What kind of property can serve as the office and the parking for the escort vehicle of a driving-agency (daiko) business?

The key point: The office of a driving-agency business is the "principal office" entered on the certification application, so choose a property whose office use conforms to the zoning district and the purpose of the lease. The storage place (garage) for the escort vehicle must be secured, under the Garage Act, within roughly 2 km in a straight line of the base of operations. Settle the property's use conformity and the garage on the real-estate side first, and take the certification application to the public safety commission separately through an administrative scrivener.

When starting an automobile driving-agency (unten-daiko) business, people wonder whether any property can serve as the office and how far away the parking for the escort vehicle may be. Driving agency is a business operated under the certification of the prefectural public safety commission. The application states the location of the principal office, and the storage place for the escort vehicle must be secured.

There are cases where someone signs for a property first, only to find the office use or the garage distance does not meet the requirements, stalling the certification. Whether a property can clear certification is best checked by dividing it into the real-estate side (zoning, lease, securing the garage) and the permit side (certification requirements and application).

Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (四葉不動産株式会社), based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, provides investigation of commercial property and lease brokerage. We can start from what can be confirmed before contracting, for a property that will serve as the office and the storage place for the escort vehicle.

What are the conditions for a property to serve as the "office" of a driving agency?

The governing law is the Act on Ensuring Appropriate Operation of Automobile Driving Agency Business (Driving Agency Act, Act No. 57 of 2001, last amended by Act No. 42 of 2020). Article 2 defines a driving-agency business as a business providing the service of driving an automobile on another's behalf, meeting all of the following: mainly at night providing the service to an intoxicated customer who has been served alcohol, having that person ride, and using as a matter of course an escort vehicle to accompany the automobile being driven (the "driven automobile").

Article 4 provides that to run a driving-agency business you must obtain the certification of the prefectural public safety commission. The application is generally made via the police station (traffic section) with jurisdiction over the location of the principal office. In other words, the office corresponds to the business base entered on the certification application.

To check	Points to look at on the property side
Use	Whether the building can be used as an office. A residence-only property may not match the use purpose
Lease purpose	Whether "office of a driving-agency business" can be included in the lease's use purpose, and the scope of the lessor's consent
Signage	Whether a signboard or company name can be displayed (building rules, lessor's permission)
Operation setup	Whether phones and equipment for dispatch and reception can be installed, and neighbours' understanding of a late-night operation

The Driving Agency Act does not set detailed structural standards for the office. So what matters first on the property side is whether office use is permitted under the zoning restrictions and whether it conforms to the lease's use purpose. Judging the certification requirements and the disqualifications themselves is the field of the administrative scrivener and the public safety commission.

The certification requirements (the disqualifications in article 3, damage-compensation measures, the safe-driving manager, etc.) and the application flow are covered on the administrative scrivener's side in Requirements for driving-agency certification, office and escort vehicle (Japanese). This article is limited to the real-estate side of finding a property that can clear that certification.

How far away may the storage place (garage) for the escort vehicle be?

The escort vehicle accompanies the employee who drives the customer's car and brings them back. Because it is an automobile, it is subject to the Act on Securing Parking Spaces for Automobiles (Garage Act, Act No. 145 of 1962).

Article 3 of the Garage Act imposes on the owner a duty to secure a storage place other than on a road, and leaves the requirements to a cabinet order. The enforcement order requires, among other things, that the straight-line distance between the storage place and the base of operations not exceed roughly 2 km. For a driving agency, this means securing the escort vehicle's garage within 2 km in a straight line of the office (the base of operations).

To check	Points to look at on the property side
Distance	Whether the straight-line distance from the office to the garage is within 2 km
Consent of use	When renting a monthly lot, whether a certificate of consent to use the storage place can be obtained from the lessor
Number	Whether there are enough bays for the number of escort vehicles, and room to add vehicles
Night operation	Impact of late-night entry/exit and standby on neighbours (noise, light)

Where the storage place is leased rather than owned, a certificate of the lessor's consent to use the storage place is needed. Confirm before contracting whether such consent can be obtained. Preparing and submitting the application for the storage-place certificate (garage certificate) is the administrative scrivener's work, and we do not act as agent for the application. We organise the real-estate step of securing the garage.

The framework differs from an office and garage for a transport business. For finding a base for freight transport, see Requirements for a property to serve as a transport-business office and garage (Japanese).

What to watch for in zoning and the lease agreement?

Even if the office and the garage each meet the requirements separately, a property can stall on its location and contract terms. Because driving agency operates late at night, check the relationship with neighbours too.

To check	Content
Zoning	Whether office use can be built in the district; residential-type districts may restrict scale or use
Use purpose	Whether the lease's use purpose includes the office and garage; whether there is a clause prohibiting use outside the stated purpose
Restoration	Treatment at move-out when installing signage or marking out bays
Neighbours	Neighbours' understanding of late-night dispatch and entry/exit; noise, light and standby on the street

Judgments on zoning and building feasibility are the field of the architect and the designated administrative agency. Do not assume "this district can be used as an office"; check the zoning and the building's condition for each property. Signing with a mismatched lease purpose can reveal, at the certification-preparation stage, that the property cannot be used as an office. Brokerage and the important-matters explanation for the lease are handled by us; we organise the use purpose and the scope of the lessor's consent before contracting.

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As with late-night food-and-entertainment uses, the impact on neighbours is a point to consider from the site-selection stage. The reasoning on reading property, zoning and neighbour relations is also useful in Reading zoning for a commercial property (Japanese).

Which should you progress first, the certification application or the property contract? (Separate mandates)

In opening a driving agency, the property, garage, insurance and application span different businesses. Getting the order wrong can leave a contracted property unusable or insurance not in place in time.

Role	Who handles it
Investigation and lease brokerage of the office/garage property	Real-estate business (our company)
Preparing the certification application and storage-place (garage) certificate	Administrative scrivener
Damage-compensation measures (insurance)	Insurance company
Company incorporation and registration	Judicial scrivener
Disputes and legal evaluation	Lawyer

In practice, the clear order is to settle the office's use conformity and the escort vehicle's garage (within 2 km in a straight line) on the real-estate side first, then take the certification application to the administrative scrivener. Because damage-compensation measures relate to a certification requirement (article 3 of the Driving Agency Act), confirm the insurance contract in parallel.

These are each independent businesses, and you contract with them separately. We handle the real-estate side of the property and garage, and refer the certification and garage-certificate applications to an administrative scrivener and the insurance to an insurance company. We do not receive referral fees. Note that carrying customers in the escort vehicle involves the passenger-transport permit, so confirm with the transport bureau and an administrative scrivener.

How can you consult Yotsuba Real Estate about a driving-agency property?

Those considering opening a driving agency can contact Yotsuba Real Estate directly to request investigation and lease brokerage of a property that will serve as the office and garage. Please first tell us:

• The area where you plan to open and the desired office size
• The number of escort vehicles and the number of garage bays you want to secure
• Whether the office and garage will be in the same building or rented separately
• Your desired opening time

Yotsuba Real Estate investigates the use conformity of a property that can be the office, the lease's use purpose and the escort vehicle's garage (securing it within 2 km in a straight line), and organises what can be confirmed before contracting. Judging the certification requirements and applying is the administrative scrivener's work; insurance the insurance company's; registration the judicial scrivener's—each independent businesses that you contract with separately.

Consult Yotsuba Real Estate about a driving-agency property and garage—initial consultation is free

In your message, write "driving-agency office and garage" and include the planned area and the number of escort vehicles. Without presuming whether certification can be obtained, we begin with which properties and garages to compare and in what order to proceed to the application.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can I use a room in my home as a driving-agency office?
A. In a residence-only property, the lease's use purpose or the zoning restrictions may prevent use as an office. Even if you own it, the building rules and zoning must be checked. We organise, before contracting, whether the property can serve as the principal office entered on the certification application.

Q. May the escort vehicle's garage be far from the office?
A. The Garage Act enforcement order requires that the straight-line distance between the storage place and the base of operations not exceed roughly 2 km. Secure the garage within 2 km in a straight line of the office. When renting a monthly lot, confirm whether you can obtain the lessor's certificate of consent to use the storage place.

Q. It would be a problem if certification is refused after I contract for the property. What order should I follow?
A. The clear order is to settle the office's use conformity and the escort vehicle's garage on the real-estate side first, and take the certification application to the administrative scrivener separately. Because the damage-compensation measures (insurance) relate to a certification requirement, confirm them in parallel. Property, garage, application and insurance are contracted with separate businesses.

Q. Can a real-estate company also apply for the garage certificate?
A. Preparing and submitting the storage-place certificate (garage certificate) application is the administrative scrivener's work. We do not act as agent for the application. We handle investigation and lease brokerage of the property that will be the garage, and connect you to an administrative scrivener for the application. Obtaining the lessor's certificate of consent to use the storage place is organised as a lease condition.

Sources

The following public materials are starting points for investigation. Laws are amended, so check the current text, enforcement date and latest amendment on e-Gov Law Search. All were consulted on 18 October 2026. They do not establish the use/garage conformity or the feasibility of certification for an individual property. The sources below are in Japanese.

• e-Gov Law Search: Act on Ensuring Appropriate Operation of Automobile Driving Agency Business (Act No. 57 of 2001), art. 2 (definitions), art. 3 (certification requirements), art. 4 (certification by the public safety commission), art. 17 (display on the escort vehicle)
• e-Gov Law Search: Act on Securing Parking Spaces for Automobiles (Act No. 145 of 1962), art. 3: the duty to secure a storage place and the requirements set by cabinet order
• e-Gov Law Search: Road Traffic Act: the safe-driving manager (art. 74-3) and others
• Nagano Prefectural Police, "About the automobile driving-agency business", and Kanagawa Prefectural Police, "Certification application for the automobile driving-agency business": guidance on where and how to apply (handling differs by prefecture)

This article provides general information. Individual legal judgments require review by the appropriately qualified professional. It does not guarantee zoning conformity, the feasibility of certification, or the garage's conformity.

Joji Uramatsu (浦松 丈二), Representative Director and licensed real estate transaction specialist, Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (四葉不動産株式会社). We provide commercial-property investigation and lease brokerage. Author profile

Updated: 18 October 2026