Driver license: Procedures to update residential address when moving house

photo by wnct.com

We know we need a driver license to drive a motor vehicle in Japan. So, many of us already have one. If you are a Japanese driver license holder, you must have noticed that there is your residential address printed on your driver license. As you can easily imagined, you must update your address on your license when changing a residential address since it can be your ID while you are in Japan. So, let’s revise how you can update your address on the driver license.

Go to local police, not municipal office

There are so many paper works you have to fill out at a municipal office when moving house including moving-in/out notifications, change of address forms of National Health Insurance and National Pension System. There is no wonder if you misunderstand that you can also file a change of address for your driver license at a municipal office. But unfortunately you can’t. In Japan, driver licenses are issued by police who is the administrator of Road Traffic Act. Even though you have submitted a moving-in, moving-out or change of address notification at your municipal office, that doesn’t mean your residential address on your license is updated. Once you have moved to a new address, visit a police station or driver license center which is operated by local police. You must go to a police station or driver license center of your new address.

Procedures to update the residential address on your license

To update the residential address on your driver license, you must fil out the form at a police station or driver license center and hand it in at the counter. The form is available at each police station or driver license center, or it may be available from the local police’s website. The format of the form varies by each prefecture and most prefectures have different forms for a change of address within the same municipality or moving-in from other city. The following is the form issued by Shiga prefecture police.

①Date of submission
②Name of applicant
③License holder’s phone number
④Family name ④‘First name
⑤Date of birth
⑥Sex
⑦Registered domicile, or nationality if non-Japanese
⑧New address
⑨Date of issue
⑩Reference number
⑪Expiry date（Choose a background color of expiry date on a license from gold, blue and green）
⑫Driver license umber
⑬Issuing authority

See your driver license for ⑨～⑬.

※Inquire the police office or driver license center in your area for operating hours.
※Your new address will be written on the back of you driver license.

Who can file a change of address of driver license?

Driver license holder him/herself must submit a change of address as a general rule. If your agent is submitting a change of address on behalf of you, they must provide letter of authorization signed by you. In some municipalities, your family member can be your agent without a letter of authorization. In any cases, agents must present their own IDs. If an agent is your family member, they are required to present a proof of relationship. Make sure to inquire your police office beforehand.

What to bring

Application form
Current driver license
Proof of new address (An original copy of residence registry, residence card, public health insurance card. Address on those documents must be up to date)
Letter of authorization if submitted by an agent. If an agent is a family member, they must provide a proof of relationship as well.

※Inquire your local police who can submit an application and what to bring as rules vary depending on each municipality.

What will happen if you don’t update the address on your driver license?

Unlike notifications relating to residence registry such as moving-in, moving-out and change address notification, there is no deadline to change address on a driver license. Your driver license is valid even though your residential address hasn’t been updated and you can still drive with it unless it is expired. But your driver license is often used as your ID or a proof of your residential address just like your residence card. Also, a renewal notice letter of driver license from your local police will be sent to your old address if you haven’t update your address. In such a case, you might overlook to renew your driver license and it may be revoked for not being renewed before due date. Therefore, make sure to keep the residential address on your license up to date.

Be updated

Updating the address on your driver license can be a little hassle as you can’t do it together with other applications at your local office. But it is a quite easy procedure. If applied at a police office or driver license center, you get your address updated on the same day. The application form is Japanese only, so ask the office staff for help if you are not confident with your Japanese language skill.