Exchanging a foreign driver's license?

Exchanging a foreign license for a Korean one at a driver's license test center requires proving the foreign license is genuine and currently valid — beyond the license itself, that generally means one of two supporting documents, both issued within a year of your application.

What's required

1. Embassy certification — a certificate from the issuing country's embassy in Korea (or a Korean embassy in that country), in Korean or English, OR
2. Apostilled license certificate — a certificate from the issuing country (Hague Convention member) apostilled, in Korean or English

If either document is only available in Spanish, it needs a Korean translation certified by notarial 번역문 인증 — we handle both the translation and the notarial certification.

Who this applies to

• Foreigners registered in Korea, and overseas Koreans with domestic residence registration
• License holders from Korea's officially recognized reciprocal countries skip the written exam (medical exam only); other countries require a 40-question written exam (Korean, English, Chinese, or Vietnamese)
• Spain, Belgium, Poland, and Italy have a special reciprocal arrangement by license category

Typical timeline

Once we have the supporting document in hand, translation and notarial certification is usually one of the quicker processes we handle, often completed within a few business days. The bigger variable is how long it takes to obtain the embassy certificate or apostilled license certificate in the first place, since that step happens outside our office.

Common mistakes

• Submitting a supporting document older than a year, which test centers can reject
• Assuming any translator can certify the Spanish document — it needs a notarial 번역문 인증 by a registered agent
• Not confirming reciprocal-country status in advance, which determines whether the written exam is required
• Assuming the license itself is enough without the embassy certificate or apostilled license certificate attached

Why this matters

A Spanish-language license or supporting document that arrives at the test center without proper Korean certification is generally rejected on the spot, forcing a resubmission and delaying your license exchange — getting the translation and notarization right the first time avoids a second trip to the test center.

Pricing

Certificate translation starts at ₩38,500; notarial certification (₩55,000) is added if the supporting document is Spanish-only.