Foreign License Conversion
in Ehime Prefecture

Police organization:

Ehime Prefectural Police (愛媛県警察)

Test center:

Ehime Driver's License Center (愛媛県運転免許センター)

City

Matsuyama (松山市勝岡町1163-7)

Access

Located in Katsuoka-cho, Matsuyama (松山市勝岡町1163-7). Center phone: 089-934-0110. Nearest station / bus route not stated on the official pages reviewed.

Test languages:

20 languages (nationwide standard since June 2024)

Reservation required

How to reserve

Complete reservation system (完全予約制). Reserve by the day before (excluding Sat/Sun/holidays/year-end-new-year) either by phone or in person at window No.7 (7番窓口) of the License Center. Phone-reservation hours: 9:30–12:00 and 14:00–17:00. Document-screening appointment slots are weekdays only, either a 9:00 or a 14:00 reception. After document screening, a separate test date is reserved. No online reservation URL for foreign-license conversion was found on official pages (phone or in person only).

Phone

089-934-0110

Reception hours

Phone reservation: 9:30–12:00, 14:00–17:00 (weekdays). Document screening: weekdays only, 9:00 or 14:00 reception. Closed Sat/Sun/holidays and year-end/New-Year (年末年始).

Knowledge test (chishiki shinsa) is available in 20 languages: English, Spanish, Persian, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Khmer, Nepali, Myanmar (Burmese), Mongolian, Ukrainian, Sinhala, Urdu, Arabic, Hindi. Applicants not fluent in Japanese MUST bring their own interpreter (通訳同行必須). Knowledge test is 50 true/false questions, pass = 45+ correct.

Application fee (per license class applied for): ordinary ¥2,500; large/medium/semi-medium ¥3,900; moped ¥1,600; other ¥2,800. Skill-test vehicle use fee: ¥1,750. Issuance fee: physical license only ¥2,350; My-Number license only ¥1,550; both (two cards) ¥2,450 (+¥200 per additional class). Typical ordinary-car conversion requiring a skill test ≈ ¥2,500 + ¥1,750 + ¥2,350. Exemption-country applicants skip the ¥1,750 skill-test fee.

Special-exemption countries (knowledge + skill test waived: documents → aptitude → issuance): Iceland, Ireland, USA (only Ohio, Oregon, Colorado, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland, Washington states), UK, 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. Skill test only waived (knowledge test still required): USA Indiana state. Non-exemption countries: documents → aptitude → knowledge → skill test → issuance. People who previously held a Japanese license may be treated as exempt. Requirements: held foreign license issued by a national administrative authority (international permits not convertible; digital-only licenses not convertible); stayed 3+ cumulative months in the issuing country AFTER obtaining the license; license not expired; not on a short-term (tourist) status. Translation of the foreign license must be done by the issuing authority/consulate (for Taiwan, the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association), JAF, Ziplus, or — for Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco, China — ALADDIN; self-translation is not accepted.

We could not confirm the following from primary sources. Please check the official page before relying on them:

• No dedicated English-language guidance page for foreign-license conversion was found; the official procedure PDF is Japanese-only (foreigner/English portal exists but carries only general traffic-safety content, not conversion details).
• No online reservation URL exists for foreign-license conversion (phone/in-person only); whether any online booking exists for the driving-school-graduate written test could not be confirmed from the reviewed pages.
• Car-navigation phone number for the center (089-978-4141) could not be verified; only the representative number 089-934-0110 appears in the source PDF.
• Postal code 〒799-2661 not present in the reviewed sources (PDF lists only 松山市勝岡町1163-7).
• Exact street-level access (nearest station / bus route) to the License Center not stated on official pages reviewed.
• Whether foreign-conversion procedures are processed on weekends/holidays is not stated; reservation and screening are weekdays only per the PDF.
• Exact year-end/New-Year closure dates (e.g., Dec 29–Jan 3) not specified in the PDF, which states only 年末年始.

Always verify on the prefectural police's official page before you go — addresses, reservation methods, and document requirements change frequently.

• Official page (Japanese) ↗ — open via Google Translate / DeepL
• Official English content ↗
• Official source ↗ https://www.police.pref.ehime.jp/menkyokanri/maina/kosindata/siken-kyousyusyo-sidoukakari/7gaikokumenkyo-japanese.pdf
• Official source ↗ https://www.police.pref.ehime.jp/menkyokanri/maina/mainaindex2.htm

The 6-step process (eligibility → translation → appointment → document screening → 50-question test → practical test) is the same nationwide. See the main hub for the complete walkthrough, document checklist, and translation services.