JLPT Result: How to Check It, Score Report and Certificate

Dr. Jayanthy Ramakrishnan

06/11/2026

11 min read

Your JLPT result reaches you in two forms. First it appears online, on the results site for candidates outside Japan; for the July 2026 test that was seven and a half weeks after test day. Then the paper documents arrive through the host institution in your test city: a Certificate of Result and Scores for everyone, and a Certificate of Proficiency for those who pass.

This guide explains how to check your result online from India, what each line of the score report means, how to read a real example, and what to do if a certificate is lost or carries a mistake. Every date and rule comes from the official JLPT site, jlpt.jp, or from the host institution named, read on 3 November 2026. For the levels, exam pattern and registration, see our JLPT exam guide for India.

When does the JLPT result come out?

The JLPT is held twice a year. In 2026 the tests were on Sunday 5 July and Sunday 6 December, according to the JLPT FAQ. The result then comes out in two steps:

The online dates for July are from the JLPT results announcement page and the overseas results site. The July online window has now closed, so a July 2026 candidate who has not checked must wait for the paper certificate. Our JLPT exam dates for India page tracks the December dates as they are published.

The JLPT’s own pages give slightly different timings for the paper documents. The overseas registration process page says around September for July and around March for December. The FAQ says early October and early March. The results page and the overseas results site say the middle of October and the middle of March. In practice, plan on the later dates. If nothing has arrived by the end of that month, the FAQ asks you to contact the host institution in your test city.

How do you check your JLPT result online in India?

Candidates who took the test outside Japan use the JLPT online test results site for overseas examinees. Candidates in Japan, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), South Korea and Taiwan use their own sites instead, which are listed on the JLPT results page. To log in you need:

• Your 15-digit examinee registration number. For 2026 tests it begins with “26A”; the results site shows where it appears on the application form.
• The 8-digit passcode you set when you applied. It must be numbers only.

The site says you will not be able to see your result online if the passcode you entered on your application had seven digits or fewer, included letters, or was left blank. In that case, wait for the paper Certificate of Result and Scores. If you have forgotten your passcode, the site says to contact your host institution, because the Japan Foundation does not answer passcode queries.

Three more rules from the official pages:

• The online result is not the formal notice. The overseas results site calls the Certificate of Result and Scores the formal notification of your result.
• The window is limited. Each session’s online result is available only for a set period, which for July 2026 ended on 31 October.
• No results by phone or email. The JLPT FAQ says it cannot answer questions about results by telephone or email, for any reason.

The JLPT also accepts no requests to recheck a score. Its FAQ says scores are checked by specialists, and that it does not take enquiries about an individual’s test results.

What is on the JLPT score report?

Candidates outside Japan receive a Certificate of Result and Scores, which is the overseas version of what candidates in Japan call the Score Report. The JLPT’s guide, Understanding JLPT Certificates (PDF), explains each part:

• Scores by scoring section. N1, N2 and N3 have three sections, each scored 0–60: Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar), Reading and Listening. N4 and N5 have two: Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) and Reading combined, scored 0–120, and Listening, scored 0–60.
• Total score, out of 180 at every level.
• Pass or fail. Only the section scores and the total decide this.
• Three items of reference information, which do not affect pass or fail: the percentage of correct responses, a percentile rank and a CEFR level. Each is explained below.

All scores are scaled scores, not a count of correct answers. The JLPT’s explanation of scaled scores (PDF) says they are calculated with Item Response Theory from your pattern of right and wrong answers, so that the same ability earns the same score whichever test you sit. The FAQ adds that a candidate with many correct answers can still receive a relatively modest scaled score.

What are the JLPT pass marks?

To pass, you need the overall pass mark and the sectional pass mark in every scoring section. One section below its minimum means you fail, however high the total. These are the marks on the official scoring page, in use since 2010:

If you miss any test section, you fail. You still receive a certificate, but it shows no score for any section, including those you sat; the scores appear as asterisks, such as “**/60”. A candidate who missed the whole test receives nothing.

You also cannot resit only the section you failed. The FAQ says pass or fail is decided only for candidates who take every section at the same sitting.

What do the A, B and C grades, the percentile and the CEFR level mean?

These three items sit under “Reference Information” on the certificate. According to Understanding JLPT Certificates:

• Percentage of correct responses (A, B or C). This breaks one scoring section into its areas, such as Vocabulary and Grammar. A means 67% or more correct, B means 34% to 66%, and C means less than 34%. It shows where you lost marks.
• Percentile rank. Shown only to candidates who passed outside Japan, excluding those exempt from Listening. It is the percentage of examinees in the six latest tests, including yours, who scored lower than you. A failed candidate sees an asterisk. The JLPT also publishes a chart, the “cumulative distribution of scaled scores”, about four months after each test in its past test data.
• CEFR level. Shown only to candidates who passed, for tests from December 2025 on. It matches your total score to a level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, covering reading, listening and language knowledge only, not speaking or writing.

The CEFR level depends on your total score within the level you passed:

Certificates for tests in or before July 2025 show an asterisk in the CEFR column, including duplicate copies issued now. The FAQ says those certificates remain valid; the CEFR level is reference information only. More detail is on the JLPT CEFR reference page.

How do you read a JLPT score report? A worked example

Take the N1–N3 sample on the JLPT’s score report explanation, and read it as an N2 result:

Now change one number. Keep the same total of 120 but make the split 60, 42 and 18. Listening is now below 19, so the result is a fail, despite a total 30 marks above the pass mark. A failed result shows no percentile rank and no CEFR level, and no Certificate of Proficiency is issued.

The A, B and C grades are the most useful part when you plan a resit. A “B” in grammar with an “A” in vocabulary points to grammar as the area to work on.

How does the certificate reach you in India?

Outside Japan the documents go through the host institution in the city where you sat the test, not directly from Japan. The JLPT list of overseas test cities names the host for each Indian city, for example the Mombusho Scholars Association of India (MOSAI) in New Delhi and the Japanese Language Teachers’ Association, Pune (JALTAP) for Pune and Mumbai.

Each host sets its own delivery process. MOSAI’s July 2026 result notice, for New Delhi candidates, says:

• it posts the certificate and score card to the address on your application form, once they arrive from the Japan Foundation, Tokyo;
• if yours does not arrive, you can collect it in person from the MOSAI office within two years of the result announcement;
• after two years, MOSAI can no longer provide it.

If you sat the test in another city, check that host’s own notice, and keep your Test Voucher and the address you gave until the certificate is in your hands.

What if your JLPT certificate is lost or has a mistake?

If it is lost, the FAQ says you can order a duplicate of the Certificate of Result and Scores for a fee. The JLPT’s certificate issuance page describes this certificate as showing your pass or fail result and your section scores, and as official proof for schools and companies. For tests taken outside Japan, the overseas duplicate page sets out the process:

• Apply online with the form on that page. You receive an email with a 7-digit application number, then pay; an application without a payment confirmation email is not processed.
• Fee: ¥1,000 per copy, plus ¥1,000 for shipping outside Japan.
• Time: up to four to five weeks to issue, and a week or more for post to some areas. It can take longer just after results come out and during Japanese holidays.
• When you can apply for the latest test: from the next business day after the online result announcement, scheduled for early September for July tests and early February for December tests. Earlier applications are invalid and the fee is not refunded.
• No shortcuts: no express or priority delivery, no electronic version, no collection in person, and no cancellation or refund once paid.

If you need the certificate for a university or job deadline, apply well ahead of it, as the page itself advises.

If your name or date of birth is wrong, the FAQ says certificates from tests outside Japan are corrected and reissued only if you report the error within a year of the test date, through your host institution. Bring your Test Voucher or application form, the photo ID you used to apply, and the original certificates. A name change after the test date is not a mistake and will not be corrected.

How do you prove your JLPT result to a university or employer?

The Certificate of Result and Scores is the document the JLPT presents as official proof for admission and employment. It shows your section scores as well as the pass or fail result. If a university asks for your result before the paper copy arrives, ask whether it accepts the online result; the JLPT itself treats the paper certificate as the formal notice.

An institution that wants to confirm a certificate is genuine can ask the JLPT. For tests taken outside Japan, the FAQ directs these checks to the Japan Foundation Center for Japanese-Language Testing.

Does a JLPT result expire?

No. The JLPT FAQ says the JLPT certificate never expires, and results of the old test up to 2009 also stay valid. It adds that companies and educational institutions sometimes set their own time limit on the certificate, so check with each one you apply to.

Old-format certificates need some care. Scores from the test before 2010 cannot be compared with current scores, because the content and scoring method are different.

If you are planning a degree in Japan and want help working out which level your programme needs, or how a JLPT result fits your application timeline, talk to our Japan admissions team.