Exchange of driving licences from Japan

You may hand in your application at a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office or send it by post. In both cases, you need to submit a completed application form, your original driving licence, and a certificate of residence or documentation of when you moved back to Norway.

Here you will find the form to use when applying for exchange (PDF)

You need to book an appointment if you wish to hand in your application yourself. 

Find a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office (trafikkstasjon)

Book an appointment at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office

Have you moved to Norway from abroad?

If you have moved to Norway from abroad, you must provide documentation of the date when you took up normal residence in Norway. This is normally documented with a residence certificate from the Norwegian Tax Administration.

Deadline to apply for an exchange

You need to apply for exchange within one year of taking up normal residence in or moving back to Norway.

We recommend that you apply for exchange as soon as possible after you have taken up normal residence in or moved back to Norway. If an application is granted, the main rule is that you must order a Norwegian driving licence within one year of taking up normal residence in or moving back to Norway. The earlier you apply, the more time you will have to order a Norwegian driving licence.

If you apply for exchange close to the deadline for application and your application is granted, your deadline for ordering a Norwegian driving licence will be one month from the date of the decision letter granting you the exchange. The deadline may then be set later than one year after you took up normal residence in or moved back to Norway.

A driving licence from Japan is valid for driving in all licence categories for three months after you have taken up normal residence in or moved back to Norway. A Japanese driving licence for Category B is valid in Norway for one year after you have taken up normal residence in or moved back to Norway.

If your application for exchange is granted, you need to order a Norwegian driving licence within one year of taking up normal residence in or moving back to Norway, in order to maintain an uninterrupted driving entitlement for Category B. You need to factor in processing time (normally up to four weeks) when you submit your application. Therefore, if it is important to you to maintain an uninterrupted driving entitlement, you should apply well in advance of having lived in Norway for one year.

Is your driving licence in a different language?

If the text on your driving licence is not English, you must also submit an international driving licence or an approved translation into Norwegian.

Temporary driving permit

When you submit an application for exchange, you may present valid proof of identity and be issued a temporary driving permit that is valid for up to three months, but not beyond one year after you took up normal residence in or moved back to Norway.

Do you need to submit an eyesight or health certificate?

You need to submit an eyesight certificate if

• you have impaired vision or there are other issues with your eyesight. You will be asked about this under the Personal Health Statement when you fill out the application form for exchange.

You need to submit a health certificate if

• your health is impaired in a way that may affect road safety. You will be asked about this under the Personal Health Statement when you fill out the application form for exchange.

You will receive a decision letter

Once we have received your application, it normally takes up to four weeks for us to process it.

We will send the decision letter to your digital postbox. If you have opted out of receiving digital post, you will receive the decision by regular post.

If your application is granted, you will be informed in our decision letter how to proceed.

If you are granted exchange of your Japanese driving licence for Category B, your exact deadline for ordering a Norwegian driving licence will appear in our decision letter.

The main rule is that you must order a Norwegian driving licence within one year of taking up normal residence in or moving back to Norway. The earlier you apply after moving to Norway, the more time you will have to order a Norwegian driving licence.

If you apply for exchange almost one year after you took up normal residence in or moved back to Norway, your deadline for ordering a Norwegian driving licence will be one month from the date of our decision letter.

If you fail to order a Norwegian driving licence by the deadline appearing in our decision letter, you will lose the right to exchange. If you still wish to have a Norwegian Category B driving licence, you must then complete mandatory training in the regular way.

See our website for more information on how to get a driving licence.

The entitlements your Japanese driving licence gives you must be the same as those a Norwegian driving licence for Category B will give you.

This means, among other things, that your Japanese driving entitlement should allow you to

• drive whenever and wherever you want
• decide for yourself who you will bring along as a passenger when you drive
• upgrade your licence to include other categories of your choice

You must have completed all training and tests for category B in Japan.

If your Japanese driving licence has restrictions, but you still believe that you held a full and complete driving entitlement at the time when you left Japan, you need to present a written, stamped and signed confirmation from the driver licensing authorities in Japan. The confirmation must include your full name and driving licence number, and it must confirm that you held a full and complete driving entitlement when you left Japan.

The confirmation should clearly state that all restrictions had expired (ceased to apply) by the time when you moved to Norway. This applies, for example, to restrictions related to

• when, where and with whom you may drive
• upgrading to include other licence categories
• remaining training or tests to be completed

If the term of validity of your driving entitlement has expired when you apply for exchange, you need to present confirmation from the driver licensing authorities in Japan that you still hold a valid driving entitlement there. The confirmation document must include

•  your driving licence number
• your name
• your date of birth

The document must be dated, signed and stamped by the driver licensing authorities in Japan.

If you have normal residence in Norway and acquired your driving licence while living in Japan temporarily as a student, the following applies:

You need to provide documentation of your stay abroad as a student, including a start date and an end date. The start date and end date must cover the period when you acquired your driving licence. The documentation may, for example, be a confirmation from your school or university in Japan or in Norway.

If you use a diploma or transcript of results as documentation, it must contain the start and end dates. You must also document your return journey at the end of the stay, for example by a copy of your flight ticket.