Foreign License Conversion
in Tochigi Prefecture

Police organization:

Tochigi Prefectural Police (栃木県警察)

Test center:

Tochigi Driver's License Center (栃木県運転免許センター)

City

Kanuma City (鹿沼市)

Access

681 Shimoishikawa, Kanuma-shi, Tochigi (鹿沼市下石川681)

Test languages:

20 languages (nationwide standard since June 2024)

Reservation required

How to reserve

Foreign license conversion (外国免許切替) requires a document-screening reservation (書類審査予約受付) made by phone to the Examination Section during a weekday afternoon window. The main line uses an IVR (press 5, then 2 for the Examination Section). Slots are capacity-limited (at time of capture, reservations were open for the following month).

Phone

0289-76-0110

Reception hours

Phone reservations for the conversion document screening: weekdays only, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM (平日のみ 午後3時00分～午後5時00分).

Foreign-language written/knowledge exams are offered in 20 languages (English, Spanish, Persian, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Khmer, Nepali, Burmese, Mongolian, Ukrainian, Sinhala, Urdu, Arabic, Hindi), available since 2024-07-26, and this explicitly includes the knowledge confirmation for foreign license conversion screening (外国免許切替審査の知識確認). However, for the actual conversion procedure non-Japanese speakers must bring their own interpreter (日本語を話せない方は、通訳の方を同伴してください). English support is therefore partial.

Application/exam fee approx ¥2,500 for an ordinary vehicle (¥1,600 moped; ¥2,800 or ¥3,900 for some other categories) plus license issuance ¥2,350. Total for an ordinary-vehicle conversion is roughly ¥4,850. Per the official page; confirm current amounts at the counter.

Eligibility: hold a valid foreign license; have stayed a cumulative 3 months or more in the issuing country AFTER obtaining the license (verified via passport stamps and the license issuance date); and have a registered address in Tochigi. Following a 2025-10-01 amendment of the Road Traffic Act Enforcement Regulations, applicants must submit a resident record copy showing specified items (特定事項が記載された住民票の写し) plus a residence card (在留カード). The prefecture warns that changing one's registered address to a Tochigi location without an actual move, solely to meet the application requirement, fails the requirement and may constitute a criminal offense (刑法違反に該当する恐れ). Required docs include a Japanese translation of the license by an embassy/consulate, JAF, ZIPLUS, or ALADDIN; passport(s) (all versions if renewed); and a photo 3cm × 2.4cm taken within 6 months. The page carries the official English title "Procedure For Obtaining a Japanese Driver's License."

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

• Postal code 〒322-0017 was not independently re-verified, though the street address matches the official page.
• Whether the conversion document-screening booking can ever be done online; the official conversion page describes phone-only, and the e-tumo system at tempSeq=6296 was found to be for moped exams, not conversion.
• Exact reception/operating hours of the conversion counter on the procedure day itself (only the 3-5 PM weekday phone reservation window was confirmed).
• Precise booking lead time / how far in advance slots open (page showed the following month accepting reservations at time of capture).

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.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/keisatu/n30/2024tagengo20.html

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.