Commercial Truck Replacement and Business Transfer Procedure — Order of Association Acceptance, Vehicle Registration and Garage Certificate

Procedure

1. 1. Check the requirements for the replacement vehicle

   The tonnage class allowed for the replacement vehicle is determined, for an individual trucking transport business operator, by the brackets of small (1.5 tons or less), medium (more than 1.5 tons and up to 16 tons) and large (more than 16 tons), and, for a general trucking transport business operator, by the maximum payload of the retired vehicle (with 10 tons as the threshold). Check the allowed range with the association before buying the replacement vehicle. Special motor vehicles can be replaced regardless of an increase or decrease in gross weight. For a structurally modified vehicle, the payload before the modification is used as the basis. If you have carried out a replacement that increases the maximum payload, you cannot carry out another payload-increasing replacement within 16 months (12 months for a certified excellent logistics company) from the date the report was accepted. A replacement in which the new vehicle is 5 tons or less is not treated as a payload-increasing replacement.

2. 2. Report to the association and notice of acceptance

   File the truck replacement report with the competent freight trucking association and receive the notice of acceptance. If the vehicle type, tonnage or model year requirements of the retired and replacement vehicles are not met, issuance of the notice is delayed, so compare the vehicle documents in advance.

3. 3. Registration at the vehicle registration office

   Take the notice of acceptance and proceed with deregistration of the existing vehicle and registration of the replacement vehicle. The replacement must be completed within 15 days from the date the report of vehicle retirement is accepted, and the period is extended up to 6 months only where there is an unavoidable reason set by public notice, such as a delay in delivery of a new vehicle.

4. 4. Notify the association of the result

   The procedure ends only when you notify the association of the result after completing registration. If this step is skipped, the permit details and the actual vehicle remain mismatched.

5. 5. Check business transfer and the garage separately

   A transfer (assignment and acquisition) of the transport business itself is reported to the competent authority, with documents for checking grounds for disqualification, the garage installation confirmation certificate and the freight transport worker qualification certificate attached. The garage must be on land of a category where parking is allowed, and its area must be at least the vehicle length multiplied by the vehicle width.

Required documents

• Truck replacement report form; motor vehicle registration certificates of the existing and replacement vehicles
• Notice of acceptance from the association (registration stage)
• Transport business permit certificate
• Garage installation confirmation certificate or garage lease agreement (usually 1 year or longer)
• When using the parking lot of multi-family housing: letter of consent to use in the name of the head of the management office or the council of occupants' representatives
• For a business transfer: transfer agreement, documents for checking grounds for disqualification, freight transport worker qualification certificate

Fees

The fee for a business transfer report is around a few thousand won under local government standards, and public charges such as acquisition tax are paid separately when the permit certificate is reissued and the vehicle is registered. Agency fees in the industry range from tens of thousands of won to several hundred thousand won. We will inform you of the fee after consultation, considering whether a business transfer is involved and the scope of garage document preparation.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Trucking Transport Business Act, Article 16
• Enforcement Rule of the Trucking Transport Business Act, Article 23
• Enforcement Rule of the Trucking Transport Business Act, Article 52-3
• Enforcement Rule of the Trucking Transport Business Act, attached Table 1
• Enforcement Decree of the Trucking Transport Business Act, Article 12
• Regulations on the Handling of Truck Replacement Affairs, Article 11
• Regulation on Replacement of Trucks, Article 8

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-05

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Complete the replacement within 15 days from the date the report of vehicle retirement is accepted (6 months if there is an unavoidable reason).
• Check the vehicle type, tonnage class and model year requirements before buying the replacement vehicle so that no gap in operation arises.

Frequently asked questions