Blog

It is easy to assume that any valid foreign driver’s license can be swapped for a Korean one. The Road Traffic Act adds a condition first. Your license must have been issued while you stayed in that country for more than 90 days. It also cannot be a temporary or learner license.

If you meet that condition, the rest depends on two things: the country that issued your license, and your status of stay. Some people only take an eye test. Others also take a 40-question written test. Here is who can apply, which test you take, what to bring, what it costs, and what happens to your foreign license.

Who can exchange a foreign license

Rules verified September 2026 · Road Traffic Act, Article 84 · Article 82

Article 84 of the Road Traffic Act (도로교통법) lets people who hold a foreign license skip part of the Korean driving test. It names four groups of people.

Foreign registration comes first. Article 82 says a foreign national who has not registered cannot get a Korean license at all, unless they are exempt from registration. If you arrived recently, finish your Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증) before you plan the exchange.

The license itself must also pass three checks. Article 84 defines a foreign license as one you obtained while you stayed in the issuing country for more than 90 days. It excludes temporary and learner licenses. KoROAD (한국도로교통공단, the Korea Road Traffic Authority) adds that the license must be a full license that has not expired.

KoROAD checks the 90 days with your passport stamps and your Certificate of Entry and Exit. If those do not show the stay, KoROAD accepts other proof. The list includes a certificate of enrollment or employment, a tax invoice, and a permanent resident card such as a U.S. green card. A citizenship certificate or a long-term visa of more than one year also works. Prepare this proof if your license comes from a country that is not your country of citizenship.

Which tests you take

Rules verified September 2026 · Enforcement Decree, Article 52 and Annex 3 · Korean National Police Agency Notice 2026-6

The answer depends on one list. The Korean National Police Agency publishes the countries that exchange a Korean license without any test except a physical check. The official name is the notice on countries that recognize Korean licenses (국내면허 인정국가 고시). The current version took effect on 6 April 2026 and names 133 countries and regions. It replaced the version dated 22 November 2023.

Neither group takes a driving test on a course or on the road. The only difference is the written test, so the list decides how long your visit to the test site will be.

To check your country, open KoROAD’s foreign license page and select 국내면허 인정 국가 보기 (view recognized countries). Mainland China, Australia and Singapore, for example, are not on the April 2026 list, while Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are.

When your status of stay removes the written test

There is a second route to skipping the written test, and it does not depend on the list. Article 52 of the Enforcement Decree treats a license held by certain residents as if it came from a listed country. KoROAD writes these out as status codes.

If your status is on this list, the written test is waived even when your license comes from a country that is not on the list. Check the code on your Alien Registration Card, because the waiver follows the status, not the job title.

Which Korean license you get

An exchange gives you a Class 2 ordinary license (제2종 보통면허). KoROAD’s page states this, and Annex 3 of the Enforcement Decree lists Class 2 ordinary as the license for foreign license holders. The type of license you held at home does not change this.

If you drove a large bus or a heavy truck at home, the exchange does not carry that over. It stops at Class 2 ordinary.

Five countries are different. KoROAD’s page states that licenses from Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy and Ireland can be exchanged for the matching class. Korea has a mutual recognition agreement with each of them. Annex 3 also covers car licenses only. It excludes motorcycle and moped licenses, so a motorcycle-only license is not exchanged this way.

What documents you need

KoROAD lists the same core documents for every foreign resident. Bring originals, not copies.

The embassy certificate or apostille is the document that proves your license is real. Get it last, close to your visit, because a certificate older than one year is not accepted.

KoROAD accepts two kinds. The first is a certificate in Korean or English from your country’s embassy in Korea, or from the Korean embassy in your country. The second is an apostille issued in your country, if it is a member of the Apostille Convention. Some countries have no embassy in Korea and are not apostille members. For them, KoROAD allows a certificate from their embassy in a nearby country, such as Japan.

KoROAD tells applicants to ask the embassy before they go. An embassy can stop issuing certificates at any time. Keep the certificate in one piece as well. KoROAD may ask for more documents, or reject the application, if the paper shows marks from removed staples or a cut binding.

The Certificate of Entry and Exit (출입국에 관한 사실증명) comes from Korean offices, not from your embassy. Government24 (정부24) lists immigration offices and city, county and community service centers as places where a foreign resident can request it. The fee is 2,000 KRW per copy in person.

How much it costs

Fees verified September 2026 · KoROAD fee notice under Road Traffic Act, Article 139

Article 139 of the Road Traffic Act lets KoROAD set the fees for tests and license cards, with approval from the National Police Agency. The fees below are the ones KoROAD’s exchange page shows.

With a standard card, the visit costs 17,000 KRW if you only take the physical check. It costs 27,000 KRW if you also take the written test. The 7,000 KRW physical check fee is the rate at the test site’s own check room. The cost of the certificate or apostille depends on your country and is not part of these fees.

How to exchange your license, step by step

The exchange is done in one visit if your documents are complete. The steps below follow KoROAD’s order: document review, physical check, written test if needed, and then the new license.

Step 1 — Get the embassy certificate or apostille

Do this first, because it can take the longest and may involve your home country. Check that it will still be less than one year old on the day you apply.

Step 2 — Get your Certificate of Entry and Exit

Request it at an immigration office or a community service center. Ask for the full record from your year of birth, because that is the range KoROAD asks for.

Step 3 — Go to a driver’s license test site in person

KoROAD lists driver’s license test sites (운전면허시험장) nationwide as the place to apply. You must go yourself. KoROAD does not accept an application by an agent, except for holders of an ID card issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The online visit reservation service covers renewals, new licenses and reissues only, so there is no booking step for an exchange.

Step 4 — Hand in your documents for review

The staff check your documents first. If something is missing or unclear, they can ask for more papers before the tests start.

Step 5 — Take the physical check

The physical check (적성검사) is mainly an eye test. For a Class 2 license, Article 45 of the Enforcement Decree requires a vision of 0.5 or better with both eyes open. Glasses and contact lenses count. KoROAD names six test sites without a check room: Mungyeong, Gangneung, Taebaek, Gwangyang, Chungju and Chuncheon. If you apply at one of them, have the check at a nearby hospital first.

Step 6 — Take the written test, if it applies to you

The written test (학과시험) has 40 multiple-choice questions. You can take it in Korean, English, Chinese or Vietnamese. Article 50 of the Enforcement Decree sets the pass mark for a Class 2 license at 60 out of 100. You do not need the one-hour pre-test safety course first. KoROAD’s page on that course lists foreign license holders who are exchanging among the people it does not apply to.

Step 7 — Pay and receive your Korean license

Pay the card fee and choose a standard or mobile IC card. If your country is one where KoROAD keeps foreign licenses, you hand yours over as part of the exchange. The next section explains when that happens.

What happens to your foreign license

Your foreign license is not always taken. Article 84(3) of the Road Traffic Act lets KoROAD keep it only when a reason set by presidential decree applies. Article 52(5) of the Enforcement Decree names two reasons.

KoROAD’s Korean page lists which countries fall into each group, under 외국면허 회수 국가 · 미회수 국가 보기 (countries where licenses are kept or not kept). The list comes from Korean embassies abroad and is separate from the list that decides your written test.

If your license is kept, KoROAD returns it in three cases. You leave Korea and show proof such as a departure ticket. You cancel your Korean license by choice. Or a diplomatic mission asks for it. A license that nobody collects within 10 years of the exchange can be destroyed, under the disposal consent form KoROAD uses for exchanges.

What to say at the counter

Five sentences for the test site counter. Show the screen if it is easier than speaking.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

Every figure in this guide comes from the pages below. Lists and fees change, so open the page that matters to your case before you go.