JLPT guide
JLPT exam day: how the sitting runs
The Japanese is the part you prepared for. The day has a shape too.
The Japanese in the exam is the part you have prepared for. The day itself has a shape, and knowing it is worth a few marks to anybody who would otherwise spend the first section settling down.
Before the day
- The voucher. Your test voucher with the photo on it is what gets you into the room. Print it if your host sends it as a file, and check the venue on it — in big cities it is often not the building you registered at.
- The venue, once, in advance. JLPT sittings are on Sunday mornings in university buildings that are otherwise closed. Signage is thin and staff are few.
- Pencils, not pens. The answer sheet is read by a machine: HB or No.2 pencils and a clean eraser. Bring two of each.
How the sitting runs
You are seated by candidate number. The booklets are handed out face down and collected between sections — you cannot go back to a section once its booklet is gone, and you cannot start the next one early.
The total sitting is longer than the sum of the papers, because there are breaks and instructions between them:
| Level | Papers | Time on the clock |
|---|---|---|
| N5 | Three | 90 min |
| N4 | Three | 115 min |
| N3 | Three | 140 min |
| N2 | Two | 155 min |
| N1 | Two | 165 min |
Listening is always last, it is played through the room's speakers, and it is played once. There is no pause between questions beyond what is on the recording.
The rules that catch people out
- Phones off and away — not on silent, off and in your bag.
- No electronic dictionaries, no rulers, no correction tape.
- Watches: some venues allow a silent analogue watch and some ban watches entirely. There is a clock in the room either way. Check the instructions your host sent.
- Latecomers may be refused entry to the first section. The doors close before the stated start time, not at it.
Rules vary a little by country and host, so the sheet that came with your voucher beats anything written here.
The rehearsal is the point
Almost everything above is about not being surprised. The cheapest way to buy that is to sit a full paper on the clock at least once before the day — same length, same order, listening last and played once. Every paper on this site runs that way: N5 · N4 · N3 · N2 · N1.