Exchanging a driving licence from Japan in the Netherlands (omwisselen)
Exchange for categories A and B only. Other categories are lost; the licence must still be valid.
From the RDW rules, verified 2 September 2026. The details, sources and costs are below.
The facts for a licence from Japan
- How long you may drive on it: 185 days from the date you register at a Dutch address (BRP registration). After that, you need a Dutch licence to drive here.
- Exchange: Yes, with limits. The Netherlands has an agreement with Japan: categories A and B only can be exchanged, provided the licence is valid and you lived there at least 185 days in the year it was issued. Other categories are lost on exchange.
- The 30% ruling (expat scheme): a valid decision lets you exchange a licence from any country, with all its categories, if the licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit.
- What you cannot keep: only categories A and B only come back; other categories are waived on exchange.
- Translation: Not in Latin script: for an exchange you need a translation by a certified translator, the embassy or the consulate.
- International Driving Permit: recommended by the RDW when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E; never required for the 185 days.
- Health declaration: needed before an exchange or the practical exam (Gezondheidsverklaring, €47 via Mijn CBR).
- Note on the document: Japanese "1B": passenger car and motorcycle over 400 cm³.
Sources: RDW exchange checklist, RDW, driving with a foreign licence, RDW, exchanging a foreign licence; verified 2 September 2026.
Which International Driving Permit can Japan issue, and do I need one?
- The RDW never requires an International Driving Permit for your 185 days; it advises one when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E, so that they can be read.
- The permit is a translation of your licence, obtained in the issuing country, and it never extends the 185 days.
- Japan is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (since 7 August 1964).
- It is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
- Its permit follows the 1949 model and is valid for one year from the date of issue.
- The Netherlands is a party to both conventions, so the 1949 permit is recognised here.
Sources: RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), 1949 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 10 (validity of the permit) (read 7 September 2026).
What the categories on a Japan licence mean here
Japanese licences are named by vehicle size, not by letter: 普通 (ordinary), 準中型 (semi-medium), 中型 (medium) and 大型 (large), the motorcycle licences 原付, 普通二輪 and 大型二輪, and けん引 (towing). What an older licence covers depends on when it was obtained: the ordinary licence shrank on 2 June 2007 and again on 12 March 2017, and an older licence keeps its old range, shown on the card as a limited medium (8 t) or semi-medium (5 t) licence. That is the case in which the RDW advises an International Driving Permit, so the licence can be read.
| On your licence | What it covers at home | Closest Dutch category |
|---|---|---|
| 原付 (moped) | Mopeds up to 50 cc, and since 1 April 2025 also two-wheelers up to 125 cc with an output of at most 4.0 kW. | AMDutch AM is set by speed (45 km/h), the Japanese class by engine size and output. |
| 普通二輪 (ordinary motorcycle) | Motorcycles up to 400 cc; with the 小型限定 (small) limitation, up to 125 cc. Also small special vehicles and mopeds. | A2A1 with the 小型限定 limitation. The Dutch classes turn on power (11 and 35 kW), the Japanese on engine size; our judgement. |
| 大型二輪 (large motorcycle) | Motorcycles of any engine size; also ordinary motorcycles. | A |
| 普通 (ordinary), obtained on or after 12 March 2017 | Vehicles under 3.5 tonnes gross weight and under 2 tonnes load, up to 10 seats; also small special vehicles and mopeds. | B |
| 準中型 (semi-medium) | Vehicles from 3.5 to under 7.5 tonnes gross weight and 2 to under 4.5 tonnes load, up to 10 seats; also ordinary vehicles. | C1 |
| 中型 (medium) | Vehicles from 7.5 to under 11 tonnes gross weight, 4.5 to under 6.5 tonnes load, 11 to 29 seats. | C or DThe Dutch C1 stops at 7,500 kg; D1 for a bus up to 16 passengers, D beyond. |
| 大型 (large) | Vehicles of 11 tonnes gross weight or more, 6.5 tonnes load or more, 30 seats or more. | C or D |
| 普通 obtained before 12 March 2017 (shown as 準中型, 5 t limited) | Vehicles under 5 tonnes gross weight and under 3 tonnes load, up to 10 seats. | B or C1Beyond 3,500 kg the Dutch licence needs C1. |
| 普通 obtained before 2 June 2007 (shown as 中型, 8 t limited) | Vehicles under 8 tonnes gross weight and under 5 tonnes load, up to 10 seats. | B or C1Beyond 7,500 kg even the Dutch C1 stops. |
| けん引 (towing) | Towing a trailer over 750 kg; below that, and for a broken-down vehicle on a rope or crane, no towing licence is needed. | BE, CE or DEDepending on the towing vehicle's own licence. |
| 大型特殊, 小型特殊 (special vehicles) | Large and small special vehicles (construction and agricultural machinery); the small special licence also covers mopeds. | TT for tractors; construction machinery has no Dutch counterpart. |
| 第二種 (second class) | The passenger-carrying versions of the large, medium, ordinary and towing licences, for driving taxis and buses for hire. | noneThe Netherlands has no taxi class on the licence. |
- Automatic only: A Japanese licence for automatics is AT限定 (AT limited): the motorcycle licences say (ATに限る) behind the class, and the ordinary licence has had an AT-limited form for years. From 1 April 2026 the semi-medium and medium licences, and from 1 April 2027 the large licence, also come in an AT-limited form; before that they were manual-only. It means what Dutch code 78 means.
- Dutch code 78: If you take the Dutch practical exam in an automatic, the Dutch licence gets code 78: automatic only. Removing it means a new practical exam in a manual car.
- Your licence document: A Japanese licence runs 5 years for a driver with a clean record or one minor violation in the last 5 years (優良, 一般), and 3 years after violations or for a first renewal (licence held under 5 years). At 70 it still runs 5 years, at 71 four years, from 72 three years; 3 years in every case after violations.
The Dutch column is the closest Dutch category, not an official equivalence: the RDW decides on exchange what a category becomes, and via the 30% ruling only the categories on the licence come across. During your 185 days, your own licence and its own categories are what count.
What is our judgement here, and what may be out of date
- The Dutch column is our judgement: 普通二輪 (up to 400 cc) to A2 and its 小型限定 form (125 cc) to A1, although the Dutch classes turn on power; 準中型 to C1; 中型 and 大型 to C or D; the pre-2007 and pre-2017 ordinary licences to B and C1; けん引 to BE, CE or DE by towing vehicle; the special-vehicle licences to T; 第二種 to none.
- The weight table is read from the Hyōgo and Osaka prefectural police pages and a National Police Agency leaflet, not from the Road Traffic Act (道路交通法) and its ordinance themselves.
- The validity terms are the Tokyo police's summary of the national rule; the 第二種 row is read from the Osaka page's list of licence types.
- The RDW lists Japan's exchangeable categories as A and B (see the facts above); how it reads 準中型 or 中型 on exchange is not stated.
Sources: 警察庁, 原動機付自転車の車両区分の見直し: the wider moped class from 1 April 2025 (read 13 September 2026); Osaka Prefectural Police, 免許の種類と運転できる自動車など: licence types and the vehicles they cover (read 13 September 2026); 警視庁 (Tokyo Metropolitan Police), AT二輪免許試験について: the AT limitation on motorcycle licences (read 13 September 2026); Hyōgo Prefectural Police, 運転できる自動車の範囲: weight, load and seat limits by licence and by the date it was obtained (read 13 September 2026); 警察庁 (National Police Agency), 準中型免許: what the semi-medium and ordinary licences may drive (read 13 September 2026); 警察庁, AT大型免許等の導入: AT-limited large, medium and semi-medium licences from 2026 (read 13 September 2026); 警視庁, 更新手続一覧: validity by driving record and age (read 13 September 2026); RDW, rijbewijscategorieën (read 8 September 2026); CBR, wat betekent code 78 (read 8 September 2026).
Specific to licences from Japan
- A Japanese licence is in Japanese script. The RDW names Japanese as its own example of a licence that must be translated by a certified translator, the embassy or the consulate before exchange. source
A worked example
Registered at a Dutch address on 1 September 2026: you may drive here until 4 March 2027 (185 days). After that you need a Dutch licence.
Computed by the same rules engine as the checker; your own dates give your own deadline. Get yours →
What it costs: the exchange route
about €171(€151–€211)
| Item | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal exchange fee (national maximum) | €54 | |
| Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring) | €47 | |
| Sworn translation of the licenceestimate | €55 | €40–€90 |
| Passport photo (fotomatrix standard)estimate | €15 | €10–€20 |
CBR fees: CBR tariff table 2026; estimates are labelled. Adjust lessons, city and attempts in the checker. Compare the routes →
Timeline
About 3–6 weeks, in 6 steps:
- Health declaration via Mijn CBR(~4 weeks (CBR processing))
- Sworn translation (non-Latin licences)
- Passport photo
- Gemeente appointment
- Hand in your foreign licence
- Collect your Dutch licence(RDW decides within 15 working days; collect ~5 working days later)
Common mistakes with agreement-country licences
- Counting on all categories coming back. Only the categories on the agreement list are exchanged; the others are waived on a waiver form (afstandsverklaring). source
- Letting the licence expire first. The RDW cannot exchange an expired non-EU licence. source
- Forgetting the residency test. You must have lived in the issuing country for at least 185 days in the year the licence was issued. source
- Driving past day 185 while the exchange is pending. The 185 days run from your registration; the pending application does not extend them. source
Why this is confusing
Three things must all be true for the exchange: the licence is still valid, the category is on the list, and you lived in the issuing country 185 days in the year of issue. The exchange returns only the listed categories.
Exams in your language
The CBR car theory exam exists in English; every other language uses an interpreter, booked 14 days ahead. The practical exam allows a sworn interpreter or your own instructor to translate.
Which exams do I need? · Theory exam in English · Theory exam with an interpreter · Interpreter at the practical exam · Do you need Dutch?
Rules version 1.2.2, verified 2 September 2026. Source: RDW. This is guidance, not legal advice. Confirm with the official RDW checklist. Municipal licence fee: at most €54 in 2026. This page as data: JSON; all rules: rules index.