South Korea's free flu vaccination programme for the 2026-2027 season covers children, pregnant women and adults aged 65 or over. The Korean programme name is 인플루엔자 국가예방접종. Check the birth-date range and vaccination period for your group, then prepare the documents you need. If you are not eligible under the national programme, you can also look into additional support in your area.
Sources were checked on 2026-10-15 KST. The schedule below reflects KDCA's schedule change and follow-up guidance. This guide explains the administrative rules for free vaccination. Ask a clinician whether you can be vaccinated, and check vaccine availability and vaccination hours with the provider you plan to visit.
National eligibility and vaccination dates
Children and pregnant women
| Group | Eligibility and birth-date criteria | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children: two-dose group | Children aged 6 months to 14 years who fall within the two-dose criteria / born 2012.1.1. to 2026.8.31. | 2026-09-21 | 2027-04-30 |
| Children: one-dose group | Children aged 6 months to 14 years who do not fall within the two-dose criteria / born 2012.1.1. to 2026.8.31. | 2026-09-21 | 2027-04-30 |
| Pregnant women | Proof of pregnancy required / any gestational week / no separate birth-date range | 2026-09-21 | 2027-04-30 |
Both child groups have the same start date, but the birth-date range alone does not determine whether a child can be vaccinated on a particular day. The minimum vaccination age is 6 months, and the child's actual date of birth applies rather than the date on resident registration. Check both the birth-date range and minimum age.
See KDCA's national vaccination guidance for eligibility and dates.
Older adults
For older adults, eligibility uses the birth year on resident registration. Vaccination starts on different dates for each age group.
| Group | Birth-date range | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 75 or over | Born before 1951.12.31. (Korean wording: 이전) | 2026-10-06 | 2027-04-30 |
| Aged 70-74 | Born 1952.1.1. to 1956.12.31. | 2026-10-12 | 2027-04-30 |
| Aged 65-69 | Born 1957.1.1. to 1961.12.31. | 2026-10-15 | 2027-04-30 |
KDCA's national vaccination guidance gives the overall eligibility rule as follows, in our translation:
“Aged 65 or over (born before 1961.12.31.)”
The source uses 이전, translated here as “before”. If your birthday falls on the boundary date, ask the vaccination provider how the rule applies to you.
Children's doses and proof of pregnancy
When children receive one or two doses
The two-dose criteria apply to children aged 6 months to under 9 years. Within that age range, a child qualifies if any of the following applies:
- Receiving an influenza vaccination for the first time
- Previous vaccination history is unknown
- A total of only one influenza vaccine dose received by 2026-06-30
The minimum interval between two doses is 4 weeks. Children aged 9 or over receive one dose regardless of previous vaccination history. These are the official dose criteria; discuss your child's dose count and schedule with the doctor carrying out the pre-vaccination assessment.
The dose criteria are based on the national vaccination guidance and page 38 of the main text of the influenza guidelines.
Bring a document confirming pregnancy
Pregnant women show proof such as a maternity booklet (산모수첩) or pregnancy certificate (임신확인서), and support applies regardless of gestational week. Ask the provider which documents to bring. These English document names are descriptive translations.
See KDCA's pregnancy support guidance for details.
Exceptions to older adults' start dates
The table above shows the usual start dates by age group. Among adults aged 65 or over, those in high-risk groups, including immunocompromised people, may be vaccinated from 2026-10-06 after consulting a clinician.
There is also a vaccine-supply exception for long-term care hospitals (요양병원) and the care facilities listed below: vaccination starts as soon as vaccines are supplied. The notice specifies three types of care facility. The English hospital and facility names here are descriptive translations:
- Elderly nursing facilities (노인요양시설)
- Small group homes for elderly nursing care (노인요양공동생활가정)
- Short-term care institutions (단기보호기관)
These exceptions adjust the start date; they do not expand eligibility for free vaccination. Ask a clinician or the public health centre responsible for your area how they apply to an individual case.
The exception conditions are based on KDCA's schedule-change announcement and follow-up guidance for older adults.
Documents for the national programme
Read the general identification guidance alongside the documents listed for each group. English document names below are descriptive translations.
| Group | Documents and checks |
|---|---|
| General identity check | Bring identification |
| Children | Documents such as a resident registration household copy (주민등록등본) or National Health Insurance card (국민건강보험증) |
| Pregnant women | Proof of pregnancy, such as a maternity booklet (산모수첩) |
| Older adults | Identification |
For children and pregnant women, the documents above are used to confirm eligibility. Ask the provider whether any additional documents are needed. This table concerns eligibility checks for the national programme; proof for additional local support is covered separately below.
The document guidance is based on KDCA's notice.
Find a provider and prepare for your visit
Search by group on 예방접종도우미
Under the national programme, you can use a provider regardless of where you live, but check that it is designated to vaccinate your group. This differs from the residence and in-area provider requirements of additional local support.
Use the influenza vaccination provider search on 예방접종도우미. To find it through the site's menus, follow these steps. The English menu labels are descriptive translations:
- Vaccination management (예방접종 관리)
- Find a designated vaccination provider (위탁의료기관 찾기)
- Influenza vaccination (인플루엔자 예방접종)
- Select the tab for children, older adults or pregnant women.
- Select an area, then search using a provider name or other search criteria.
Results show hospital or clinic names, telephone numbers and addresses.
What to ask before visiting
A search listing does not confirm that you can be vaccinated on the day you visit. When you call, ask about the following:
| Item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Provider | Whether it is designated to vaccinate your eligibility group |
| Vaccine | Whether vaccines for free vaccination will be in stock and vaccination will be available on your visit date |
| Hours | Vaccination hours on your planned visit date |
| Booking | Whether an appointment is needed |
| Documents | Group-specific proof and any additional documents |
| Individual circumstances | Clinical advice about dose count and health status |
Ask the provider you plan to visit about vaccine availability and vaccination hours for that day. Consulting hours are not necessarily vaccination hours, and you need to check with each provider whether an appointment is required. Not every public health centre offers flu vaccination.
The advice to check vaccines in advance is based on the designated-provider guidance; the advice to ask about hours and appointments draws on Yangju's operating guidance. Yangju is a local example of what to ask, not a nationwide timetable or appointment requirement.
Additional local support outside the national programme
If you are outside the national criteria, you can check local programmes. Residence, eligibility, dates, providers and proof vary by locality, so do not assume that the national programme's end date applies. The example below is based on official guidance from Seoul's Jung-gu; this is not a survey of every local authority's programme.
Additional support in Seoul's Jung-gu
This support is for Jung-gu residents aged 15-64 in the health-vulnerable groups listed below. The birth-date range is 1962.1.1. to 2011.12.31.
| Item | Support condition |
|---|---|
| Residence | Jung-gu resident |
| Start date | 2026-10-19 |
| End date | 2026-12-18 |
| Provider | Designated provider within Jung-gu |
| General documents | Identification and proof of the relevant eligibility |
The qualifying groups and their proof are listed below. The English eligibility and document names are descriptive translations of the Korean terms:
| Eligibility | Relevant proof |
|---|---|
| Medical Aid, Type 1 or 2 (의료급여 1·2종) | Recipient certificate (수급자증명서) |
| Severe disability / former Grades 1-3 (심한장애 / 구 1~3등급) | Disability welfare card (장애인 복지카드) |
| The person recognised for national merit (국가유공자 본인) | National merit card (유공자증) |
| Those eligible for a survivor card (유족증 대상자) | Survivor card (family relations certificate) — 유족증(가족관계증명서) |
This does not cover all low-income residents. For the survivor-card group, the official wording is “유족증(가족관계증명서)”, translated descriptively as “survivor card (family relations certificate)”. The guidance alone does not make clear whether the family relations certificate replaces the survivor card or is needed in addition to it. Ask the provider which documents are required. Vaccination is available at designated providers within Jung-gu, not at Jung-gu Public Health Centre.
These local conditions are based on Seoul Jung-gu Public Health Centre's influenza vaccination guidance. Sources were checked on 2026-10-15 KST.
Ask your local public health centre about other areas
An area's absence from this article does not tell you whether support is available there. Page 48 of the main text of the influenza guidelines directs enquiries about local programmes to the public health centre responsible for the area. Ask your local centre about eligibility, residence requirements, vaccination dates, participating providers and proof, then check vaccination availability with the provider you plan to visit.
For additional support in Namyangju, differences between retrieved versions of the official guidance make it difficult to give a single account of the dates and eligibility. Eligibility and dates for Namyangju’s additional support require confirmation. Call Namyangju City’s main number, 031-590-2114, and ask to be directed to the department responsible for vaccination. Check both residence requirements and which providers you can use, rather than applying the national programme's address-independent access rule to a local programme.
Before your visit
Once you have checked eligibility and dates, prepare your documents and ask the provider about vaccines, vaccination hours, appointments and paperwork. Local guidance and a provider's day-to-day availability can change, so a support period in the table does not guarantee vaccination on a particular day.
This article explains the administrative rules for free vaccination. It does not assess whether an individual can be vaccinated, determine their dose count or health status, or recommend a particular vaccine. Discuss a suitable vaccination schedule with a clinician.