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Certified Japanese Driver's License Translation

A Japanese 運転免許証 records the dates each class was obtained in a column a US reader will not recognise, and those dates are often the useful part. Translated in full, both sides, with the category codes reproduced exactly as printed rather than converted into US classes — because converting them would claim an entitlement your licence does not grant. Signed certification, $24.95 per page.

What a Japanese licence is and who issues it

Japanese licences are issued by the prefectural public safety commission and carry the holder's details, the licence number, the expiry date and a column recording the date each class of entitlement was first obtained.

The card also carries a coloured band — gold, blue or green — indicating the holder's record and renewal cycle, which is a fact about driving history rather than decoration. See our Japanese page.

The categories on it

Japan classifies by vehicle type in Japanese, distinguishing ordinary cars from light vehicles, large vehicles, motorcycles and the several professional classes, each with its own first-obtained date.

The classes and the dates beside them are reproduced. The per-class history is frequently what an insurer wants, so it is translated rather than summarised.

The codes are reproduced, not converted

Every country classifies drivers its own way, and none of those systems maps onto the US class structure. A category that looks like a US class is the most dangerous case of all, because it invites a translator to convert it — and converting it asserts an entitlement the original document never granted. A licence that authorises a private car in its own country can come out claiming a commercial entitlement in English, which is a misstatement on a document being handed to a government office.

So the code is reproduced exactly as printed, together with the description printed beside it, and nothing is mapped onto a US class. What the holder may drive in the United States is for the state to decide, not for a translator to assert. The same goes for restrictions and endorsements: corrective lenses, automatic transmission only, an organ donor mark, a blood group — all translated as printed, none interpreted.

Where these go, and what each office wants

A translated licence is usually going to one of four places, and they do not want the same thing. A state DMV exchanging or crediting a foreign licence; an insurer pricing a driver with no US record, which is where a documented history abroad can matter; a rental company at a counter; or an employer verifying an entitlement. Each state sets its own rule and they genuinely differ, so ask the office before ordering rather than after.

Both sides are translated. The back of a licence is where the categories, restrictions, issue and expiry dates and sometimes the address live, and a translation of the front alone is an incomplete document that gets sent back. Related: our driving record, auto insurance letter and vehicle title pages.

An International Driving Permit is not a translation

An IDP is a booklet issued in your own country before you travel, and it restates your existing licence in several languages. It is not a certified translation, it is not issued by us or by anyone else after you have left, and it expires. A certified translation is not an IDP either. Some states accept one, some the other, some neither and some both — see our general driver's licence page. If you are already in the United States and did not get an IDP before leaving, a certified translation is the document you can still obtain.

How it works

Upload a photo or a scan of your document, pick the language pair and check out online. You never have to mail originals: a legible copy is all we need.

A professional human translator, never machine translation, translates the document word for word and mirrors the layout of the original. Every certified translation ships with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy that meets the requirements of USCIS, courts and universities.

Your translation is delivered digitally, usually within 24 hours for documents of one to three pages, and same-day delivery is available. If anything needs adjusting, we revise it.

Certified vs. standard translation

A certified translation is a word-for-word translation accompanied by a signed statement attesting to its accuracy and completeness. It is what official bodies require: USCIS, courts, universities and government agencies. Certified translations are $24.95 per page, where a page is up to 250 words.

A standard translation is for business or personal use where certification is not needed, such as CVs, client intake forms or marketing material, and is billed at the same $24.95 per page of up to 250 words.

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