Foreign License Conversion
in Saitama Prefecture

Police organization:

Saitama Prefectural Police (埼玉県警察)

Test center:

Saitama Prefectural Driver's License Center (埼玉県運転免許センター)

City

Kounosu City (鴻巣市)

Access

Address: 埼玉県鴻巣市鴻巣405番地4. Nearest station: JR Takasaki Line Kounosu Station (east exit) — approx. 25 min walk (1.6 km), or approx. 10 min by bus (免許センター行き, operated by Tobu Bus / Kawagoe Kanko Bus / Asahi Bus). Foreign license conversion is handled at the 2F 外国免許切替相談室 (2nd floor Foreign License Conversion Consultation Room). Center main line: 048-543-2001.

Test languages:

20 languages (nationwide standard since June 2024)

Reservation required

How to reserve

Online reservation required (完全予約制). The document screening (書類審査) reservation moved to an online-only system on 2025-09-01; the applicant must reserve themselves using their own email address. A separate online reservation is required for the knowledge confirmation test (知識確認), which currently has an approx. 3-4 month wait. Phone is used only for cancellations/inquiries, not for booking.

Reservation page ↗

https://logoform.jp/form/QF2N/827053

Phone

090-4841-0480 (cancellation-only line); 048-543-2001 (center general inquiries)

Reception hours

Inquiry/cancellation reception: Monday-Friday, closed on national holidays (incl. substitute holidays) and year-end/new year (Dec 29 - Jan 3). Cancellation line approx. 9:00-16:00; general inquiry window approx. 15:00-16:00. In-person document-screening submissions accepted weekday mornings 9:30-10:00.

Knowledge confirmation test available in 21 languages (as of 2025-10-01) including English, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Thai, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese, and Arabic per the official page. No statement found about in-person interpreter provision for the document-screening interview.

Official pages confirm fees are paid by cashless payment (キャッシュレス決済) only, but specific fee amounts for foreign license conversion were not stated on the pages reviewed.

Document screening became fully reservation-based (online only) from 2025-09-01. The knowledge confirmation test reservation is separate and currently backed up by roughly 3-4 months. Payments are cashless (キャッシュレス決済) only. In-person document-screening submission is accepted weekday mornings 9:30-10:00 (as part of the online reservation flow).

We could not confirm the following from primary sources. Please check the official page before relying on them:

• Specific fee amounts (yen) for foreign license conversion document screening, knowledge test, and practical test
• Whether a live interpreter is provided for the in-person document-screening interview (only the knowledge test's 21-language support is confirmed)
• Exact full list of required documents (pages reference procedures but a specific document checklist was not extracted/verified here)
• Precise daily slot capacity / current crowding level beyond the stated ~3-4 month knowledge-test wait

Always verify on the prefectural police's official page before you go — addresses, reservation methods, and document requirements change frequently.

• Official page (Japanese) ↗ — open via Google Translate / DeepL
• Official source ↗ https://www.police.pref.saitama.lg.jp/f0130/shoruisinsayoyaku.html
• Official source ↗ https://www.police.pref.saitama.lg.jp/f0110/menkyo/menkyo.html

The 6-step process (eligibility → translation → appointment → document screening → 50-question test → practical test) is the same nationwide. See the main hub for the complete walkthrough, document checklist, and translation services.