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Getting a Korean driver's license from scratch: safety training, the medical check, the written, course and road tests, and issuance

Last checked: 21 October 2026 · compared against 9 official sources opened that day

Getting a Korean license from scratch takes seven steps set by the Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD): pre-test safety training, a medical check, the written test, the course test, a learner license, the road test and issuing the license. Our separate guide covers the written test in detail, so this one focuses on the other steps and the deadlines that link them. Fees and pass marks below were copied from KoROAD's pages on 21 October 2026.

The seven steps at a glance

For a Class 1 or Class 2 ordinary license the order is: safety training (before the written test, bring ID); a medical check at the test center or a hospital; the written test (application form, ID and three color photos taken within six months); the course test; a learner license once you have passed the written and course tests; the road test; and finally the license itself. Licenses without a road test, such as the moped license, are issued after the written and course tests.

The deadlines matter most. You must pass the course test within a year of passing the written test, and the road test within a year of getting the learner license. If your period of stay has less than a year left, plan the dates first.

Step 1: safety training

Article 83 of the Road Traffic Act requires training before the written test, either KoROAD's traffic safety training or classes at a licensed driving school. First-time applicants, including moped applicants, must take it; people who already hold another Korean license class, people exchanging a foreign license and people applying for an international permit do not. It is a one-hour audiovisual session, free of charge, available any time before the written test, and it stays valid for repeated attempts until you receive your new license.

Step 2: the medical check

Take it at the test center's medical room or at a hospital; the Mungyeong, Gangneung, Taebaek, Gwangyang, Chungju and Chuncheon centers have no medical room. At a center it costs 8,000 won for Class 1 large or special licenses and 7,000 won for others; bring ID and two photos. A national health check result from the past two years can replace it if you sign a consent form and meet the eyesight or hearing standard. Class 1 needs 0.8 with both eyes open and at least 0.5 in each eye; Class 2 needs 0.5 with both eyes open (0.6 in the other eye if you cannot see with one). You must tell red, yellow and green apart.

Step 3: the written test in brief

Forty questions in 40 minutes from the public question bank, in Korean, English, Chinese or Vietnamese. The pass mark is 70 for Class 1 ordinary and 60 for Class 2 ordinary, and the fee is 10,000 won (8,000 won for mopeds). You must pass within a year of your first attempt, and the course test within a year of passing this one.

Step 4: the course test

The Class 1 and 2 ordinary course test costs 25,000 won and needs 80 points. Book online or on site and bring your application form and ID; KoROAD offers English and Chinese voice and screen support. You drive at least 300 meters while operating the controls, keeping your lane, an emergency stop, a hill stop, left and right turns, right-angle parking, a signalized junction and an acceleration section.

You fail outright if you do not wear a seatbelt, cause an accident or touch a kerb, fail to move off within 30 seconds, skip or botch any task, roll back a meter or more on the hill, or cross the stop line or run a signal. After a fail you can retake it once three days have passed: fail on a Monday, retake from Thursday.

Step 5: the learner license

Class 1 and 2 ordinary applicants who have passed the written and course tests get a learner license for 4,000 won, valid for one year. Driving school graduates can get one only within a year of passing the school's course test. Rules for practicing on the road, such as who must sit beside you, were not covered in our sources, so ask the test center or your school.

Step 6: the road test

Only Class 1 and 2 ordinary licenses have it. One of four routes of 5 km or more is drawn by lot and you follow voice navigation; KoROAD says 57 items are assessed (the deduction table in Annex 26 of the Enforcement Rules lists 46, so the two seem to count differently; unverified), the pass mark is 70 and the fee is 30,000 won, with English voice guidance for the route.

Speeding by more than 10 km/h, exceeding the limit in a child, senior or disability protection zone, failing to give way to an emergency vehicle and not wearing a seatbelt are all instant fails. If your learner license expires before you pass, you cannot book the road test and must retake the written and course tests, though not the safety training.

Step 7: getting the license, and fees

Collect it at the test center with your final application form, ID and one photo. It costs 10,000 won for the card (Korean and English) and 15,000 won for the mobile license. KoROAD says the license must be collected in person under the Enforcement Rules, while also listing what a proxy must bring (both IDs and a power of attorney), so ask the center before sending someone. Altogether, a Class 2 ordinary applicant using the center's medical room pays 7,000 + 10,000 + 25,000 + 4,000 + 30,000 + 10,000 won.

After you pass: renewal

Under Article 87 of the Road Traffic Act, a first license must be renewed within six months either side of your birthday in the year that falls ten years after you passed (five years if you were 65 to 74, three if 75 or older). Class 1 holders also need a periodic aptitude test. Your license renewal and your period of stay are managed separately; we could not confirm from official sources what you must report when your residence card changes, so treat that as unverified.