Exchange a Foreign Driver's License in Korea

If you have a driver's license from another country, you can change it to a Korean license. You may not need the skills or road test. Sometimes you need only a medical check.

Who can exchange

• You have a valid, full foreign license. Learner, provisional, probationary and temporary licenses cannot be exchanged.
• You are registered in Korea: you have an ARC (or a 거소신고증 for overseas Koreans).
• You must go in person. Another person cannot apply for you.

Do you need a test?

• Recognized country: medical check only. No written test.
• Other countries: medical check + written test (40 questions, in Korean, English, Chinese or Vietnamese). No skills test and no road test.

Some people still need the written test even if their country is recognized:

• US states Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Nevada.
• Australian license holders under 25.
• New Zealand restricted licenses, or full licenses held for less than 2 years.

The list of recognized countries changes. In the USA it depends on the state. Check the latest list on the official KOROAD page: foreign license exchange (Korean) · English page. You can also call 1577-1120.

Need the written test? Practice here: practice questions · mock test.

Documents

• Your original foreign license.
• Passport (it shows your entry and exit from the license country to Korea). If your license is from a country that is not your nationality, bring proof that you stayed there 90 days or more (for example, a work or school certificate, PR card, or a visa over 1 year).
• Original ARC or 거소신고증.
• 3 color photos, 3.5 × 4.5 cm, taken within 6 months.
• Embassy confirmation of your license OR an apostille, in Korean or English, issued within 1 year. The confirmation comes from your license country's embassy in Korea, or the Korean embassy abroad. If a copy of the license is attached, it must show both sides.
• Certificate of entry & exit (출입국사실증명서), from your birth year to today. Get it at an immigration office, Government24 or Hi Korea.

Your application can be refused if the apostille is damaged or taken apart, if your name or birth date does not match, or if the embassy letter does not confirm the license is real.

Steps

1. Prepare all documents.
2. Go to a test center. Apply by 17:00. If you need the written test, arrive before 16:00.
3. Take the medical check.
4. Take the written test, if you need it.
5. Get your Korean license card.

You do not need the traffic safety class for an exchange.

What license class you get

Usually a Class 2 Ordinary license. Licenses from Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy and Ireland can get the matching Korean class. For some countries, KOROAD keeps your foreign license; for others, it is returned.

Fees

• Medical check: KOROAD pages show 6,000–8,000 KRW. Check with the test center.
• Written test (if needed): 10,000 KRW.
• License card: 10,000 KRW (mobile IC card 15,000 KRW).

Sources: Foreign license exchange · Foreign license exchange (English) · KOROAD English guide