people get there in 2 tries, and some need 4.

What kind of questions are on the exam? (3 practice questions)

Let's look at just 3 real questions. We chose points where foreign residents often make mistakes.

Question 1 (provisional license range)

When you are going to change course, give the signal 30 meters before the point where you will change course.

Answer: ×

The signal for changing course is "3 seconds before you change". 30 meters before is the signal for right turns, left turns and U-turns.

Questions that swap numbers and actions come up often. Remember "3 seconds before" and "30 meters before" by which action they are used for.

Question 2 (provisional license range)

When approaching a crosswalk, if it is clear that there are no pedestrians about to cross, you may continue at the same speed.

Answer: ○

When you approach a crosswalk, you must go at a speed at which you can stop just before it. However, "when it is clear there are no pedestrians" is an exception.

If you miss the word "clear", you will answer ×. In Japanese written exams, words that show exceptions decide the answer. "In principle", "for any reason", "when it is clear that..." — read while marking words like these.

Question 3 (full license range)

When you park on an expressway because of a breakdown, you do not need to place a warning triangle during the daytime.

Answer: ×

A warning triangle (teishi hyoji kizai) is a triangular sign that tells cars behind that "a car has stopped". On normal roads, it is needed only at night, but on expressways it is needed both day and night.

This question does not appear in the provisional license exam, because expressways are only in the full license range. If you use your provisional license materials as they are, you will not meet questions like this.

👉 You can solve questions in the same format in your native language. The provisional license course and regular license course are each made to match their exam range.

What is free and what is paid on Drivey

You can sign up for Drivey for free and see some units for free. Here is what is free, so you know before you start.

👉 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).

With the 2 free units, you can see what the videos, Q&A and mini tests are like. However, the feature that finds your weak points and the mock exams are not available for free. It is not designed so that you can judge everything for free.

👉 First, use the 2 free units to check that the explanations in your language are easy to read. The supported languages are 6: Japanese (also with furigana), English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Myanmar.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is it bad for the driving school if I take the provisional license written exam at the license center?

No. You are not quitting the driving school. You take the driving lessons at the school and only the paper test at the license center. You get the provisional license itself from the driving school. However, many driving schools assume you will "take it inside the school" in their guidance, so talk to them first.

Q. When should I take it if I commute or take a residential course?

If you commute, take it before you pass the completion test. You can go to the license center while taking lessons.

If you take a residential course, take it before you enroll. In a residential course your schedule is full every day, and there is no time to go to the license center in the middle. However, the driver's license exam results certificate is valid for 6 months, so if you take it more than 6 months before your enrollment date, it will expire. Take it a few months before your enrollment date.

Q. Drivey does not have my language. What should I do?

The language you study in and the language you take the exam in can be different. Drivey has 6 languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Myanmar), but the written exams at the license center are in 20 languages.

For example, Tagalog or Nepali speakers can study in English and take the exam in Tagalog or Nepali. There is also Japanese with furigana, so you can also study in Japanese.

Q. What happens if the 3 months of the completion certificate pass?

You start again from the completion test. You take the driving test inside the driving school again. It costs money and time.

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

On the website of the police or driver's license center in the prefecture where you live, look at the page on "written exams in foreign languages". It shows the supported languages and the days and places you can take them. For the exam inside a driving school, ask the driving school directly.

Q. Isn't the direct test cheaper?

If you look only at the fees, it is cheaper. In Tokyo, taking the provisional license directly at the license center costs 5,800 yen (exam fee 2,950 yen, test vehicle fee 1,750 yen, provisional license issuance fee 1,100 yen).

However, to get a provisional license through the direct test, you must pass all 3: the aptitude test (checking your eyes, ears and body movement), the written exam and the driving test. This is different from the method in this article of "taking only the paper test first". The driving test is not something people who have never driven can pass without practice. In reality, practice costs extra money.

Q. Can I use Drivey if I take the exam in Japanese?

Yes. There is Japanese with furigana, so you can study even if you cannot read kanji. You can first understand the content in your native language and then get used to the Japanese question text.

Summary

• At driving schools, only people who pass the completion test take the provisional license written exam inside the school. The school decides the languages, and some offer Japanese only, or only English and Chinese

• But you can take the provisional license written exam first at a driver's license center, in 20 languages. When you pass, you receive a driver's license exam results certificate, and if you give it to your school, you do not need to take the exam inside the school

• You still get the provisional license itself from the driving school. This does not mean quitting the driving school

• If you commute, pass it before the completion test; if you take a residential course, pass it before you enroll

• The results certificate is valid for 6 months. This is separate from the 6 months of the provisional license itself

• Ask 3 things before you enroll: the language of classroom lessons / the language of online lessons / the language of the provisional license written exam, and whether you can take it first at the license center

• The pass rates are 78.3% for the provisional license and 72.8% for the full license. There are about 690,000 failures a year

• The 26 classroom periods are set by law, and you must take them. The difference is the time to review before the exam: 21 hours 40 minutes, or 6.5 hours

• Drivey has 6 languages. The exam has 20 languages, so the language you study in and the language you take the exam in can be different

Not being able to read Japanese is different from not understanding traffic rules. The license center offers 20 languages. Whether you know where and in which language you can take the exam changes how long it takes to get your license.

👉 If you support several learners at a company, supervising organization, registered support organization or similar, please see our corporate services. On the admin screen, you can check remotely who has progressed how far. For quotes and demos, please use our contact form.

👉 If you are thinking about a moped (gentsuki) license, please see our article on exam languages in 47 prefectures. The moped written exam ranges from 0 to 20 languages depending on the prefecture, and is handled differently from the regular license.

Sources: The number of questions, scoring and pass line of the written exams are from 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) / Eligibility and fees are from Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Regular provisional license exam" (17 years and 6 months or older, 5,800 yen in Tokyo) / Supported languages and the days and test centers are from Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, "Written exams available in foreign languages" (updated May 11, 2026) / That the provisional license written exam can be taken in foreign languages is from Tochigi Prefectural Police, "For those taking the written exam in a foreign language" / Pass rates are calculated from "A. Year-on-year comparison of examinees and successful candidates for driver's license exams" in National Police Agency, "Driver's License Statistics (2025 edition)" (an Excel version is also available from the Driver's License Statistics page) / The lesson deadline, the validity periods of each certificate and the 26 classroom periods are based on the Road Traffic Act and its Enforcement Regulations. How to take the written exam in advance using a driver's license exam results certificate may differ by prefecture. Always check with both the driver's license center in the prefecture where you live and the driving school you will enroll in. This article is for information purposes and does not assume the use of any particular service.