Private Taxi License Transfer Approval and Inheritance Report — Transferee Eligibility, Documents and the 90-Day Deadline

Procedure

1. 1. Check whether the license can be transferred

   Under Article 14(3) of the Act and Article 10-2 of its Enforcement Decree, a private taxi license granted on or after November 28, 2009 cannot be transferred unless the ordinance of the competent local government provides otherwise. Even a transferable license can only be transferred after 5 years from the date it was granted, but it may be transferred earlier in cases of illness requiring treatment for 1 year or more, inability to use a substitute driver, emigration, or age 61 or older. First check the license date on the license certificate and the local ordinance.

2. 2. Check transferee eligibility

   As of the date of the approval application, the transferee must meet the licensing standards in Article 19(1) of the Enforcement Rule. The driving experience requirement includes 5 years or more of driving business vehicles and an accident-free record of 5 years or more; a transferee with an accident-free driving record of 5 years or more in the past 5 years from the application date who has completed the traffic safety training of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority is deemed to meet this driving experience requirement. Separately, the transferee must not have received administrative fines 3 or more times in the last 3 years for violating transport worker obligations, must have 180 or fewer cumulative driver's license penalty points, and must hold a taxi driver qualification and pass the driving aptitude test.

3. 3. Prepare the transfer contract and attachments

   The transferor prepares the original private taxi business license, the taxi driver qualification certificate and, for a transfer within 5 years, documents proving the reason such as a medical certificate. The transferee prepares proof of driving experience or a traffic safety training completion certificate, the overall driving aptitude test report, a copy of the transfer contract, proof of a secured garage, and a copy of the taxi driver qualification certificate. The driver's license and driving record certificate are checked by the official if the applicants consent to administrative information sharing.

4. 4. Apply to the competent authority for approval

   The transferor and transferee both sign the private taxi business transfer approval application and submit it to the competent authority. The processing period on the form is 15 days and the fee is 3,000 won, and the law deems approval granted if the authority does not notify a decision within 20 days of the application. Approval cannot be granted if the transferor's or transferee's driver's license has been revoked or there are grounds for revocation, and once approved the transferee succeeds to the transferor's status as a transport business operator.

5. 5. Inheritance report when the license holder dies

   For an heir to continue the business, a passenger transport business inheritance report must be filed within 90 days of the date of death, with proof of death, proof of relationship to the deceased, and consent from other heirs of the same rank (processing period 5 days, fee 3,000 won). An heir who wants to drive personally must meet the same eligibility requirements as a transferee; an heir who does not can transfer the license to another person after obtaining transfer approval. A license granted on or after November 28, 2009 can only be continued if an ordinance permits inheritance, and in that case the ordinance may set a different reporting period of 90 to 180 days.

Required documents

• Private taxi business transfer approval application (Enforcement Rule of the Passenger Transport Service Act, Annex Form No. 18)
• Passenger transport business inheritance report (same Enforcement Rule, Annex Form No. 20, when continuing the business by inheritance)
• Transferor: original private taxi business license, taxi driver qualification certificate, and documents proving the reason such as a medical certificate (when transferring within 5 years due to illness, inability to use a substitute driver, or age 61 or older)
• Transferee: proof of driving experience or traffic safety training completion certificate, overall driving aptitude test report, copy of the taxi driver qualification certificate
• Copy of the transfer contract and proof of a secured garage
• For an inheritance report: proof of the deceased's death, proof of relationship to the deceased, and consent from other heirs of the same rank
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by a representative)

Fees

Industry fees range from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand won. We quote after consultation based on whether the matter is a transfer approval or an inheritance report, the volume of the transferee's driving record evidence, and the number of heirs and consent forms. Government fees are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 6
• Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 14
• Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 15
• Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 85
• Passenger Transport Service Act, Addenda (Act No. 9733), Paragraph 3
• Enforcement Decree of the Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 10-2
• Enforcement Rule of the Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 19
• Enforcement Rule of the Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 35
• Enforcement Rule of the Passenger Transport Service Act, Article 37
• Enforcement Rule of the Passenger Transport Service Act, Annex Form No. 18
• Enforcement Rule of the Passenger Transport Service Act, Annex Form No. 20

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-09

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

• Once approval is granted, the transferee succeeds to the transferor's status as a transport business operator, so check the transferor's violations and disposition history before signing the contract.
• Transferring without approval or obtaining approval by fraudulent means is grounds for revocation of the business license, so do not hand over the business before approval.

Frequently asked questions