JLPT results: dates, how to check them and the pass mark

When do JLPT results come out?

In Japan, results appear in MyJLPT in late January for the December test and late August for the July test, and the paper result follows about a month later. JEES, the organization that runs the test in Japan, posts the exact MyJLPT and mailing dates on its site in late January for the December test.

Plans can slip. JEES planned mid-February for the December 2025 mailing and sent it on 26 February. jlpt.jp says paper Score Reports go out in early September (July test) and early February (December test) in Japan, which does not match the actual 2025 and 2026 mailings. Use the JEES dates. You cannot get results earlier than the formal notification.

Sources: JEES: December 2026 test guide, JEES: July 2026 test guide, JEES FAQ: results, JEES: December 2026 guideline (PDF), JEES: home page (1), JEES: home page (2), JEES: home page (3), jlpt.jp: results online

How to check your JLPT result in Japan

1. Log in to MyJLPTResults appear on the "Test Result and Certificate Issuance" screen. You log in with your MyJLPT ID and password on the top page of the JEES JLPT site.
2. Wait a little on release dayThe MyJLPT screen is hard to reach right after results go up; wait before logging in.
3. Do not use a screen printout as proofA printout of the MyJLPT screen is not an official certificate. If a school or employer needs proof, order a Certificate of Result and Scores (see below).
4. Wait for the paper resultJEES does not give results by phone or email. The paper result is mailed to the address on your application, so check the mailbox section below.
5. If the paper result does not arriveIf the paper result has not arrived about a week after the mailing date, call the Application Center. For the July 2026 test, JEES mailed results on 25 September 2026 and asks you to call from 13 October if yours has not come by 12 October. Contact: JLPT Application Center, 03-6686-2974, 9:30 to 17:30 on weekdays; no email inquiries.

Sources: JEES: application notes, JEES: applying in MyJLPT, JEES: home page (1), JEES FAQ: results, JEES: home page (2), JEES: MyJLPT

Make sure the paper result reaches you

• The paper result is mailed to the address you entered on the application.
• Put your name on the mailbox in kanji or katakana and Roman letters, or the voucher and results may not be delivered.
• You can change the mailing address for paper results (Japan only) on MyJLPT 'Check and Modify applicants’ information' from 7 to 25 December 2026. For July 2026 it was 6 to 24 July.
• To have December 2026 results sent overseas, mail a copy of the voucher and a stamped envelope between 7 and 25 December 2026 (postmark).
• If the result comes back undeliverable because of your error, you are charged postage to resend it.
• The paper result (Score Report) cannot be reissued, so keep it safe.

Sources: JEES: applying in MyJLPT, JEES: application notes, JEES: December 2026 test guide

JLPT results if you sat the test outside Japan

Outside Japan, the report reaches you through your local host institution.

• jlpt.jp gives two timings. Its FAQ says early October for the July test and early March for the December test, and its results page says the middle of October and the middle of March. Ask your host for the date.
• You can also check online on the jlpt.jp results page. When online results appear, and what they show, varies by test location.
• Overseas online results for July 2026 were open 27 August to 31 October 2026 (JST).
• Overseas online results exclude South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Macau, which use their own sites.
• Duplicates stopped being free overseas from April 2025. Overseas: errors reported within one year of the test date are corrected and reissued.

Sources: jlpt.jp: FAQ, jlpt.jp: results online, Japan Foundation Sydney: JLPT, jlpt.jp: announcement

JLPT passing score: the pass mark for N1 to N5

To pass you need two things at once: a total at or above the pass mark, and at least the minimum in every scoring section.

These pass marks have applied since the July 2010 test (December 2010 for N4 and N5). Scores are scaled, so you cannot work out your score by counting correct answers. Scaling also means the same ability gets the same score whichever session you sat.

Sources: jlpt.jp: scoring and pass marks, jlpt.jp: FAQ, jlpt.jp: points system, jlpt.jp: CEFR level on score reports

What a sectional score means

Your result is split into scoring sections, and each one has its own minimum. N1, N2 and N3 have three scoring sections (Language Knowledge, Reading, Listening) of 0-60 each, total 0-180. N4 and N5 have two scoring sections: Language Knowledge and Reading combined (0-120) and Listening (0-60).

At N1 and N2, vocabulary, grammar and reading are one section in the exam room, but they are reported as two scores, Language Knowledge and Reading.

For example, the N3 total pass mark is 95 and the minimum in each section is 19 of 60. A total of 140 with 18 in Listening is a fail. A total of 95 made of 19, 19 and 57 is a pass.

If you miss a section you fail and the score report shows asterisks instead of any section scores.

Sources: jlpt.jp: scoring and pass marks, jlpt.jp: test sections and times

What your JLPT score report shows

• The Score Report shows scores per scoring section, a total score, and 'reference information': percentage correct per area, and a CEFR level if you passed.
• The report also shows how well you did in vocabulary, grammar and reading as a band: A means 67% or more correct, B means 34% to 66% and C means under 34%.
• A percentile rank is not shown to examinees in Japan. Overseas, it is printed only for people who passed, and it is the share of examinees scoring below you across the six latest tests.
• Each test's published data includes a "Cumulative Distribution of Scaled Scores" chart, so anyone can estimate where a score sits.
• Score reports are not issued to people who did not take the test.

Sources: jlpt.jp: CEFR level on score reports, jlpt.jp: understanding your score report (PDF), jlpt.jp: FAQ, jlpt.jp: test data by test, jlpt.jp: scoring and pass marks

The CEFR level on your JLPT score report

The CEFR level is shown on score reports from the December 2025 JLPT, for reference only. The pass mark table above shows the level that goes with each total score.

• CEFR is shown only to people who pass; failing candidates see an asterisk.
• CEFR is given for the total score only, not per section.
• The CEFR level plays no part in pass or fail.
• The CEFR level covers linguistic and reception skills; speaking and writing (production and interaction) are not included.
• Not every N3 passer is B1; 95 to 103 is shown as A2.
• Score reports and certificates from July 2025 and earlier stay valid without a CEFR level.
• Whether a school or employer accepts the CEFR indication is for them to say; ask the institution.

Sources: jlpt.jp: CEFR level on score reports, jlpt.jp: FAQ

JLPT certificates: which one you get and which you can get again

Tests taken in Japan produce three documents, and only one of them can be reissued.

The JLPT certificate never expires, though employers and schools can set their own time limits. Employers can check authenticity with JEES (tests in Japan) or the Japan Foundation (overseas).

Sources: jlpt.jp: CEFR level on score reports, jlpt.jp: scoring and pass marks, JEES: application notes, JEES FAQ: results, JEES: certificate issuance, jlpt.jp: FAQ

How to get a copy of your JLPT certificate

1. Log in to MyJLPTLog in to MyJLPT, click 'Test Result and Certificate Issuance', and apply. You can apply for tests taken after the 1st test of 2012 if you applied through MyJLPT.
2. Pay the feeReissue (Certificate of Result and Scores): 1,000 yen per copy; express +500 yen; overseas EMS +1,000 yen. No cancellation or refund of issuance and mailing fees once paid.
3. Choose express only if you have a deadlineExpress adds 500 yen but only speeds delivery after shipment, not the time before shipping. Applications spike right after results; JEES asks people with a deadline to choose express.
4. Wait for deliveryDelivery in Japan: about 1 to 2 weeks after payment is confirmed; longer from late January to March and late August to October.
5. If you lost your score reportIf you lost your report you can upload your passport page instead when requesting a copy.

The photo on a copy is the one registered for that test, and a certificate is not reissued under a new name after a name change. If you applied on paper before 2019, you use a separate Certificate Issuance ID instead. If your results or Certificate of Japanese-Language Proficiency contain an error, tell the Application Center. The correction costs 1,000 yen and may not be possible for every kind of error.

Sources: JEES: certificate issuance, JEES: home page, JEES FAQ: results, JEES: December 2026 test guide

JLPT pass rates by level (December 2025, Japan)

In Japan in December 2025, 447,285 people applied, 402,228 sat the test and 111,091 passed, which is 27.6%.

How to read this: the rate is the number who passed divided by the number who sat. 'Examinees' includes people who sat only some sections, so the pass rate is lower than pass share among people who sat the full test. A pass rate describes who took that test on that day. It does not measure how hard a level is for you. Only about 5,000 people sit N5 in Japan per test, so its 53.5% describes a small group. Rates also move: the overall rate in Japan was 33.5% in July 2025 and 27.6% in December 2025. Use the table to see how levels compare. It cannot predict your own result. We could not find pass data for the July 2026 test on jlpt.jp on October 5, 2026.

Sources: jlpt.jp: test data by test (1), jlpt.jp: test data by test (2), jlpt.jp: test data by test (3)

What to do if you failed the JLPT

1. Find out which test you missedYou fail if the total is below the pass mark or if any scoring section is below its minimum, however high the total is. Compare each section score with the minimums in the pass mark table above.
2. Read the percentage bandsThe A, B and C bands for vocabulary, grammar and reading show which area lost you the most.
3. Expect to retake the whole testYou cannot retake only the section you failed; pass or fail is judged only when you take all sections in one sitting. You cannot apply to take only some sections. We found no limit on how many times you can sit the test.
4. Do not expect a re-markThere is no re-marking and no results inquiry. Scores are checked by specialists and the JLPT does not take inquiries about an individual's results.
5. Plan the next sitting earlyThe JLPT runs twice a year, July and December; some overseas cities hold only one. As of 5 October 2026 no 2027 test date, application window, fee or eligibility rule for Japan is published on info.jees-jlpt.jp or jlpt.jp. The home page lists only the two 2026 tests. Seats ran out before the deadline in both 2026 rounds, so apply on the first day: how to register for the JLPT.
6. Decide whether to wait for your July resultYou can apply for December after seeing July results, but the December fee is not refunded if you passed in July. July results appear in MyJLPT from the end of August, and in 2026 the December window for N1 and N2 closed on 31 August. If you wait for the result, you may lose the seat.
7. Check what you needIf a visa or school deadline is behind the retake, another test may count: JLPT for visas and work. For study material, see the JLPT study guide and practice tests.

Sources: jlpt.jp: scoring and pass marks, jlpt.jp: CEFR level on score reports, jlpt.jp: FAQ, JEES FAQ: results, JEES: home page, JEES: notice (1), JEES FAQ: applying, JEES: notice (2)

If you did not pass: a teacher for the weak section

A score report shows which section held you back.

italki

• One-to-one lessons by video with a teacher you choose
• Up to 3 trial lessons, one per teacher
• Pay per lesson, no subscription needed

Price: Each teacher sets the price in US dollars, and many offer a discounted trial lesson

• Fits you if one section was under its minimum and you want a teacher to work on it with you.
• Not for you if you passed, or if you only need a copy of your certificate.

Source: italki

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