Government Offices in Budapest: Where to Go and What to Bring

The most central of the Budapest one-stop windows, a minute from Deak Ferenc ter, and the default place for an address card, an ID card, a passport or a DAP registration.

Good to know: Hours are Mon 8:00 to 18:00, Tue 8:00 to 16:00, Wed 11:00 to 19:00, Thu 9:00 to 16:00, Fri 8:00 to 14:00, closed at weekends. Budapest Fovaros Kormanyhivatala states you may walk in without an appointment; booking online needs an Ugyfelkapu account, but booking by phone on 1818 (+36 1 550 1858 from abroad) needs nothing, and the Kormanyablak mobile app lets you pull a queue number from your phone.

The only office in the country that converts a foreign driving licence, and the only one issuing 24 hour and 3 day emergency passports, which is why it opens at weekends.

Good to know: Budapest Fovaros Kormanyhivatala states that administration here always runs on a booked appointment, apart from a published list of walk-in cases, and that conversion of a foreign driving licence (honositas) can be handled only at this office and only on a pre-booked appointment, which is served for the named person alone. The published conversion counter runs Mon to Thu 8:00 to 16:00 and Fri 8:00 to 13:00. General document counters run Mon to Thu 8:00 to 17:00 (last ticket 16:30) and Fri 8:00 to 14:00 (last ticket 13:30); collection of finished documents runs Mon to Fri 8:00 to 20:00 plus Sat and Sun 8:00 to 14:00, weekends for 24 hour and 3 day passports only. Ordinary ID card, passport, driving licence and vehicle business can be done at any kormanyablak instead.

Sits at Nyugati palyaudvar on the M3 metro and the ring tram, so it is the easiest window to reach from anywhere on the Pest side.

Good to know: Same national timetable as the other Budapest windows: Mon 8:00 to 18:00, Tue 8:00 to 16:00, Wed 11:00 to 19:00, Thu 9:00 to 16:00, Fri 8:00 to 14:00, closed at weekends. There is no direct line, only the 1818 government hotline (+36 1 550 1858 from abroad, English menu available), which also books appointments for callers with no Ugyfelkapu account.

The main Buda-side window for Ujbuda and the university quarter, and a short ride from the OIF immigration desk on Budafoki ut.

Good to know: Hours are Mon 8:00 to 18:00, Tue 8:00 to 16:00, Wed 11:00 to 19:00, Thu 9:00 to 16:00, Fri 8:00 to 14:00, closed at weekends. The office page carries occasional one-day closure notices, so check it the morning you travel; the same page names the XII. and XXII. district windows as the nearest alternatives.

The main immigration counter for anyone living in Budapest or Pest County, covering residence permits, renewals, EU registration certificates and residence cards.

Good to know: The directorate publishes reception hours of Mon to Thu 8:00 to 14:00 and Fri 8:00 to 12:00 for every case type at both of its client service points. Filing through Enter Hungary is HUF 13,000 cheaper than filing over the counter. Buses 133E and 33 stop at Hengermalom ut, tram 1 is six minutes away, the client contact address is [email protected] and the call centre is +36 1 463 9292 (Mon to Thu 8:00 to 16:00, Fri 8:00 to 13:30).

The second immigration counter, and the only place in Budapest where documents applied for at a Hungarian embassy or consulate abroad can be collected.

Good to know: Same reception hours as Budafoki ut: Mon to Thu 8:00 to 14:00, Fri 8:00 to 12:00. The client contact address is [email protected] and the shared directorate number is +36 1 550 1167. Buses 20E, 30, 30A, 32 and 230 stop at Szegedi ut; tram 14 and bus 105 stop at Beke ter, five minutes away.

The Budapest counter for TAJ cards and European Health Insurance Cards, with competence over all 23 districts plus a wide belt of Pest County.

Good to know: Do not go to NEAK: the fund states on its own contact page that no client service operates at its Vaci ut 73/A headquarters or at its regional units, and TAJ cards are issued by the government office. Hours here are Mon 8:00 to 15:00, Tue 8:00 to 15:00, Wed 8:00 to 16:30, Thu 8:00 to 15:00, Fri 8:00 to 13:00. The office page says the first desk handles TAJ numbers, voluntary agreements and sick pay claims and the second the European Health Insurance Card; bring photo ID and your address card. NEAK adds that TAJ business can also be done by post, and that a resident with settled insurance status can get a replacement card at a kormanyablak in an immediate procedure. Email questions go to [email protected], EU cases to [email protected].

The south Pest tax counter, and the one to use for a Hungarian tax identification number, a tax card or a residence certificate for tax purposes.

Good to know: Hours are Mon 8:30 to 18:00, Tue 8:30 to 12:00, Wed 8:30 to 18:00, Thu 8:30 to 12:00, Fri 8:30 to 11:30, so Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are dead. Appointments are booked on the NAV client portal; the NAV information line is 1819, open Mon to Thu 8:30 to 16:00 and Fri 8:30 to 13:30. NAV's English section warns that detailed information and full-range services are available in the Hungarian version only.

The tax counter whose published competence covers the I., II., III., IV., V. and XIII. districts, so the one to use from Buda's northern half, Ujlipotvaros or Angyalfold.

Good to know: Hours are Mon 8:30 to 18:00, Tue 8:30 to 12:00, Wed 8:30 to 18:00, Thu 8:30 to 12:00, Fri 8:30 to 11:30. The directorate closes its smaller branches in rotation over the summer and publishes the schedule on this page, so check before heading to Krisztina korut 99 or Korhaz utca 6-12. A third Budapest directorate covers the eastern districts at 1144 Budapest, Gvadanyi utca 69 (+36 1 467 7100).

Handles Budapest and Pest County pensions, and the department's own page gives it exclusive national competence for claims that fall under the EU social security coordination rules, that need service time earned in the United Kingdom counted, or that turn on a bilateral social security agreement, which is the position most expats are in.

Good to know: Reception is Mon to Thu 8:00 to 16:00 and Fri 8:00 to 13:00. The department publishes separate lines for domestic pensions (+36 1 323 6700), domestic record reconciliation (+36 1 323 6800) and international pensions and reconciliation (+36 1 323 6020). Written enquiries go to [email protected].

The downtown town hall's public counter, and the office that decides the local matters no kormanyablak will touch: kindergarten places, local business taxes, social support and accommodation notifications.

Good to know: The client service office is at Erzsebet ter 5 and opens Mon 8:00 to 18:00, Tue 8:00 to 16:00, Wed 8:00 to 16:30, Thu 8:00 to 16:00, Fri 8:00 to 13:30, on 872 7328 or 872 7321, with a freephone line on 06 80 201580; the town hall's postal address is Erzsebet ter 4. Residential parking permits are handled separately by the district public space authority at 1054 Budapest, Podmaniczky Frigyes ter 6 (+36 1 872 7593), open Mon, Tue and Thu 9:00 to 17:00, Wed 9:00 to 18:00 and Fri 9:00 to 16:00, and can be applied for by email to [email protected]. That authority says a maximum of two permits may be issued per flat and only one per resident, and that from 2026 the windscreen sticker is replaced by a small Bluetooth device.

The town hall for Ujlipotvaros and Angyalfold, two of the districts expat families most often land in, with a client service desk that stays open far longer than the departments behind it.

Good to know: Two different timetables: the client service office runs Mon 8:00 to 18:00, Tue, Wed and Thu 8:00 to 16:30 and Fri 8:00 to 13:30, but the case officers behind it only see the public Mon 13:30 to 18:00, Wed 8:00 to 16:30 and Fri 8:00 to 11:30. Email [email protected], freephone answering machine 06 80 200 306, tram 14 to Beke ter.

The authority that apostilles anything signed by a Hungarian notary, including certified copies and certified translations of notarial documents, and it usually does it the same day.

Good to know: Open Mon 9:00 to 12:00, Tue 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00, Wed 9:00 to 12:00, Thu 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00, Fri 9:00 to 12:00, with the last ticket at 11:50 in the morning and 15:50 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons; the Thursday afternoon session was added on 8 May 2025. Booking is compulsory only above 15 documents, but booked clients are served first. Cash is not accepted; pay by card at the office, by bank transfer or by postal money order, and bring the proof of payment with the application. The legal deadline is 15 days but the chamber says it aims to finish on the day of filing, while postal handling to 1535 Budapest, Pf. 839 takes about two weeks. The chamber states that court records and Ministry of Justice documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Justice instead, and NAV and other public documents by the Foreign Ministry.

Where degrees, diplomas and NAV documents get their apostille before use abroad, and the route for countries outside the Hague Convention, which need full diplomatic legalisation.

Good to know: Reception runs Mon to Thu 9:00 to 12:00 and there are no walk-ins and no queue numbers: online booking is compulsory, the ministry warns the booking is two-step so an unconfirmed slot is cancelled, and anyone more than five minutes late is turned away. Before you go, fill in the Felulhitelesites (Magyarorszagon) request in the Konzinfo Ugyseged system, then print and sign the form it generates: the ministry states that without that form the application is rejected. The fee is payable by bank card. A university diploma needs intermediate authentication by the Education Authority first, itself by compulsory appointment. Postal filing is possible to 1525 Budapest, Pf. 28. The ministry also notes that EU Regulation 2016/1191 removed the apostille requirement between EU states for many civil status and criminal record documents, so check whether you need one at all.

The chamber for Budapest, Pest, Nograd and Komarom-Esztergom notaries, and the place to start when you need a certified signature, a power of attorney or a notarial deed rather than an apostille.

Good to know: You do not visit the chamber for routine work; use the national notary finder to pick an office, which also shows each notary's bank account. MOKK states that fees are fixed by decree 22/2018. (VIII. 23.) IM and that notaries must apply them, so shopping around on price is pointless, and a deed drawn up in a foreign language carries double the work fee. Complaints about a bill go to the chamber board for conciliation.