# Transferring US license to Japan



## docdemort (Jan 24, 2016)

Hello I just have one question for now.
Firstly the question is what document, would prove that youve lived in the country for 3 months after the license was issued?
ok so I have a passport, it was issued on oct 2009
so just because it was issued on that date, that doesnt necessarily prove ive lived in the country 3 months after it was issued.
Are they saying I have to produce some old electricity bill from 3 months after the date of my licenses issue date? that is ****ing rediculous!
ok so my drivers license was issued in January 2011
So I have to submit a document dated from march or april 2011 with that date on it?
I guess I could draw up some phony bill using photoshop if thats all they want, but jesus what a pain in the ****ing ass.
any solutions here, or ideas, what the hell they are talking about?
Ive been out of the US for over 5 years, its kinda hard to backtrack now, haha.


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## larabell (Sep 10, 2007)

As I recall, they use the entry and exit dates that are stamped in your passport. You don't have to have lived in the country for three continuous months immediately after your license was issued. You just have to have been there for some 3 month period while that license was valid. The reason is that they want to see that you were in a position to drive for some non-trivial time in the country that issued the license. That's to prevent people from visiting a country where the licensing laws are fairly lax, staying just long enough to get a license, and then coming to Japan, thus avoiding the usual prerequisites for obtaining a license here.
If your license was renewed in 2011 (as opposed to getting your first license), bring your old expired license(s) along. If you were in the country (and State, since you're from the US) for at least three months with any valid license and your current license is a renewal thereof, that also counts (at least it did in my case). If you obtained your very first drivers license and then left the US within the next month or two and haven't gone back, you may have to qualify for a license the same way as the Japanese. It doesn't mean you can't have a license. It simply means you can't use your current license (which, from their point-of-view you never used) as the excuse for bypassing the usual requirements for licensing.
It's a pain-in-the-ass, for sure, but it's hardly ridiculous.
By the way, if you left the US and went to some country other than Japan where you qualified for a driver's license, you can probably transfer using that country's license -- but that depends on the country and what treaties they have with Japan for reciprocal licensing. I don't think the license you show to qualify for a transfer has to be your own country's license. It just has to be a license under which you were qualified to drive for at least three months by virtue of the fact that you were living in the country. Otherwise, they assume you have no driving experience and you need to qualify like any other Japanese getting their first license.
Yes, I realize that simply living in a country and holding a license is no guarantee that you actually ever drove. But since there's no way to prove you did or did not drive, the residency requirement is all they have. And no... a utility bill probably won't do... they'll want to see your passport complete with dated entry and exit stamps.


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## docdemort (Jan 24, 2016)

*k*

ok but my first stamp in my passport is from oct 2011 entering japan.
so you are saying that is proof i was living in america all the time before that?
so basically anything prior to that date, is proof i was living in the US?


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## larabell (Sep 10, 2007)

If I understand the situation, your passport was issued in Oct 2009 and the earliest stamp in that passport is Oct 2011. For all practical purposes (driver's license and marriage -- which is a whole 'nother can of worms), you were living in your home country for those two years. Your driver's license was issued in Jan 2011 so, as far as they can tell, you were qualified to drive in your home country for nine months before moving to Japan. That should be enough to call you an experienced driver in your home country.

In my case, I had been living here for over 10 years before getting around to applying for a Japanese license. By that time I had renewed my license (during visits to the US) several times and at least one of the expired licenses was lost. But I had earlier licenses that matched times that I was apparently in the US (judging from passport stamps) and those earlier licenses had the same number (and were from the same State) as my current license so they accepted that as proof of experience without much hassle.

They want to see that you actually had the opportunity to use the license, thus gaining driving experience. Some people live in Japan without ever learning to drive then run off for a two-week trip to their home country to get a license solely for the purpose of not having to test as rigorously here in Japan as they would have if they followed the usual route. The cops are just trying to make sure you don't fall into that fraudulent category.

From what you've said so far, it seems you're covered.


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## docdemort (Jan 24, 2016)

ok next question. and this is a tough one, because there is no-way anyone would know this information, only best guess.
besides just looking at the dates on the ID, and then confirming, ok hes proved he used it.
That all aside, what further "verification" is done, if any, to confirm, the ID, is in fact,
legit, and valid as a drivers license? assuming all visuals, pass, and such. Im just asking
how much communication, or verification, does the JAF, after this fact, check with the US,
to verify its authenticity? From what I understand, they only validate, physically. They dont, 
send it into the US embassy, for validation, or check online. What do you think?


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## larabell (Sep 10, 2007)

Just as a rough guess, I'd say none. But... (a) I've seen a publication in the past that lists the various tricks for validating licenses from different countries so you can bet that both JAF and the NPA (who administer licenses here) can spot a forgery as well as someone in the States, and (b) a lot of data is accessible by computer these days (State-to-state, at least, but there's no guarantee that the NPA doesn't have access to your driving record). So it's possible they do check... but I didn't get the impression when I went through that they do anything other than verify that you have/had a valid license long enough to be considered a qualified driver as opposed to a rank beginner. But if they do, I'd expect that to happen after you submit the application. The JAF really only does the translation and not much else.


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