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Condominium Management Center, a public interest incorporated foundation designated as the examining body by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Legal Licensed Condominium Manager (Manshon Kanrishi) Examination

The Condominium Manager examination is a national exam held under the Act on the Promotion of Proper Condominium Management to decide whether a candidate is qualified to become a Condominium Manager. It is run once a year by the Condominium Management Center, a public interest incorporated foundation designated by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The paper has 50 four-option multiple-choice questions answered on a mark sheet, with a time limit of 120 minutes. Questions come from four areas: laws and practice relating to condominium management; the smooth running of the management association; the structure and equipment of the building and its ancillary facilities; and the Proper Management Act itself. There are no eligibility requirements, and anyone may sit it regardless of age or education. It is held in eight cities from Sapporo to Naha, with the same paper sat simultaneously across the country. In FY2025, 10,984 people sat the exam, 1,210 passed, and the pass rate was 11.0%.

Official page

Who takes it

  • Unit owners who serve as a director or chair of their condominium's management association
  • Front-line staff at condominium management companies who want to put their advice to management associations on a systematic footing
  • People who have already passed the Kanri Gyomu Shuninsha examination and want to use the five-question exemption to move on to this wider syllabus
  • Staff at design offices and contractors who are consulted on large-scale repairs and long-term repair plans
  • Real estate and construction practitioners who want questions about the Act on Building Unit Ownership to be part of the work they handle

What it lets you do

  • Registering after you pass makes you a Condominium Manager, a position from which you can advise a management association on running the association and on structural problems with the building, backed by recognised expertise.
  • People who have passed the Kanri Gyomu Shuninsha examination can apply to be exempted from part of this exam (subject area 4), leaving 45 questions, so the two qualifications share study ground.
  • The four subject areas span the Act on Building Unit Ownership, the standard management bylaws, the standard management contract, management association accounting, building equipment, and the Proper Management Act, covering the whole of what a management association has to deal with.
  • The exam is held in eight regions, centred on Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Naha, with the same paper sat simultaneously nationwide.
  • The average age of those who passed in FY2025 was 48.4 and the oldest was 80, so people sit and pass it at any age.

The exam

As published by Condominium Management Center, a public interest incorporated foundation designated as the examining body by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Anything we could not confirm is left out. Check the official page before you apply.

Questions
50 questions (45 for candidates granted the partial exemption)
Time
120 minutes (1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.; candidates with the partial exemption sit from 1:10 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., 110 minutes)
Pass mark
No fixed passing score. A minimum passing score is published for each year's exam, and for FY2025 it was 42 or more correct out of 50 (37 or more out of 45 for candidates with the partial exemption).
Fee
JPY 9,400 (tax exempt). Online applications carry a separate handling fee of JPY 317.
Format
Written examination, 50 four-option multiple-choice questions, answered on a mark sheet
Languages
Japanese
When it runs
Once a year. The FY2026 exam is on Sunday, November 29. Postal applications run from August 3 to August 31 (postmark deadline) and online applications from 10:00 a.m. on August 3 to 4:00 p.m. on September 30. Results are announced on Friday, January 8, 2027.
Validity and renewal
The application guide says nothing about an expiry for passing the exam. To become a Condominium Manager you must register after passing, and people who fall under any item of Article 30, paragraph 1 of the Proper Management Act cannot register.

How hard it is

In FY2025, 10,984 people sat the exam and 1,210 passed, a pass rate of 11.0% (published by the Center). The minimum passing score was 42 or more correct out of 50 (37 or more out of 45 for candidates with the partial exemption), so more than 80% of the paper had to be answered correctly.

How long people study

Not published by the exam body. The Center does not state a standard amount of study time. Preparation schools sometimes suggest around 500 hours, but that is not an official figure.

Syllabus

  • Laws and practice relating to condominium management (Act on Building Unit Ownership, Act on Special Measures concerning Reconstruction of Disaster-Stricken Unit Ownership Buildings, Act on Facilitation of Condominium Reconstruction, Civil Code, Real Property Registration Act, standard management bylaws, standard management contract, etc.)
  • Smooth operation of the management association (the association's organisation and running, its duties and role, handling complaints, litigation and case law, association accounting, etc.)
  • Structure and equipment of the condominium building and its ancillary facilities (structure and equipment, long-term repair plans, building and equipment surveys, large-scale repairs, etc.)
  • The Act on the Promotion of Proper Condominium Management (the Act, the basic policy for promoting proper management, etc.). This is the area covered by the partial exemption.

Our apps and books for this exam

  • Mansion Kanrishi Shikaku Shiken Taisaku Enshu App

    Japanese only

    Mansion Kanrishi (condominium management consultant) exam practice app

    This app's interface and questions are in Japanese.

    Download on the App Store

Questions people ask

How do I get the five-question exemption?
Pass the Kanri Gyomu Shuninsha examination, then enter the pass number from your certificate when you apply. Subject area 4, the Act on the Promotion of Proper Condominium Management, is then exempted and the paper becomes 45 questions. People who completed the transitional course that ended in April 2002 are also eligible. If you do not know your pass number, ask the Condominium Management Companies Association, which is the designated examining body for that exam.
Does the exemption change the exam time as well?
Yes. The normal sitting runs from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., 120 minutes, while candidates with the exemption sit from 1:10 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., 110 minutes. Exempted candidates must still be seated for the instructions to candidates, which begin at 12:30 p.m.
What is the pass mark?
It is not fixed. The minimum passing score for FY2025 was 42 out of 50 (37 out of 45 for candidates with the exemption). The minimum passing score is posted on the Center's website when results are announced. It moves from year to year, but recent years have demanded a high proportion of correct answers.
Can I choose the venue?
You choose among the eight test regions, but where a region has more than one venue the Center assigns it and prints it on your admission ticket. Once applications close, changes of test region for the candidate's own convenience are not accepted.
I hear the postal and online deadlines differ.
They do. For FY2026, postal applications run from August 3 to August 31 (postmark deadline) and online applications from 10:00 a.m. on August 3 to 4:00 p.m. on September 30. Online applications are by credit card only, and a handling fee of JPY 317 applies on top of the JPY 9,400 exam fee.

Sources

These are the pages the figures came from. Some are published in Japanese only, and are marked as such — we keep the original titles rather than translating them, so you can match what you find on the official site. Exam rules change; check the official page before you apply.

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