Failed the practical test? What to do before the next attempt

On this page

1. Why good drivers fail
2. The retake rules
3. What to do before the next attempt
4. Frequently asked questions

I didn't pass the practical test at Samezu on my first try either. If you have just failed, you are in large company. Nationally, only 13.1% passed in October–December 2025, the first months of the stricter rules. In 2024 it was 30.4%. Most of the people who failed can drive.

Source: National Police Agency figures, reported by Nikkei, 2 March 2026

Why good drivers fail

The test doesn't ask whether you got round safely. It asks whether you followed the procedure every time, in a way the examiner could see. These faults catch experienced drivers:

• Safety checks the examiner didn't see. A glance with your eyes doesn't count. Turn your head for the shoulder check, before every turn and every lane change. Every missed check costs points.
• Signals given late. Signal before you slow down for the turn, not as you turn. Since October 2025 this is scored as strictly as on a new-license test.
• Stops that weren't complete. At a stop line the car must come to a full stop behind the line, then you look left and right. Rolling through is a fault; not stopping where you must ends the test.
• Speed into bends. Slow down before the curve, not in it.
• Turning the wrong way. Move to the edge before a turn and don't cut the corner (右左折方法違反).

The mistakes that end the test on the spot are in how the practical test is scored.

The retake rules

• The written test may not be needed again. National rules let you retake the practical without the written test within 6 months of the day you took it. After 6 months the written test comes back. Tokyo's pages don't restate this, so confirm at the counter.
• Watch your foreign license's expiry date. Osaka's police, for example, state that the practical test has to be passed while the foreign license is still valid.
• The next slot can be several weeks to months away. Plan your practice for the date you get.

Check your dates at the counter when you rebook. The counter's answer is the one that counts.

Source: National Police Agency, foreign-license procedures (January 2026)

What to do before the next attempt

1. Write down what the examiner said, even in broken Japanese, while you remember it. 確認 means a check; 合図 a signal; 停止 a stop.
2. Find the pattern. Many people fail on the same two or three habits each time.
3. Rehearse those habits until they are automatic, at the exact points on the course where they happen.
4. Book a real hour on the test course if you can get one. See how to practise.
5. Run a full mock test the night before, scored the same way. Repeat it until you finish above 70 on your own.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to take the written test again if I fail the practical?+

National rules allow a retake without it within 6 months of the day you took the written test. After 6 months, you take the written test again. Tokyo's pages don't restate the rule, so check your dates at the counter.

Why did the examiner not tell me what I did wrong?+

Examiners often give only a short comment, in Japanese. The test is scored by deduction from 100, so it is usually several small procedure faults, not one big mistake.

How many times can I take the practical test?+

The national procedures we read set no number. In practice, the limits are the 6-month window for skipping the written test, your foreign license's expiry date and how soon you can get a slot. Ask at the counter if you are unsure.