Exchanging a driving licence from South Korea in the Netherlands (omwisselen)
Exchange for category B only. Other categories are lost; the licence must still be valid.
From the RDW rules, verified 2 September 2026. The details, sources and costs are below.
The facts for a licence from South Korea
- How long you may drive on it: 185 days from the date you register at a Dutch address (BRP registration). After that, you need a Dutch licence to drive here.
- Exchange: Yes, with limits. The Netherlands has an agreement with South Korea: category B only can be exchanged, provided the licence is valid and you lived there at least 185 days in the year it was issued. Other categories are lost on exchange.
- The 30% ruling (expat scheme): a valid decision lets you exchange a licence from any country, with all its categories, if the licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit.
- What you cannot keep: only category B only come back; other categories are waived on exchange.
- Translation: Not in Latin script: for an exchange you need a translation by a certified translator, the embassy or the consulate.
- International Driving Permit: recommended by the RDW when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E; never required for the 185 days.
- Health declaration: needed before an exchange or the practical exam (Gezondheidsverklaring, €47 via Mijn CBR).
- Note on the document: "1st and 2nd class ordinary license".
Sources: RDW exchange checklist, RDW, driving with a foreign licence, RDW, exchanging a foreign licence; verified 2 September 2026.
Which International Driving Permit can South Korea issue, and do I need one?
- The RDW never requires an International Driving Permit for your 185 days; it advises one when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E, so that they can be read.
- The permit is a translation of your licence, obtained in the issuing country, and it never extends the 185 days.
- South Korea is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (since 14 June 1971).
- It signed the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic on 29 December 1969 but never ratified it, so it is not a party to that one.
- Its permit follows the 1949 model and is valid for one year from the date of issue.
- The Netherlands is a party to both conventions, so the 1949 permit is recognised here.
Sources: RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), 1949 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 10 (validity of the permit) (read 7 September 2026).
What the categories on a South Korea licence mean here
Korean licences are 1st class (제1종) and 2nd class (제2종), each with sub-types. The 1st class ordinary (보통) licence covers cars, vans up to 15 seats and trucks under 12 tonnes; the 2nd class ordinary licence covers cars, vans up to 10 seats and trucks up to 4 tonnes. The RDW lists both ordinary licences as exchangeable for B (see the facts above). The classes are not letters, which is the case in which the RDW advises an International Driving Permit; the bilingual English licence (영문운전면허증) is the same licence with an English side.
| On your licence | What it covers at home | Closest Dutch category |
|---|---|---|
| 제1종 대형 (1st class, large) | Passenger cars, vans and buses, trucks, construction machinery, special vehicles, mopeds. | C or D |
| 제1종 보통 (1st class, ordinary) | Passenger cars, vans up to 15 seats, trucks under 12 tonnes load, forklifts under 3 tonnes, special vehicles under 10 tonnes gross weight, mopeds. | BDutch B stops at 3,500 kg and 8 passengers; a 12-tonne truck is Dutch C and a 15-seat van D1 here. |
| 제1종 소형 (1st class, small) | Three-wheeled trucks and three-wheeled cars, mopeds. | noneNo Dutch category is built around three-wheeled cars. |
| 제1종 특수 (1st class, special): 대형견인, 소형견인, 구난 | Towing tractors (large: any; small: up to 3.5 tonnes gross weight) and recovery vehicles, plus everything a 2nd class ordinary licence covers. | CE or BELarge towing to CE, small towing to BE; our judgement. |
| 제2종 보통 (2nd class, ordinary) | Passenger cars, vans up to 10 seats, trucks up to 4 tonnes load, special vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes gross weight, mopeds. | BDutch B stops at 3,500 kg and 8 passengers; a 10-seat van is Dutch D1 here. |
| 제2종 소형 (2nd class, small) | Motorcycles, with or without a sidecar, and mopeds. | A |
| 원동기장치자전거 (moped) | Mopeds (motorised bicycles). | AM |
- Dutch code 78: If you take the Dutch practical exam in an automatic, the Dutch licence gets code 78: automatic only. Removing it means a new practical exam in a manual car.
- Your licence document: A Korean licence is renewed, with an aptitude test, every 10 years for licences obtained or renewed since 9 December 2011; every 5 years from age 65 and every 3 years from 75. The renewal window is 6 months either side of the birthday in the 10th year.
- Your licence document: The bilingual English licence (영문운전면허증) is the Korean licence with an English side, accepted in the countries on the Authority's list without a translation; each country sets its own driving period, mostly about 3 months.
The Dutch column is the closest Dutch category, not an official equivalence: the RDW decides on exchange what a category becomes, and via the 30% ruling only the categories on the licence come across. During your 185 days, your own licence and its own categories are what count.
What is our judgement here, and what may be out of date
- Korea also issues a 2nd class ordinary licence limited to automatics (제2종 보통, 자동); the Authority's pages we could read mention automatics only as an exemption in the skills test, so we do not describe the condition or how it is printed.
- The Dutch column is our judgement: the 1st class ordinary licence (trucks under 12 tonnes, 15-seat vans) and the 2nd class ordinary licence (4 tonnes, 10 seats) both to B, which is also what the RDW exchanges; 1st class large to C or D; the special licences to CE or BE; 1st class small (three-wheelers) to none.
- Vehicle definitions are read from the Authority's summary of 도로교통법 시행규칙 별표 18; the table itself on the statute portal loads as an image we could not read.
Sources: Korea Road Traffic Authority (safedriving.or.kr), 운전면허의 종류: licence types and the vehicles they cover (read 13 September 2026); Korea Road Traffic Authority, 정기적성검사/면허갱신: the 10-year renewal cycle (read 13 September 2026); Korea Road Traffic Authority, 영문운전면허증: the bilingual English licence (read 13 September 2026); RDW, rijbewijscategorieën (read 8 September 2026); CBR, wat betekent code 78 (read 8 September 2026).
A worked example
Registered at a Dutch address on 1 September 2026: you may drive here until 4 March 2027 (185 days). After that you need a Dutch licence.
Computed by the same rules engine as the checker; your own dates give your own deadline. Get yours →
What it costs: the exchange route
about €171(€151–€211)
| Item | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal exchange fee (national maximum) | €54 | |
| Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring) | €47 | |
| Sworn translation of the licenceestimate | €55 | €40–€90 |
| Passport photo (fotomatrix standard)estimate | €15 | €10–€20 |
CBR fees: CBR tariff table 2026; estimates are labelled. Adjust lessons, city and attempts in the checker. Compare the routes →
Timeline
About 3–6 weeks, in 6 steps:
- Health declaration via Mijn CBR(~4 weeks (CBR processing))
- Sworn translation (non-Latin licences)
- Passport photo
- Gemeente appointment
- Hand in your foreign licence
- Collect your Dutch licence(RDW decides within 15 working days; collect ~5 working days later)
Common mistakes with agreement-country licences
- Counting on all categories coming back. Only the categories on the agreement list are exchanged; the others are waived on a waiver form (afstandsverklaring). source
- Letting the licence expire first. The RDW cannot exchange an expired non-EU licence. source
- Forgetting the residency test. You must have lived in the issuing country for at least 185 days in the year the licence was issued. source
- Driving past day 185 while the exchange is pending. The 185 days run from your registration; the pending application does not extend them. source
Why this is confusing
Three things must all be true for the exchange: the licence is still valid, the category is on the list, and you lived in the issuing country 185 days in the year of issue. The exchange returns only the listed categories.
Exams in your language
The CBR car theory exam exists in English; every other language uses an interpreter, booked 14 days ahead. The practical exam allows a sworn interpreter or your own instructor to translate.
Which exams do I need? · Theory exam in English · Theory exam with an interpreter · Interpreter at the practical exam · Do you need Dutch?
Rules version 1.2.2, verified 2 September 2026. Source: RDW. This is guidance, not legal advice. Confirm with the official RDW checklist. Municipal licence fee: at most €54 in 2026. This page as data: JSON; all rules: rules index.