A drive device to drive a semiconductor element includes: an identification signal generating circuit generating an identification signal depending on a type of an input error signal; a protection operation signal generating circuit generating a protection operation signal having a pulse width equal to that of one of the error signal and the identification signal having a longer pulse width; an identification signal terminal inputting and outputting the identification signal; a protection operation signal terminal inputting and outputting the protection operation signal; and a protection circuit performing an error protection operation depending on an own-phase protection operation signal generated by the protection operation signal generating circuit and an other-phase protection operation signal input through the protection operation signal terminal.