Booking a conversion appointment when there are no slots

The waits are published, so you can plan against them

Saitama states that it is very congested because of the large number of conversion applicants, and publishes the figure: the wait for a knowledge-confirmation appointment is around three to four months. Document review in Saitama is itself appointment-only.

Osaka states that because conversion applications have increased substantially, the date assigned for the practical confirmation can be a long time away.

Source Saitama Prefectural Police — “The application procedure for foreign license conversion has changed” (in Japanese) · Osaka Prefectural Police — “Converting a foreign license into a Japanese license” (in Japanese)

Three prefectures, three completely different mechanisms

Source Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department — “Converting a driving license obtained abroad into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Osaka Prefectural Police — “Converting a foreign license into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Saitama Prefectural Police — “The application procedure for foreign license conversion has changed” (in Japanese)

Check that you are eligible to book at all

Before slot availability comes the question of whether you qualify to take a slot. Tokyo’s web booking is for applicants who meet both of:

• A cumulative stay of three months or more in the country that issued the license, after it was issued
• Residence in Tokyo, including temporary stay

Osaka’s three conditions are equivalent: a valid foreign license, a cumulative stay of three months or more in the issuing country that can be confirmed from the license and passport, and a registered address in Osaka. If you cannot yet evidence the stay, you do not meet the conditions at the booking stage, never mind the test.

Source Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department — “Converting a driving license obtained abroad into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Osaka Prefectural Police — “Converting a foreign license into a Japanese license” (in Japanese)

The order matters: documents come before booking

Since October 2025 having your documents complete is a precondition of booking, not a task to finish before the appointment. Getting this order wrong costs you a slot.

1. Get the translation first. JAF quotes 2–3 working days for Swiss, German, French, Belgian, Monégasque and Taiwanese licenses and 5–10 for everywhere else, and applications can only be made from inside Japan.
2. If your passport lacks entry and exit stamps, start obtaining an official record of entries and departures. Osaka requires it for people who used automated gates and for EU license holders, because the days spent in the issuing country cannot otherwise be confirmed.
3. Only book once every document is in hand. Saitama asks applicants who do not have them all to cancel and rebook. Osaka asks you to have every required document ready before telephoning, and to have your current license physically in front of you during the call.
4. Expect the knowledge confirmation to be booked after document review, not before. In Osaka, from October 2025 it is booked at the moment your documents clear, for a date and time you are given. Saitama likewise requires document review to be complete.

Source JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) — “Driving license translation service” (in Japanese) · Osaka Prefectural Police — “Converting a foreign license into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Saitama Prefectural Police — “The application procedure for foreign license conversion has changed” (in Japanese)

What to actually do when there is nothing available

• Call in the exact window. Osaka does not accept booking calls outside the designated day and time, and warns that outside it the line rings and plays an automated message while nobody can pick up. Confirm you have the right day and the right window before concluding that nothing is available.
• Check which centre handles your issuing country. In Osaka, Kadoma and Komyoike split the countries between them and each has its own release days and windows. In Tokyo, Fuchu and Samezu handle licenses from anywhere, while Koto handles only the 29 jurisdictions exempt from both confirmations.
• Ask whether a re-sit route exists. Saitama directs applicants whose document review was completed within the past year, with no change to the application, the attachments or the license, and who need to take the knowledge confirmation again, through a separate booking route.
• Cancel rather than no-show. Tokyo publishes cancellation numbers for the license headquarters and for the Fuchu, Samezu and Koto test centres. Slots only recirculate if people release them.

Source Osaka Prefectural Police — “Converting a foreign license into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department — “Converting a driving license obtained abroad into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Saitama Prefectural Police — “The application procedure for foreign license conversion has changed” (in Japanese)

On the day

• Originals only. Tokyo states that every required document must be brought as an original and that photocopies cannot be accepted.
• Reception hours in Tokyo are weekdays 8:30am to 3:00pm, excluding 11:00am to 1:00pm, with weekends, public holidays and 29 December to 3 January closed.
• Interpreters. Tokyo may ask an applicant who does not speak Japanese to bring someone who can interpret. Osaka permits one applicant per interpreter, so a group cannot share one.
• Payment. Saitama collects fees by cashless payment.
• Osaka lists a black or blue ballpoint pen among the things to bring.

Source Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department — “Converting a driving license obtained abroad into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Osaka Prefectural Police — “Converting a foreign license into a Japanese license” (in Japanese) · Saitama Prefectural Police — “The application procedure for foreign license conversion has changed” (in Japanese)

A long wait is also study time you did not plan to have. Practice questions by topic:

What the license-conversion written test asks