Korean Driver's License Renewal 2026: Birthday Window, Fees

Every Korean driver's license carries a printed period for its next aptitude test or renewal. If yours reads "2026.01.01~2026.12.31," this is your year.

What many drivers have not noticed is that the rule behind that date changed on January 1, 2026. Under an amendment to the Road Traffic Act, the window is no longer the whole calendar year. It now runs six months either side of your birthday. The Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD), which handles license administration, warns that the period printed on a card issued before 2026 may not match the legal window anymore.

The short answer first: if your card says December 31, 2026, getting it done by December 31 keeps you inside the window under either rule. If your birthday falls late in the year, your window may stretch into 2027, but confirm the exact date online before you count on it.

Everything below was checked on October 30, 2026 against KoROAD's official Safe Driving civil service site and the agency's announcement. Fees are in Korean won and apply to both the Korean-language and English-language versions of the card.

1. The new rule: six months either side of your birthday

From January 1, 2026, the window is calculated like this:

Take the date you passed the test or last renewed, go forward ten years, and find your birthday in that year. The window runs six months before and six months after it.

KoROAD's own example: a driver due in 2026 whose birthday is October 1 now has a new window of April 2, 2026 to April 1, 2027.

To avoid confusion, there is a transition rule. For drivers who received their license before the change, the first renewal after the change also accepts the old window (January 1 to December 31 of that year). So the driver in the example can renew any time from January 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027.

What that means in practice:

Your card says 2026.12.31 — doing it by December 31 is safe no matter when your birthday is, because the old window still counts for this first renewal.

Your birthday is in the second half of the year — your new window may end in 2027. Check the exact end date online before putting it off. Missing the window by even one day makes you liable for a fine.

2. Where to check your real dates

Safe Driving civil service site (www.safedriving.or.kr), run by KoROAD — log in with identity verification and open My Page

Korean National Police Agency traffic civil service (www.efine.go.kr) — the driver's license menu

KoROAD tells drivers to rely on these two sources rather than the printed card. If you take one thing from this guide, it is this: do not postpone into 2027 based on a calculation in your head.

3. How often you renew depends on when you got the license and your age

Licensed or renewed on or after December 9, 2011 — every 10 years for both Class 1 and Class 2

Licensed or renewed on or before December 8, 2011 — every 7 years for Class 1 and every 9 years for Class 2, with a six-month window (the dates printed on the card)

Age 65 and over — every 5 years, either class

Age 75 and over — every 3 years, either class (since January 1, 2019)

Class 2 holders aged 70 and over — must take the aptitude test, including the medical check, when they renew

4. Class 1 means an aptitude test; Class 2 means a simple renewal

Class 1 licenses, and Class 2 licenses held by people aged 70 or older, require a periodic aptitude test with a medical check. Class 2 holders under 70 only need a renewal, with no medical check. Documents and fees differ.

Class 1 (and Class 2 at 70 and over): aptitude test

Bring — your current license and two color passport-style photos (3.5 x 4.5 cm) taken within the last six months; one photo is enough if you use a health checkup record instead of the medical check

Fee — 16,000 won for a standard card, 21,000 won for a mobile IC card

Medical check — charged separately; 7,000 won at the on-site medical office of a license test center (8,000 won for Class 1 large or special vehicles). Hospital prices vary

Vision standard (glasses or contact lenses allowed) — 0.8 or better with both eyes open and at least 0.5 in each eye. A driver who cannot see with one eye needs an ophthalmologist's certificate for a Class 1 ordinary test

Class 2 under 70: renewal

Bring — your current license and one passport-style color photo

Fee — 10,000 won for a standard card, 15,000 won for a mobile IC card

Medical check — not required

You can apply at any driver's license test center in Korea or at a police station civil affairs desk. Gangnam Police Station does not handle this work; KoROAD directs people to the nearby Gangnam license test center. The Safe Driving site also has a menu for booking a visit time at a test center.

One practical note for Class 1: police stations and the Mungyeong, Gangneung, Taebaek, Gwangyang, Chungju and Chuncheon test centers have no on-site medical office. If you plan to go there, get the medical check at a hospital first or use your health checkup record as described next.

Overseas Koreans and Korean nationals registered abroad who reside in Korea can also use the Overseas Koreans Agency service center (6 Yulgok-ro, Seoul); visits there can be booked in advance.

5. Use your national health checkup instead of a separate medical check

If you had a health checkup through the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), you may not need a separate medical check. At the test center or police station, sign the consent form for administrative information sharing, and staff can look up the checkup record on the spot. In that case there is no medical check fee.

Valid period — checkups taken within two years of your application date

Timing — records become available about 15 days after the checkup, depending on the clinic

Who can use it — Class 1 ordinary and Class 2 holders. Class 1 large and special vehicle licenses still need a separate medical check

Condition — the vision measured at your checkup must meet the standard above. Where both eyes need to be confirmed separately, KoROAD asks you to bring a printed result sheet that shows your vision

KoROAD also notes that arriving with your checkup record shortens the wait when offices are busy. If you plan to go in December, first confirm that you have a checkup on record from the past two years.

6. Applying online, and sending someone in your place

Class 2 under 70 — you can apply online through the Safe Driving site

Class 1 ordinary — you can apply for the aptitude test online if NHIS has your checkup record

Class 1 large or special — a medical check is required, so you have to go in person

Proxy application — for Class 2, and for Class 1 ordinary or Class 2 at 70 and over when a medical certificate or checkup record replaces the medical check, a family member can apply with a power of attorney written by you and their own ID. Not available for Class 1 large or special

Collection — however you apply, only you can collect the new card

Class 1 drivers can also register their photo and print the application form on the Safe Driving site before visiting.

7. Drivers aged 75 and over have extra steps

Drivers aged 75 and over renew every three years, and they must complete a cognitive screening and a traffic safety course before the aptitude test. If you are handling this for a parent, the order is:

Step 1, cognitive screening — choose one: a cognitive screening at a local dementia care center (reservation required, 1899-9988), a dementia test at a hospital or clinic, or the line-connecting test at a license test center. If the result indicates dementia or mild cognitive impairment, a doctor's diagnosis or opinion letter is required

Step 2, a two-hour traffic safety course — either at a KoROAD education center or online through KoROAD's traffic safety education center. Classroom sessions must be booked on the website after identity verification; the customer center can no longer take bookings by phone

Step 3, visit a test center or police station — bring the cognitive screening result (when going to a police station; issued within one year), the license, two passport-style photos, the fee, and an original health checkup result from within two years

For drivers aged 65 to 74 the course is recommended rather than required, and KoROAD says completing it can qualify you for a car insurance discount. Whether a discount applies depends on the insurer, so ask yours.

8. If you cannot make it in time: defer, or renew early

If you will be abroad, hospitalized, doing military service, detained, or affected by a disaster during your window, there are two options.

Renew early — take the aptitude test or renewal before your window opens. If you are leaving the country, bring proof such as your passport and visa, your ticket, a school admission letter, a business trip plan or proof of overseas employment. KoROAD suggests calling the test center before you go, since practice can vary

Apply for a deferral — this must be done before your window ends. The fee is 3,000 won, waived for military service, disasters, detention and hospitalization. A deferral can run up to three years and can be extended. People leaving Korea can apply on the Safe Driving website

After a deferral, you must complete the test or renewal within three months of the reason ending, meaning the date you return to Korea, leave hospital, finish military service or are released, and bring a document proving it.

9. What happens if you miss the window

Class 1

A fine of 30,000 won once the window has passed

The license is cancelled if one year passes from the day after the window ends

Class 2

A fine of 20,000 won (30,000 won for holders aged 70 and over who are subject to the aptitude test)

Suspensions and cancellations for a missed Class 2 renewal were abolished on December 9, 2011. The exception is a Class 2 license held by someone 70 or older whose card shows an "aptitude test period" on the front: that license is cancelled one year after the window ends

Unpaid fines grow. After the payment deadline a 3 percent surcharge is added, then 1.2 percent per month, up to 75 percent in total, and the amount can be collected through enforced collection procedures.

If your license was cancelled for a missed aptitude test, re-applying within five years means only the medical check and the written test; the skills test and road test are waived (three photos, no proxy application). After five years, unless another exemption applies, you take every part of the exam again.

Quick checklist

First — check your real window on the Safe Driving site or efine.go.kr

Card says 2026.12.31 — finishing by December 31 is safe under either rule

Class 1 — two photos (one if you use a checkup record), 16,000 won (21,000 won for mobile IC) plus the medical check; with a checkup from the past two years you can skip the medical check and apply online

Class 2 under 70 — one photo, 10,000 won (15,000 won for mobile IC), online application available

Age 75 and over — cognitive screening, a two-hour course, then the visit

Can't make it — apply for a deferral before the window ends (up to three years, extendable)

Missed it — Class 1: 30,000 won fine and cancellation after one year; Class 2: 20,000 won fine

If you are enrolled in Korean national health insurance and have not had this year's national health checkup, it may be worth getting it before your aptitude test, since the record can replace the separate medical check. Eligibility and deadlines are covered in our guide to Korea's 2026 national health screening.

This guide reflects KoROAD's Safe Driving civil service guidance and the agency's announcement as of October 30, 2026. Fees and procedures can change, so check the Safe Driving site (www.safedriving.or.kr) or the KoROAD customer center (1577-1120) before you go.