“Shaken” (車検) is, what we call, vehicle inspection test to examine if your car satisfies “safety standard” regulated by MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism).
“Shaken” needs to be done once every two years. You may forget what documents and certificates to prepare for and what kind procedure to go through at the time you receive a notification of vehicle inspection text. In this article, I want to explain how you can go through the procedure of “Shaken”
Contents
The documents and certificates you need to prepare for
There are roughly two ways to inspect your car. The one is to have your car inspected by a certified maintenance factory or a private maintenance factory. The other one is that you inspect your car yourself. The documents and certificates you need to prepare for are different between the two ways.
The documents you need for the car inspection test by a maintenace factory
- Vehicle inspection certificate “Shakensho” (車検証)
- Car liability insurance certificate “Jidousha songaibaishou sekinin hoken shoumeisho” (自動車損害賠償責任保険証明書)
- Car tax payment certificate “Jidoushazei Nouzei Shoumeisho” (自動車税納税証明書)
If you satisfy the following conditions, car tax payment certificate submission can be exempted.
- You have never fallen behind in tax
- It passed 4 years since you started paying the car tax
- Your car license plate doesn’t belong to Kagoshima, Saga, Ehime, Okayama, Tottori, Hyogo, Osaka, Mie, Gifu, Nagano, Fukui, Toyama (You have never ever got the corresponding license plate even after buying a new one )
Car inspection test is notified by a car dealer and a maintenance factory that you show favor to when it comes close to the car inspection test season. However, you can look for the best car maintenance factory yourself, that presents a reasonable price for you.
If you request your car inspection test to a maintenance factory or a car dealer, all you have to do is just preparing necessary documents and certificates. You don’t have any trouble you about the Shaken procedure but they take care of everything such as Shaken reservation and procedures. You just make sure if you already have to documents above.
Necessary documents and certificates for User Shaken
“User Shaken” is a type of Shaken that the owner inspects his own car himself. A Car owner inspects his own car in accordance with the designated inspecting list in order. However, it is difficult for those who know nothing about a car because if you find some problem in your car, you have to solve it yourself.
- Vehicle inspection certificate “Shakensho” (車検証)
- Car liability insurance certificate “Jidousha songaibaishou sekinin hoken shoumeisho” (自動車損害賠償責任保険証明書), you need old one and new one
- Car tax payment certificate for car inspection test “Jidoushazei Nouzei Shoumeisho” (自動車税納税証明書)
- Car inspection sheet, “Jidousha kensasho” (自動車検査票)
- Car weight tax payment notice “Jidousha Juryouzei Noufu Sho” (自動車重量税納付書)
- Car inspection text application
- Periodic inspection meaintenance record book “Teikitenken Seibikirokubo” (定期点検整備記録簿)
You can get the following documents at the regional Land Transportation Bureau.
- Car inspection sheet, “Jidousha kensasho” (自動車検査票)
- Car weight tax payment notice “Jidousha Juryouzei Noufu Sho” (自動車重量税納付書)
- Car inspection text application
- Periodic inspection meaintenance record book “Teikitenken Seibikirokubo” (定期点検整備記録簿)
You just make an inquiry to a municipal office where the regional land Transportation Bureau is, which takes charge of municipalitiy where you live.
Until before you receive Shaken, you need to renew the contract term of Car liability insurance certificate “Jidousha songaibaishou sekinin hoken shoumeisho” (自動車損害賠償責任保険証明書). Mostly, there are car insurance agency shops around the regional Land Transportation Beaureau and you can apply for it on the day of car inspection test.
Same as you request car inspection test to a maintenance factroy, if you satisfy the following conditions, car tax payment certificate submission can be exempted.
- You have never fallen behind in tax
- It passed 4 years since you started paying the car tax
- Your car license plate doesn’t belong to Kagoshima, Saga, Ehime, Okayama, Tottori, Hyogo, Osaka, Mie, Gifu, Nagano, Fukui, Toyama (You have never ever got the corresponding license plate even after buying a new one )
The car inspection text procedure flow for “User Shaken”
When you do “Shaken” yourself, you need to make a reservation to the land transportation bureau if you have a normal car, and you need to make a reservation to the light vehicle inspection association if you have a small car “Keijidousha” (軽自動車).
Things you need to do before the day of “Shaken”
- Check your if your car can pass car inspection test
- Make a reservation to the regiona land transportation beaureau.
- Make sure all the documents are prepared
- Calculate how much inspection fee costs you in advance
Things you need to do on the day of “Shaken”
- Pay insepction fee and car weight tax
- Apply for renewal of Car liability insurance
- Submit car tax payment ceriticate at car tax confirmation window
- Prepare the rest of documents and ceritificates and submit it to Shaken window
Car weight tax is a type of tax imposed to a normal car and small car inspected by “Shaken”
“User Shaken” will make you receive a good advantage in terms of saving your car inspecting cost but in exchange for this advantage, you should be familiar with your car. Sometimes, you have to fix where your car has a problem as perfectly as your car can be passed through the inspecting test.
do i need to present the PARKING CERTIFICATE (SHAKO SHOMEISHO) during inspection?
Thanks for your comment.
Let me get straight to the point, you don’t need to take the parking certificate with you. This is the document certifies where you park your car, which is needed when you get a number of the car you newly purchase. What you need for Shaken is, “Vehicle inspection certificate (Shakensho)”, “Liability insurance certificate (Jibaiseki-hokensho)”, and “Car tax certificate (Jidosha-nouze-shoumeisho)”.