If you live in Korea and hold a driver’s license from another country, you can usually exchange it for a Korean one with no road test and no course test. Whether you also sit a written test depends on where your license was issued and, in some cases, on your visa.
This guide covers who can exchange a license, which countries skip the written test, the documents and fees, and the Korean license class you end up with. In Korean the license is called 운전면허증, and the process is 외국면허 교환발급.
How we checked
The rules come from Article 84 of Korea’s Road Traffic Act (도로교통법), last amended in January 2024, and from Article 52 and Annex 3 of its Enforcement Decree (도로교통법 시행령), in the version in force since October 2, 2026. The documents, fees and country list come from the Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD, 도로교통공단), which runs the driver’s license test sites.
We read KoROAD’s Korean and English pages on October 22, 2026. Where they differ, we’ve followed the Korean page, which cites a newer country list. We didn’t use visa agencies, forums or news reports.
The short answer
- Who can apply: registered foreign residents, overseas Koreans with a domestic residence report, refugees and Korean citizens with resident registration. Tourists can’t.
- What license qualifies: a valid full license you got while staying more than 90 days in the country that issued it.
- Tests: everyone takes an aptitude test (a physical check-up). Licenses from countries on Korea’s recognized list skip the written test, and others take a 40-question written test.
- What you get: a Class 2 ordinary license (제2종 보통), except for licenses from five countries with their own agreements.
Who can exchange a foreign license
Article 84 of the Road Traffic Act limits the exemption to foreign license holders in four groups. They’re people with Korean resident registration, foreigners registered with immigration (or exempt from registration), recognized refugees, and overseas Koreans who have filed a domestic residence report.
In practice, most foreign residents apply with their Alien Registration Card. KoROAD’s document list asks for the original card, so a tourist without one can’t exchange a license. If you’re only visiting, an international driving permit is the route instead. Our guide to driving in Korea on an IDP explains which permits Korea accepts and how the one-year limit works.
The 90-day rule. The Act and the Enforcement Decree count only a license obtained while staying more than 90 days in the issuing country. KoROAD checks this with your passport and an entry and exit record, and it won’t exchange the license if the stay can’t be confirmed.
Full licenses only. KoROAD accepts only a full license that hasn’t expired. Temporary licenses, learner or provisional licenses, probationary licenses and permits or certificates can’t be exchanged. New Zealand restricted licenses are the one exception it notes, covered below.
Which tests you’ll take
Annex 3 of the Enforcement Decree splits foreign licenses into two groups. The dividing line is whether the issuing country exchanges a Korean license without a test. Korea calls those countries 국내면허 인정국가, which we’ll call recognized countries.
| Your license is from | Tests you take | Tests you skip |
|---|---|---|
| A recognized country | Aptitude test (physical check-up) | Written test, course test, road test |
| Any other country | Aptitude test and written test | Course test, road test |
Annex 3 also lets countries with a separate mutual recognition agreement follow the terms of that agreement. Motorcycle and moped licenses aren’t covered by these two rows.
The written test has 40 multiple-choice questions, according to KoROAD. You can take it in Korean, English, Chinese or Vietnamese.
Is your country on the recognized list?
The Korean National Police Agency publishes the list, and KoROAD shows the version from a notice dated April 6, 2026. It covers 133 countries and regions. Regions with their own license systems, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, count as countries. A country can be dropped if Korea is told it no longer recognizes Korean licenses.
Some countries are listed only in part. Here are examples from the list, not the full list:
- United States: 29 states are listed, including Texas, Florida, Virginia, Washington and Massachusetts. California and New York aren’t on it.
- Canada: all 10 provinces are listed. The territories aren’t.
- India: only Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.
- Mexico: only Nuevo León. Iraq: only Erbil.
Some common home countries aren’t on the list, including Australia, mainland China, Indonesia, Russia and Singapore. Licenses from those countries go through the written test unless your visa exempts you (see below).
Four listed states still take the written test. KoROAD says licenses from Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Nevada need the written test even though those states are on the list.
New Zealand has its own rule. KoROAD says restricted license holders must pass the written test. So must full license holders less than two years after the license was issued, unless their visa exempts them.
Use the checker below to see which tests apply to you. It uses KoROAD’s list and notes as of October 22, 2026, and translates the Korean place names into English.
Which tests apply to my license?
Source: KoROAD’s foreign license exchange pages and its recognized country list (National Police Agency notice of April 6, 2026), plus Road Traffic Act Article 84 and Enforcement Decree Article 52 and Annex 3. Last checked: October 22, 2026. The test site makes the final decision, so treat this as a guide.
The visa exemption from the written test
A license from a non-recognized country doesn't always mean a written test. Article 84 treats licenses held by people in Korea for certain purposes as if they came from a recognized country, and the Enforcement Decree lists the stay statuses. KoROAD gives them as A-1, A-2, A-3, D-7, D-8, D-9, E-1, E-3, E-4, E-7 and F-4.
The exemption also covers a holder's spouse and any unmarried children under 19. Common statuses such as E-2 and D-2 aren't on the list, so holders of those visas from non-recognized countries take the written test.
Documents to bring
KoROAD's list for foreign nationals is the same for both groups. The only difference is the written test fee.
- Your original foreign driver's license
- Your original passport, showing your departures and arrivals
- Your original Alien Registration Card (or overseas Korean residence card)
- Three color photos taken within the last six months, 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm (about 1.4 × 1.8 inches, by our conversion)
- An embassy certificate or an apostille for the license
- A certificate of entry and exit (출입국사실증명) covering your birth year to the present
The embassy certificate or apostille confirms the license is genuine. It must be issued within one year before you apply, in Korean or English. It can come from your country's embassy in Korea, the Korean embassy in your country, or an apostille authority in a country that has joined the Apostille Convention.
KoROAD says several embassies have stopped issuing these certificates, including the UK and Finnish embassies and the Netherlands embassy in Korea. Holders of those licenses should get an apostille instead. If a certificate says the embassy didn't check the license's authenticity, KoROAD may ask for more documents or reject the application.
Country-specific extras. Some countries also need a driving record certificate, and KoROAD names Canada, the UAE, New Zealand, Singapore and Colombia. Colombian licenses need both an apostille and a General Driver Report. A Chinese license must have both its main and supplementary parts notarized and submitted. If your license shows no issue or expiry date, bring a driving record certificate or a similar document from the issuing authority that shows it.
If the 90-day stay doesn't show in your passport, KoROAD accepts other proof. Its examples include a certificate of enrollment or employment, a tax invoice, a permanent resident card such as a US green card, a citizenship certificate, or a long-term visa of one year or more.
Fees
These are the fees on KoROAD's Korean page when we checked. The English page shows lower physical check-up fees and cites an older country list, so it may not be up to date.
| Item | Fee (KRW) |
|---|---|
| Physical check-up at a test site | 7,000 |
| Written test, if you need it | 10,000 |
| License card, standard (Korean or English) | 10,000 |
| License card, mobile IC (Korean or English) | 15,000 |
At the test site
You apply in person at any driver's license test site (운전면허시험장) in Korea. KoROAD doesn't accept applications through someone else, except for holders of ID cards issued by Korea's foreign ministry.
The process runs in three steps: a document review, the aptitude test plus the written test if you need it, then the new license. If the reviewer finds something missing, you may be asked for more documents.
KoROAD says an exchange takes time, so it asks you to apply by 5 p.m., an hour before closing. If you need the written test, it suggests arriving before 4 p.m.
Most test sites do the physical check-up on site. KoROAD lists six that don't: Mungyeong, Gangneung, Taebaek, Gwangyang, Chungju and Chuncheon. Applicants there should get the check-up at a nearby hospital first.
What license class you get
KoROAD says exchanges are limited to a Class 2 ordinary license. Licenses from Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy and Ireland can be exchanged for the matching class, because those countries' mutual recognition agreements say so.
Annex 18 of the Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act says a Class 2 ordinary license covers passenger cars, vans and buses with up to 10 seats, and trucks with a payload of up to 4 tons. Vans with 11 to 15 seats need a Class 1 ordinary license instead. Our Porter and Bongo truck guide shows how the payload limit works on two small trucks sold in Korea.
What happens to your foreign license
Article 84 lets KoROAD collect your foreign license in situations the Enforcement Decree sets out, and the decree names two. One is when the issuing country asks for it back. The other is when that country takes Korean licenses in exchange for its own. KoROAD's list puts 163 countries and regions in those two groups and 121 outside them.
For example, licenses from Japan, the UK and New York are on the collected side. Licenses from Australia, mainland China, Singapore and California are on the side that isn't collected. If yours is collected, the test site keeps it.
A collected license can be returned if you leave Korea and show your departure ticket, if you cancel your Korean license, or if an embassy asks for it. KoROAD says that if you don't collect it within 10 years of the exchange, it may be destroyed under the consent form you sign.
Before you go
- Check your license is a full license and still valid.
- Confirm your passport or other papers prove a stay of more than 90 days where you got it.
- Get the embassy certificate or apostille, and check it's less than a year old.
- Check whether your country or state is on the recognized list, and whether your visa exempts you.
- Arrive early, especially if you need the written test.
Rules and lists change, and the test site decides your case. For anything unclear, call KoROAD's customer center at 1577-1120 before you go.
Last checked: October 22, 2026. Sources: KoROAD foreign license exchange page (in Korean), with its notes for exchange applicants and its recognized country list (National Police Agency notice of April 6, 2026); KoROAD English exchange page; Road Traffic Act, Article 84 (Korean Law Information Center, in Korean); Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act, Article 52 and Annex 3 (in Korean); Enforcement Rule of the Road Traffic Act, Annex 18 (in Korean).
