Foreign License Conversion
in Yamaguchi Prefecture

Police organization:

Yamaguchi Prefectural Police (山口県警察)

Test center:

Yamaguchi Prefectural Comprehensive Traffic Center (山口県総合交通センター) — in-course (場内コース)

City

Yamaguchi City (山口市)

Access

Address: 〒754-0002 山口県山口市小郡下郷3560番地2 (Ogori-shimogo, Yamaguchi City). The in-course driving (practical) confirmation is conducted at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Comprehensive Traffic Center course. No public-transit access details are given on the official page.

Test languages:

20 languages (nationwide standard since June 2024)

Reservation required

How to reserve

Phone, by appointment. A mandatory pre-consultation (事前相談・予約制, approx. 2 hours) to review the applicant's foreign-license history must be booked first by phone; the conversion application/test is arranged thereafter.

Phone

083-973-2900

Reception hours

Reception line (山口県総合交通センター): Mon–Fri 8:30–17:00, excluding national holidays, substitute holidays, and year-end/New Year. Pre-consultation is by appointment (予約制).

The official page lists 21 supported languages for the procedure/knowledge confirmation: English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, Thai, Russian, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Indonesian, Nepali, Khmer, Mongolian, Burmese, Urdu, Arabic, Sinhala, Hindi, and Japanese. However, applicants who cannot speak Japanese are asked to bring their own interpreter (日本語を話せない方は、通訳できる方の同伴をお願いします).

Application/examination fee: ordinary ¥2,500; large/medium/semi-medium ¥3,900; moped/small-special ¥1,600; other ¥2,800. License issuance fee: standard card ¥2,350; My Number license ¥1,550; both ¥2,450. (Confirmed from the official prefectural page.)

A mandatory pre-consultation (事前相談, by appointment, approx. 2 hours) reviewing the applicant's foreign-license acquisition status must be completed before applying. The conversion test has three components: aptitude test (適性試験), knowledge confirmation (知識確認), and practical/driving confirmation (技能確認); the knowledge and practical confirmations may be exempted for designated countries/regions. The official page lists 28 countries + 1 region (Taiwan) as exemption-eligible, including most EU nations, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, and (partial) the United States (8 states). Required documents include the valid foreign license, certified Japanese translation, residence certificate (住民票), residence card (在留カード), any existing Japanese license, one application photo, corrective eyewear if needed, and the fees.

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

• Public-transit access details (nearest station/bus stop, walking time) to the Yamaguchi Prefectural Comprehensive Traffic Center
• Whether the 21 listed languages cover live interpretation or only written application/knowledge materials (page only states non-Japanese speakers must bring their own interpreter)
• Definitive full list of all 28 exemption-eligible countries (count and Taiwan region confirmed; the original-claimed second police-domain source was unreachable and could not corroborate)

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

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.