Test information on this page was read on the organisers' own sites and on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' passport page in October 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the organiser you book with before you register.
What Eiken and JSAF say you must show on test day
In Japan the identity document that matters for IELTS is the passport, and the organisers' pages say it must be the original. Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutor, independent of the test organisers: it does not register candidates, check identity or issue results, so this page reports only what the organisers' own pages say.
Eiken (Eiken Foundation of Japan, 日本英語検定協会) says in its FAQ (in Japanese) that for IELTS taken in Japan only an original passport that is valid on the test day is accepted as an identity document. The same FAQ says a copy of the passport, a driving licence, a My Number card or another ID document cannot be used to take the test. JSAF (Japan Study Abroad Foundation) says in its English FAQ that you do not need to provide a copy of your passport on the test day, but you do need to bring your valid original passport, and that you cannot sit the test without it.
| Organiser | What its page says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Eiken | Only an original passport valid on the test day is accepted as ID. A passport copy, a driving licence, a My Number card or other ID cannot be used to take the test. | Eiken FAQ (Japanese) |
| JSAF | Bring your valid original passport. No copy is needed on the test day, and you cannot sit the test without the original. | JSAF English FAQ |
One caution about scope. The rule that a driving licence or My Number card is not accepted is Eiken's statement for IELTS taken in Japan. The JSAF lines read confirm that the original passport is needed but do not list other documents, so this page does not say what JSAF would or would not accept instead. If you book through another organiser's page, read its own ID rules: they are not covered here.
What you register at booking, and why it has to match
Eiken's test information page says booking needs a passport that is valid on the test date, and it asks you to have your own passport at hand before you open the booking form. It adds that you must bring the same passport on the day. Three details on that page are worth reading before you submit:
- The passport number. Eiken says you can sit the test only with the passport number you registered at booking.
- Your name. Eiken asks you to check the name you enter: that the family name and given name are not the wrong way round, and that the spelling is correct.
- The validity date. Eiken's wording is that the passport must be valid on the test date, so compare the passport's expiry date with the date of the test you are booking, not with today's date.
Why it matters: Eiken's FAQ says that if you bring a passport different from the registered one, or cannot show a valid original, you cannot take the test, and it says it cannot refund the test fee. That is Eiken's statement; this page prints no refund amount and promises nothing about any refund. A habit worth having, as general advice and not organiser wording: read the number and the name back against the passport's photo page before you press submit.
If you renew your passport after booking
A passport renewed after you booked is not the passport you registered, so the organisers ask you to tell them. The two organisers read for this page use different routes, so follow the one you booked with and do not mix them.
Eiken: the inquiry form, by a set deadline
- Eiken's test page says that if you renew your passport after booking, you must contact Eiken through its inquiry form by 9:00 three days before the test.
- If that deadline day falls on a weekend or public holiday, the page says to make contact by 23:59 on the previous business day. When you count back from your test date, check which day of the week the deadline lands on.
- Eiken asks for an image of the new passport's photo page, your name in the Roman alphabet, the Reference Number, your sex and the test date.
- Eiken says a candidate who has not completed the procedure by the deadline cannot sit the test.
JSAF: an upload to your booking page
JSAF's English FAQ says to upload a copy of your renewed passport on your Booking Page at least 3 days before your test day. That is an upload ahead of the test: on the day itself, JSAF's FAQ still asks for the original passport.
Check Eiken's news before you use the inquiry form. Eiken's news page lists a notice dated 22 October 2026 saying that its IELTS inquiry form and its Test Report Form request form are temporarily suspended for urgent system maintenance by its service provider. The notice asks candidates to email the Tokyo or Osaka test centre in the meantime and says Eiken will announce when the forms resume; when read on 24 October 2026 it gave no end date. Because Eiken's renewal step asks you to use its inquiry form, read the notice before you act. It may no longer be current when you read this.
This page gives no advice on a lost, delayed or expired passport, or on a particular booking. For your own case, ask the organiser you booked with.
The identity check on test day
Eiken's FAQ lists the identity check on test day as three steps:
- a check of the original passport you registered at booking;
- a scan of your right index finger;
- a photo taken on test day.
The same FAQ says the photo taken on test day is printed on your Test Report Form. For JSAF, the FAQ lines read cover the passport only: bring the valid original, and no copy is needed. This page describes only the lines read. For everything beyond ID, such as arrival time and the day's timetable, see the booking and test-day guide and the organiser's own pages.
If you do not have a passport yet
Eiken's wording puts the passport before the booking: booking needs a passport valid on the test date, and the passport number you register is the one you must show. Someone who holds only a driving licence or a My Number card therefore has to deal with the passport first, because Eiken's FAQ says those documents cannot be used to take the test.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) says, on its page on applying for a passport and receiving it (in Japanese), that from application to issue a passport usually takes about two weeks in Japan, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. That page is MOFA's example for a first-time application, and the figure is MOFA's usual one, not a promise, so your own timeline can differ. Because the figure leaves out Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, the calendar time is longer than two weeks. This page gives no passport-application advice: MOFA's page is the place for the steps and documents.
There is a contrast worth knowing. The same MOFA page lists a My Number card or a driving licence among the documents of which one is enough to confirm your identity when you apply for a passport (it says the list shown is only part of the full list). That is the passport application. Eiken's FAQ says those documents cannot be used to take IELTS.
Related guides
- Booking IELTS on computer in Japan and what happens on test day;
- IELTS test centres in Japan, by operator;
- IELTS for under-18s and high-school students in Japan: extra rules for younger candidates are there, not repeated here;
- Computer-delivered IELTS in Japan, for the format;
- Academic or General Training and IELTS scores for study abroad, for which test and which score to aim at.
Lessons with Mike, wherever you sit the test
Mike holds the Cambridge CELTA, is based in Hanoi and scored 8.5 in IELTS Speaking. He teaches IELTS one-to-one on Google Meet, in English only. Band Booster is online only: there is no classroom or test centre in Japan, and there are no group classes. A lesson can cover Listening, Reading, Writing (Task 1 and Task 2, marked against the public band descriptors) or Speaking (Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format, with feedback during the lesson). The booking page shows your price in your own currency before you pay, and a paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking. No band is promised. More is on the online IELTS tutor for Japan page and in About Mike.
Fees and dates: check the organisers
The exam fee and test dates are set by the organiser you book with, not by Band Booster, so this page quotes no exam fee or test date, and both can change. Start from Eiken's test information page or JSAF's booking page, or from the page of the organiser you plan to use. Lesson prices are separate: the booking page shows yours before you pay.