Fukuoka Driver’s License Renewal (2026): Open Some Sundays, No Booking at 4 Test Centers, Fees and Documents for Foreign Residents

This page is general information from Fukuoka Prefectural Police pages. It is not legal advice. For your own case, ask the Driver’s License Test Center general line, 0570-029-110.

In Fukuoka Prefecture you can renew a driver’s license on some Sundays, but not on Saturdays, public holidays or from December 29 to January 3. Only the four test centers (Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Chikuho and Chikugo) take renewals without a booking, and they accept every lecture class. Renewal is possible only from one month before to one month after your birthday in the year your license expires. After the expiry date you cannot renew.

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1. Where can you renew, and do you need a booking?

Fukuoka Prefectural Police

Your lecture class (講習区分, koshu kubun) is printed on the renewal postcard and decides where you can go. “Excellent” (優良) is for drivers without recent violations, “general” (一般) and “violator or first-time” (違反・初回) are the other classes. Ordinary police stations in Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City do not renew licenses.

People who have finished the elderly lecture (高齢者講習) need no booking anywhere. Remote police stations serve only people living in their own area: Itoshima, Munakata, Asakura, Yukuhashi, Buzen, Ogori (including Kitano-machi) and Ukiha, plus the Kuroki police box of Yame. The Gold License Centers cannot renew a license for general, violator or first-time classes, a lost license, new license conditions (other than glasses) or a license using your own photo.

If you have no postcard, are renewing early, or do not know your class, the police recommend a test center, which needs no booking. The prefectural police site has English, Korean and Chinese versions in its menu, but the renewal pages read for this article were in Japanese, and whether staff speak English was not stated.

2. Which Sundays are open?

Fukuoka Prefectural Police

Everything is closed on Saturdays, on public holidays and from December 29 to January 3. The police name Sundays, the Obon week, the first open day after a holiday and the time right after reception opens as the most crowded. They suggest going in the afternoon, especially on Sundays, when the free parking at test centers often fills up.

3. What are the reception hours?

Reception at test centers depends on your lecture class. Violators and first-time renewals have the shortest morning window.

Gold License Centers use 8:30–11:00 and 13:00–15:30, and you must arrive within your booked time. Remote police stations take excellent drivers from 9:00 to 10:00 and general drivers from 13:00 to 13:30, Monday to Friday. The Kuroki police box of Yame takes renewals on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

4. Foreign residents: extra documents at renewal

Fukuoka Prefectural Police

From October 1, 2025, the prefectural police check your address more strictly. If you renew a regular license card and are a foreign national, you must show a residence card (在留カード) or special permanent resident certificate, or a resident record (住民票の写し) with set details. The record must show your nationality, the date you became a foreign resident, residence status, period of stay and its expiry date, and the card number. People who hold a My Number license (マイナ免許証) do not need these documents. Foreign nationals staying less than 3 months can no longer apply for or renew a license.

The police list the documents on a separate page: documents for foreign nationals (Japanese). If you change your address at the same time, you must also show one proof of address, such as a resident record or a My Number card, and photocopies are not accepted.

5. How much does renewal cost?

The total is a renewal fee, set by the card you receive, plus a lecture fee, set by your class.

With a license card only, the total is ¥3,350 for an excellent class, ¥3,650 for general and ¥4,250 for violators and first-time (calculated from the tables). The elderly lecture is taken separately beforehand, and there is no same-day lecture fee. The online lecture is only for excellent and general drivers who already hold a My Number license and have linked it to My Number Portal (Mynaportal). At test centers and Gold License Centers you can pay with cash revenue stamps or cashless. Remote police stations accept only revenue stamps, sold at the Traffic Safety Association counter.

6. What to bring, and how it works

• Your current driver’s license, and your My Number license if you have one.
• Your My Number card and its 6–16 character signing certificate PIN, if you want a My Number license now.
• For foreign residents with a regular license card: your residence card or a resident record (see section 4).
• Your elderly lecture completion certificate, if you have one.
• Glasses or contact lenses for the vision test.

You do not need to bring a photo, because staff take it, and you can renew without the postcard. Bringing your own photo is accepted only at test centers. At the center you fill in the application at a kiosk, which includes a health questionnaire. Then you pay, take the vision test and photo, attend the lecture and receive the new license. The test centers have no cafeteria, shop or ATM.

7. The test centers and Gold License Centers

All six use the same general phone line, 0570-029-110, a navigation-dial number that takes incoming calls only. The police warn that staff never call you from this number.

Fukuoka Driver’s License Test Center (Minami Ward)

Open Monday to Friday and the 2nd and 4th Sundays. From Nishitetsu Bus stop Jidosha Menkyo Shikenjo Seimon it is a 1-minute walk, and from Jidosha Menkyo Shikenjo-mae a 4-minute walk. Direct buses run from the Hakata Station area, Tenjin and Nishijin. Free parking for visitors. Address: 4-7-1 Hanabata, Minami-ku, Fukuoka City. Google Maps. Phone: 0570-029-110.

Name	Fukuoka Driver's License Test Center
Address	4-7-1 Hanabata, Minami-ku, Fukuoka City
Hours / Closed	Renewal: Monday to Friday and 2nd and 4th Sundays. Good drivers: 8:30–11:00, 13:00–15:30 (closed Saturdays, public holidays, and December 29–January 3)
Phone	0570-029-110 (Driver's License Test Center general line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

Kitakyushu Driver’s License Test Center (Kokura-minami Ward)

Open Monday to Friday and the 1st and 3rd Sundays. It is a 10-minute walk from Keibajo-mae Station on the Kitakyushu Monorail, or a 7-minute walk from the Nishitetsu Bus stop Jidosha Menkyo Shikenjo-mae. Free parking for visitors. Address: 2-4-1 Hinode-machi, Kokura-minami-ku, Kitakyushu City. Google Maps. Phone: 0570-029-110.

Name	Kitakyushu Driver's License Test Center
Address	2-4-1 Hinode-machi, Kokura-minami-ku, Kitakyushu City
Hours / Closed	Renewal: Monday to Friday and 1st and 3rd Sundays. Good drivers: 8:30–11:00, 13:00–15:30 (closed Saturdays, public holidays, and December 29–January 3)
Phone	0570-029-110 (Driver's License Test Center general line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

Chikuho Driver’s License Test Center (Iizuka City)

Open Monday to Friday and the 2nd and 5th Sundays. It is a 3-minute walk from the Nishitetsu Bus stop Bypass Chikuho Jidosha Menkyo Shikenjo, or a 20-minute walk from JR Iizuka Station. Free parking for visitors. Address: 1518-1 Tsurumio, Iizuka City. Google Maps. Phone: 0570-029-110.

Name	Chikuho Driver's License Test Center
Address	1518-1 Tsurumio, Iizuka City
Hours / Closed	Renewal: Monday to Friday and 2nd and 5th Sundays. Good drivers: 8:30–11:00, 13:00–15:30 (closed Saturdays, public holidays, and December 29–January 3)
Phone	0570-029-110 (Driver's License Test Center general line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

Chikugo Driver’s License Test Center (Chikugo City)

Open Monday to Friday and the 4th Sunday. The Nishitetsu Bus stop Chikugo Jidosha Menkyo Shikenjo is right by the center, and JR Hainuzuka Station is a 20-minute walk. Free parking for visitors. Address: 1135-2 Ohaza Hisatomi, Chikugo City. Google Maps. Phone: 0570-029-110.

Name	Chikugo Driver's License Test Center
Address	1135-2 Ohaza Hisatomi, Chikugo City
Hours / Closed	Renewal: Monday to Friday and 4th Sunday. Good drivers: 8:30–11:00, 13:00–15:30 (closed Saturdays, public holidays, and December 29–January 3)
Phone	0570-029-110 (Driver's License Test Center general line)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

Chiyo Gold License Center (Hakata Ward)

Open Monday to Thursday and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sundays; closed Fridays. It is a 3-minute walk from Chiyo-kenchoguchi Station on the subway, or 10 minutes from JR Yoshizuka Station. The Nishitetsu Bus stop Chiyo 1-chome is in front of the building. There is no parking, and the center has no direct phone line. Address: 2nd floor, Fukuoka Prefectural Chiyo Joint Government Building, 1-20-31 Chiyo, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City. Google Maps.

Name	Chiyo Gold License Center
Address	2nd floor, Fukuoka Prefectural Chiyo Joint Government Building, 1-20-31 Chiyo, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City
Hours / Closed	Renewal: Monday to Thursday and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sundays 8:30–11:00, 13:00–15:30 (reservation required for good driver lecture; closed Fridays, Saturdays, public holidays, and December 29–January 3)
Phone	0570-029-110 (Driver's License Test Center general line; the center has no direct number)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

Kurosaki Gold License Center (Yahatanishi Ward)

Open Monday to Wednesday, Friday and the 1st and 3rd Sundays; closed Thursdays. It is a 1-minute walk from the south exit of JR Kurosaki Station, and next to Kurosaki-ekimae Station on the Chikuho Electric Railway. There is no visitor parking, so use a nearby paid lot or public transport. Address: 2nd floor, Comcity, 3-15-3 Kurosaki, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu City. Google Maps.

Name	Kurosaki Gold License Center
Address	2nd floor, Comcity, 3-15-3 Kurosaki, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu City
Hours / Closed	Renewal: Monday to Wednesday, Friday, and 1st and 3rd Sundays 8:30–11:00, 13:00–15:30 (reservation required for good driver lecture; closed Thursdays, Saturdays, public holidays, and December 29–January 3)
Phone	0570-029-110 (Driver's License Test Center general line; the center has no direct number)
Map	Open in Google Maps ↗
Official site	Open the official site ↗

8. How to book at a Gold License Center or remote police station

1. Get ready. Have your license and renewal postcard, and check that your date falls within the one-month-before and after window.
2. Book on the police reservation site. You must read and accept the terms, then enter the details from your license and postcard. The site is in Japanese.
3. Pick the right time slot. Choose “My Number license or two cards” (マイナ免許証又は2枚持ち) if you want a My Number license, or “driver’s license only” (運転免許証のみ) otherwise.
4. Save the QR code. After booking, screenshot or print the page, with the whole QR code visible, and show it at reception.

If you booked the license-only slot, you cannot switch to a My Number license at the counter. To change a booking, cancel it on the site and book again. You cannot book online without the Fukuoka renewal postcard. If you moved from another prefecture and know your lecture class, the police call center can take the booking instead. Cancelling or changing a booking is not possible by phone. If you arrive after your reserved time, you cannot be processed that day.

Common questions

Sources (checked November 2026)

5 pages we checkedShow

• Fukuoka Prefectural Police: renewal procedure (places, hours, fees, documents; Japanese)
• Sunday renewal windows (Japanese)
• Reservations for renewal (Japanese)
• Documents for foreign nationals (Japanese)
• Test centers: Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Chikuho, Chikugo. Gold License Centers: Chiyo, Kurosaki (Japanese)