How to renew your converted Japanese pilot license for foreign license holders

If you hold a foreign pilot license and have successfully converted it to fly in Japan, you received a Tokutei Soujyu Gino license. This license requires renewal every 2 years through a specific examination process. This guide will walk you through the renewal process step by step.

What is a Tokutei Soujyu Gino?

If you have a foreign pilot license and you passed the academic exam, you should have received a Tokutei Soujyu Gino license. This is essentially:

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Tokutei Soujyu Gino

A skills check required to actually fly. Conducted periodically (usually every 2 years) with a designated examiner or instructor to ensure your piloting skills and procedures meet the standards. Without passing this, you cannot fly, even if you hold a certificate.

As the definition suggests, you will need to renew it every 2 years. In order to do so, you will need to pass the Tokutei Soujyu Gino Exam, which consists of two parts: an oral examination and a flight skills test.

How to Renew Your Tokutei Soujyu Gino?

You must take the tokutei soujyu gino exam.

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Tokutei Soujyu Gino Exam

An exam conducted by an examiner registered with the JCAB to renew the Tokutei Soujyu Gino license every 2 years. The exam is consisted of two parts: an oral exam and a flight skills check. Both are based on guidelines and checklists provided by the JCAB.

Let's look at how we can apply and take the exam.

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Find your Examiner

The renewal exam will be handled by an examiner who is officially registered with the JCAB. Search for an examiner of your choice from the list of examiners and get into contact with the person directly or the organization they belong to. Talk to them about potential dates, how to get prepared, etc.

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Submit Form No.28-6 & necessary documents to your examiner

Once you have found your examiner, you will need to submit Form No.28-6 and necessary documents to them. You can find the form here. You will be able to download a PDF by clicking the link that says 審査申請書（第28号の6様式）.

Note that you will also need to submit the following documents:

Sojyu Gino Shomeisho (操縦技能証明書)

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Sojyu Gino Shomeisho

The “pilot license” issued by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB). There are different types, such as Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot. Without this, you cannot operate an aircraft in Japan. Once obtained, the certificate itself does not expire (but there are conditions to keep it valid for actual flying).

Aviation Medical Certificate (航空身体検査証明書)

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Aviation Medical Certificate

An Aviation Medical Certificate is a document that certifies a pilot or aviation personnel is in a physical and mental condition that allows them to safely perform aviation duties. In Japan, it is issued after an examination by a Designated Aviation Medical Examiner or a designated medical institution approved by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), if the applicant meets the required standards.

Gino Shomei Sho(Tokutei Gino Shomeisho/Kakunin)

Your currently owned Tokutei Soujyu Gino certificate.

Documentation of your flight time

Any document (like a logbook) that shows your flight time.

Safety Training Completion Certificate (if applicable)

JCAB holds safety training courses. If you have completed one of these courses, you will need to submit a certificate of completion.

You should be able to submit the documents to your examiner personally, or using other methods. It is best to contact your examiner to discuss the best way to submit the documents.

Now that we have all the necessary documents, you will need to prepare for the exam. As mentioned above, there are two parts to this exam: the oral examination and the flight skills test. Let's see how we can prepare for each one in the next couple of steps.

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Prepare for the oral exam.

The oral exam is conducted by the examiner. It isn't actually very difficult, since the JCAB has published the list of questions and answers (JCAB refers to this as the guidance) that the oral exam is based on. You can find it here. The guidance is tailored to 4 aircraft types: aircraft (飛行機), rotorcraft (回転翼), glider (滑空機) and airship (飛行船). Each section in the PDF is broken into these 4 sections, and at the start of each section it will say xxx編, where xxx is the aircraft type.

Go to the section that corresponds to your aircraft type. You can see which page corresponds to which type by looking at the bottom of each page; you will see something like 【飛】-5, or 【滑】-5, etc. where the character inside the bracket is the first kanji for your aircraft type along with the page number.

On each page, you will find the questions and the answers to those questions. Make sure to study and memorize the answers to the questions as thoroughly as possible.

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Prepare for the flight skills test.

On page 52 of this PDF, you will find the checklist that the examiner will use to test your skills. While not all criteria may be applicable to your specific situation, before you schedule your exam with your examiner, you should go on some practice flights to prepare for the flight skills test.

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Pass the exam!

Once you have prepared for the exam, you will need to pass the exam. Best of luck, and when you pass, you will be able to renew your Tokutei Soujyu Gino license. Happy flying!