Registration for the December 2026 JLPT is open now, and depending on your country it may close in as little as two weeks. The test is Sunday 6 December 2026, but the date that actually matters is your local registration deadline, and for some countries that deadline is 31 August.
6 Dec 2026
Test day
Sunday, worldwide
31 Aug 2026
Earliest confirmed deadline
South Africa (Embassy of Japan); yours may differ
4 to 6 weeks
Typical registration window
Each country sets its own dates
If you are planning to take the December sitting, the single most useful thing you can do is stop reading guides and check your local deadline today. Then come back here for the rest.
Do this in the next 24 hours
- ✓Look up your own country's deadline on the official overseas test site list. Deadlines vary by country and often by centre, and the examples in this post are not a complete list. This one lookup is worth more than everything else on this page.
- ✓Create your registration account and verify the email now, before you sit down to apply. In Japan that means MyJLPT at jlpt.jp; overseas it is whatever system your local host uses. Verification emails can be slow and portals get hammered when a window opens.
- ✓If you are unsure of your level, take a timed mock today, because the level you register for is locked once you submit.
The deadline situation right now
There is no single global registration window. JEES and the Japan Foundation publish the test date centrally, but every country (and often every individual test centre) sets its own registration period. Windows are short, typically four to six weeks, and they do not all open or close on the same day.
Here is what is confirmed as of mid August 2026:
| Where | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa (Embassy of Japan) | 31 August 2026 | Embassy of Japan in South Africa |
| University of Leicester, UK | Wednesday 9 September 2026, noon | Languages at Leicester |
| United States | Via AATJ, check their site for the current window | AATJ JLPT page |
These are examples, not a complete list. Notice the spread: more than a week between two centres, and both fall within about four weeks of registration opening. Your city's deadline could be earlier than either. The full overseas test site list, with links to each local host institution, is at jlpt.jp. Per-country details for the December sitting historically go up around the end of July, so by now your local page should show concrete dates.
Before anything else: can you actually register?
For most readers the answer is yes, but 2026 introduced one change that will catch people out.
New for 2026: residency requirement inside Japan
- If you live in Japan on a work, student, spouse, or other mid-to-long-term visa, nothing changes for you except two extra fields on the form. Have your residence card (在留カード) in front of you when you apply.
- If you were planning to visit Japan on a tourist visa and sit the exam while there, that plan no longer works. Register at an overseas test site in or near your own country instead.
- Applying overseas? There is no residency requirement. You need whatever your local host asks for, usually a photo ID whose name matches your registration exactly, plus payment. Requirements vary by country, so read your local host's page rather than assuming.
The registration process, end to end
The mechanics have not changed much from previous years. What follows holds generally; your local host's instructions win wherever they differ.
Create your account
Today, takes 10 minutesIn Japan, registration runs through the MyJLPT portal at jlpt.jp. Overseas, it depends on the country: some hosts use an online portal, some use the Japan Foundation's local office, some (like university-hosted centres) take applications directly. Whichever system yours uses, create the account and verify your email before you sit down to register.
Apply: choose your level and centre
During your local windowYou register for exactly one level per session, and you cannot change it afterwards. Centre selection is first come, first served. Decide on two or three acceptable centres before you open the form; if your first choice is full, switch to your backup immediately instead of refreshing the page. A one-hour train ride beats waiting until July 2027.
Pay in the same session
Immediately after applyingPayment must be completed within the registration window; you cannot hold a seat and pay later, and some portals time out mid-payment. Have your card details ready before you start. Payment methods (credit card, bank transfer, convenience store) vary by country, and so do fees, so check the figure on your local host's page rather than trusting a number from a blog post (including this one).
Receive your test voucher
Roughly 2 to 3 weeks before the examOnce payment clears you get a confirmation from your local host. Later, your test voucher (受験票) arrives by mail or email depending on the country. It confirms your test centre, room, and seat number. If it has not arrived a week or so before the exam, contact your local organizer rather than hoping.
Test day
Sunday 6 December 2026Bring the voucher and photo ID. Between the voucher arriving and the exam, the only admin left is showing up. When the exam gets close, our test day guide (/blog/jlpt-test-day-guide) covers timing, what to bring, and the mark sheet.
What to have ready before you open the form
- Photo ID. Passport, residence card, or national ID depending on country. The name must match your application exactly.
- Digital photo. Passport style: 3 cm x 4 cm ratio, white or light background, front-facing, taken within the last six months, no hats or sunglasses. A phone photo against a white wall in natural light is fine. Do not let a rejected photo eat days of your registration window.
- Payment method. Ready to use in the same sitting as the application.
- Residence card number and expiry date, if you are applying inside Japan.
Which level should you register for?
This decision is locked in for six months once you submit, so it deserves ten minutes of honest evidence rather than a guess. The common failure modes are registering for the level you want to be at rather than the level you are at, and sandbagging a level below your ability and learning nothing from the certificate.
A rough rule if you are between levels: with almost four months of study time left before 6 December, the higher level is reachable if your mock score is within striking distance of the pass line. If you are failing the mock badly, register for the level you can pass.
Not sure which level? Take a timed practice test and see where you land. We built a free placement test for exactly this question, and there are free mock tests for each level if you want to pressure-test a specific one.
Take the placement testCheck your own city, not the general pattern
- Whether your city runs a December sitting at all. Not every overseas centre runs both the July and December exams. Some run December only, some July only. If your city is July-only, your nearest December option may be another city or another country, which changes your travel maths and possibly your choice of centre. Verify on the overseas site list.
- Your exact registration window and method. Open date, close date, online or postal, and fee are all local decisions. The Leicester example above closes at noon, not midnight, which is exactly the kind of detail that catches people who assume.
The mistakes that cost people the sitting
Every session, people who intended to take the JLPT do not, for reasons that were all avoidable in August:
Waiting for the deadline
Seats at popular centres, especially N1 and N2 overseas, can be gone within days of opening. The published deadline is a ceiling, not a plan.
Assuming your city runs December
Some centres run only one sitting a year. If yours is July-only, you need a different city, and that decision takes time you may not have.
Registering for the wrong level
No changes after submission. Ten minutes with a timed mock now beats six months locked into the wrong exam.
Ignoring the new residency rule
From 2026, tourists and short-term visitors cannot sit the JLPT in Japan. If that was your plan, register at an overseas centre instead, before its window closes.
Creating the account on registration day
Email verification delays plus portal traffic can burn hours you do not have. The account costs nothing to set up today.
A rejected photo or a payment timeout
Both fixable in advance, both capable of stalling an application until the window closes.
Key takeaway
- The test is Sunday 6 December 2026; your registration deadline is local and could be as early as 31 August.
- Deadlines vary by country and centre. Check yours today on the official overseas list; do not rely on any blog's examples, including ours.
- Popular N1 and N2 centres have filled within days of opening in recent sessions, so the opening date is your real deadline.
- You register for one level, pay in the same session, and cannot change either afterwards. Decide level and backup centres before you open the form.
- Applying inside Japan now requires mid-to-long-term residence status and a residence card number; overseas sites are unaffected.
- Register this week, then get back to studying.