Japanese driving license test in Urdu: what Pakistani residents need to know

Yes, you can take the Japanese driving license written tests in Urdu. As of October 2026, Urdu is one of the 20 languages for the learner’s permit test (仮免, karimen), the final test (本免, honmen) and the knowledge test for converting a foreign license (外免切替, gaimen kirikae), and Tokyo, Saitama, Aichi and Tochigi police confirm it.

Two points matter most for Pakistani license holders: a Pakistani international driving permit (IDP) is not valid in Japan, and a Pakistani license converts only after you pass both the 50-question knowledge test and the driving test.

Practice in Urdu for free: open the JapanHow practice app in Urdu. It is independent practice, not the official test.

About 36,870 Pakistanis lived in Japan at the end of June 2026, most of them in Saitama, Ibaraki, Aichi, Chiba and Tochigi, per the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁). This guide covers those prefectures first.

What are the three ways to get a Japanese license?

1. Driving school (指定自動車教習所). You study at a designated school, pass the learner’s permit test, and finish the course. Graduates skip the driving test at the license center but still take the written final test there, so the center’s language rules apply. A driving camp (合宿免許, gasshuku menkyo) is the same course in about 14 days with lodging. See driving camps for foreigners.
2. Direct test (一発試験, ippatsu shiken). You take the written and driving tests at the license center without a school.
3. Conversion (外免切替). If you held a Pakistani license and stayed in Pakistan for a total of at least 3 months after it was issued, you can convert it. Since October 1, 2025 you need a 住民票 (residence record), and the knowledge test has 50 questions with a 90% pass mark. Full steps: how to convert a foreign license.

The written tests are true/false. The learner’s permit test has 50 questions in 30 minutes, and you need 45. The final test for a regular car has 90 questions plus 5 hazard-picture questions, worth 100 points in 50 minutes, and you need 90, per the National Police Agency (警察庁).

Can I take the test in Urdu where I live?

In May 2024 the National Police Agency told every prefecture to introduce the written tests in 20 languages, Urdu included, with more question sets for the languages local residents need. Here is what each prefecture’s police say, as read on October 23, 2026.

Not in Urdu: the moped (原付, gentsuki) test. Tokyo offers it in 5 languages, Saitama and Aichi in 4, and none of them includes Urdu.

Spoken help is in Japanese. Saitama says reception and the test explanation are in Japanese and asks you to bring an interpreter who understands Japanese. The interpreter may stay only during the explanation, not during the test.

Is there a driving school that teaches in Urdu?

We found none. Most driving schools teach only in Japanese. A few teach in English: verified English courses for a regular automatic (AT) car cost ¥367,280 to ¥572,000 including tax as of October 2026 (see English driving schools). Driving camps teach lectures in Japanese; the camp school we checked in Ibaraki offers textbooks and the learner’s permit test in English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Portuguese, not Urdu. A driving-school search site launched in June 2026 lists 7 languages, and Urdu is not one of them (press release, secondary source).

We also found no official Urdu textbook or question book. The only official Urdu traffic material we found is a 2-page road-sign leaflet from Shizuoka police.

Can I drive in Japan on a Pakistani license or IDP?

No. Japan lets you drive on a foreign license only in two cases: with an IDP issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, or with a Japanese translation for licenses from six places (Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco and Taiwan).

• Pakistan is not a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention, per the UN treaty records, and it is not on the Tokyo police list of Geneva countries (updated July 2, 2026).
• Pakistan joined the 1968 Vienna Convention in 1986. JAF says permits issued under the Vienna Convention are not valid in Japan.
• Pakistan is not one of the six translation countries.

So a Pakistani IDP, or a Pakistani license with a translation, does not let you drive in Japan. Until you have a Japanese license, don’t drive. More detail: international driving permits in Japan.

How do I convert a Pakistani license?

Pakistan is not on the list of 29 countries and regions whose licenses skip the tests, so you take the 50-question knowledge test (45 correct to pass) and the driving test. You need the documents everyone needs (住民票, residence card, passports covering the 3-month stay in Pakistan, photo, Japanese translation) plus Pakistan-specific papers.

Saitama adds rules that apply to every country: certificates must be originals, papers issued abroad need authentication by the issuing country’s foreign ministry or an apostille, and if your name is spelled differently on your license and passport you need a document explaining why. We found no Pakistan-specific list for Ibaraki, Aichi or Tokyo: ask your center before you book.

Translation. The National Police Agency accepts translations from your country’s embassy or consulate in Japan, JAF, ZIPLUS or the 訪日運転者支援協会 (ALADDIN). JAF charges ¥6,600 including tax for a conversion translation.

Your residence card. Saitama won’t accept your application if the period of stay on your 住民票 has passed, even while your residence card (在留カード) renewal is pending.

How much does it cost?

Saitama takes conversion fees cashless (cards, e-money, code payments); cash only if you tell the test section by the day before. Embassy certificate fees: check with the Embassy of Pakistan in Tokyo. Time is the bigger cost: Saitama’s conversion knowledge test is booked about 3 to 4 months ahead.

Practice in Urdu with our free app

The JapanHow practice app works in Urdu:

• picture lessons on Japanese road rules
• 274 true/false questions in the official test format, and hazard-picture questions
• mock exams for the learner’s permit (仮免), the final test (本免) and conversion (外免切替)
• furigana (reading help) on Japanese terms, so you can recognize them on signs and forms
• progress saved in your browser; free, no account

It is independent practice made by JapanHow editors, not the official test, and the questions on the real test are different. The English version and the sign list are on the driving test practice page.

Start practicing in Urdu →