Japan Vehicle Recycling Fee Estimator
Get a quick estimate of Japan's automobile recycling fee (rikuru ryokin) by vehicle class — kei car, compact, standard, or large/SUV. Includes a breakdown of the fee and how to look up the exact amount.
Estimated recycling fee by vehicle class
| Vehicle class | Estimated fee |
|---|---|
| Kei car (light vehicle) | 7,000 〜 10,000yen |
| Compact car | 9,000 〜 13,000yen |
| Standard car (sedan / minivan) | 11,000 〜 16,000yen |
| Large car / SUV / imported car | 14,000 〜 18,000yen |
These figures are rough estimates per vehicle class. The actual fee is set individually for each model and grade. To check the exact amount, look up your vehicle's model code (from the shaken certificate) on the official Automobile Recycling System website.
What Is the Automobile Recycling Fee? Check Estimates by Vehicle Class
Japan's automobile recycling fee is a deposit paid when you acquire a car, covering the future cost of disposing of it responsibly. The exact amount is set individually for every model, but a rough estimate can be found by vehicle class — kei car, compact, standard, or large/SUV — which is handy when budgeting for a new car purchase or a scrap-out.
Just click a vehicle class in this tool to see the estimated total, including shredder dust, airbag, and refrigerant processing costs plus the information and fund management fees. For the exact figure you'll still need to look up your model code on the official Automobile Recycling System website, but this gives you a solid starting estimate.
How to Check the Estimated Recycling Fee
- Identify your vehicle class Check whether your car (owned or planned) falls under kei car, compact, standard, or large/SUV — body size and type are the main clues.
- Click the matching row in the table Clicking a row displays the estimated fee for that class below the table.
- Review the estimated total and its breakdown Check the total including the information and fund management fees.
- Look up the exact amount on the official site if needed Use the model code from your shaken certificate to search the official Automobile Recycling System website for a precise, per-vehicle figure.
Tips for getting more out of it
- For the exact amount, look up your vehicle's model code (printed on the shaken certificate) on the official Automobile Recycling System website.
- When buying a used car, the recycling fee has usually already been deposited by the previous owner and is simply passed on as part of the purchase price, so you rarely pay it separately.
- When you ask a scrapper or dealer to permanently deregister your car, check the quote to see whether the recycling fee is listed as a separate line item.
- Cars without air conditioning skip the refrigerant fee, so they tend to cost slightly less than an equivalent car with A/C, even within the same vehicle class.
When to Use This Recycling Fee Estimator
Budgeting for a new car purchase
Knowing the rough recycling fee upfront makes it easier to estimate the total out-the-door cost beyond the vehicle price itself.
Checking whether the fee is included when buying used
A used car's recycling fee is usually already deposited by the previous owner and folded into the price — compare the estimate against your quote to confirm.
Estimating the cost of scrapping or trading in a car
Before asking a scrapper or dealer for a quote, you can check whether the recycling fee line item falls within the expected range.
Comparing vehicle classes before switching cars
See roughly how much the recycling fee changes when moving from, say, a kei car to a standard car.
Automobile Recycling Fee Glossary
- Shredder Dust Fee
- The cost of thermally recycling the fine debris left over after a car is crushed, instead of sending it to landfill. This makes up most of the total recycling fee.
- Airbag Fee
- The cost of safely processing the airbags and seatbelt pretensioners installed in the vehicle. Cars with more airbags tend to have a higher fee for this item.
- Refrigerant Fee
- The cost of recovering and destroying the refrigerant (CFC/HFC) used in the car's air conditioning system. Not charged on vehicles without air conditioning.
- Information Management Fee
- A fixed fee of 130 yen covering the cost of electronically managing each vehicle's deposited recycling fee record.
- Fund Management Fee
- A fee covering the cost of securely managing and operating the deposited funds — 290 yen at first registration, or 410 yen if deposited all at once at scrapping time.
- Automobile Recycling System
- The official website run by the Japan Automobile Recycling Promotion Center where you can look up recycling fee deposit status by chassis number.
- Permanent Deregistration
- The registration procedure carried out when scrapping a vehicle. If done for export purposes, part of the recycling fee may be refunded.
Frequently asked questions
Side Note — Why Japan created the automobile recycling fee
Japan's automobile recycling fee system began with the Automobile Recycling Law, which took full effect in January 2005. Before then, illegal dumping and improper dismantling of scrapped cars had become a serious social problem, so the law made manufacturers and importers responsible for properly processing shredder dust, airbags, and refrigerant, funded by a deposit that vehicle owners pay in advance.
The shredder dust fee, which makes up most of the total, covers the cost of thermally recycling (using as fuel) the fine debris left over after a car is crushed, rather than sending it to landfill. Once this processing technology became established, the illegal dumping that used to occur on a scale of hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year was nearly eliminated.
Airbags are billed separately because deploying them safely while still installed in the vehicle (rather than after removal) requires specialized equipment and expertise. Cars with more airbags installed tend to have a higher fee for this item.
The information management fee and fund management fee are both fixed at small amounts, in the hundred-yen range, because they are not per-vehicle processing costs but rather the running costs of the electronic system that manages the deposits themselves. The infrastructure cost of centrally tracking tens of millions of vehicles is spread thinly across every car in the system.