Why clearing the JLPT total is not enough on its own
The JLPT sets an overall pass mark out of 180 for each level and, on top of that, a pass mark for every section. That is why a candidate can clear the overall mark and still fail because one section, often listening, came in under its own mark. Pick your level, enter the section scores, and the page reports the overall check and the sectional checks separately, then names which of the two caused a fail.
How the numbers are worked out
The figures follow the official standard as of September 2026. Overall pass marks are 100 for N1, 90 for N2, 95 for N3, 90 for N4 and 80 for N5. N3 sitting higher than N2 is not a typo; that is the real standard. Sectional pass marks are 19 out of 60 in each of the three sections for N1 to N3, and for N4 and N5 they are 38 out of 120 for language knowledge with reading plus 19 out of 60 for listening. Meeting a mark counts, so a total exactly on the pass mark with every section exactly on its mark is a pass.
What this page does not do
The conversion from raw answers to scaled scores is not published, so it is not supported. There is no estimate from a count of correct answers and no adjustment for the difficulty of a particular sitting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The JLPT requires both the overall mark and every sectional mark, so one section under its mark fails the whole level regardless of the total. The page names that as the reason.
It is. Overall pass marks are 100 for N1, 90 for N2, 95 for N3, 90 for N4 and 80 for N5, putting N3 five points above N2. That is the official standard, not a slip.
Meeting the mark counts as clearing it, so an equal score passes that check. A total exactly on the overall mark with every section exactly on its mark is recorded as a pass.