Driving licence and car

Steps

1. Keep your European licence. It is recognised throughout the EU. You must exchange it only if it is lost, stolen or damaged, if you commit an offence in Poland, or if your licence is valid for life and the authorities require it after 2 years of residence (Your Europe). On renewal, the Polish rules (period of validity, medical check) apply.
2. Take out the compulsory third-party liability insurance (OC) before registration: a car without valid OC cannot be driven.
3. Declare and pay the excise duty on the car (AKC-US form, on the tax administration's PUESC portal): declaration within 14 days and payment within 30 days from the date the tax obligation arises (generally the vehicle's arrival in Poland, if you bought it beforehand), both no later than the day of registration. The payment confirmation (PZAS) is in principle sent to you within two working days after payment; if it does not arrive, you request it with the PZAS form on PUESC.
4. Check the technical inspection: you need proof of a valid inspection, either: the certificate of a positive inspection carried out in Poland by an approved diagnostician, the foreign registration certificate bearing the inspection entry and its expiry date, or another document issued by an authorised body of a Member State. For a right-hand-drive car (adapted for left-hand traffic), the certificate of a positive inspection is compulsory.
5. File the registration application at the vehicle department (wydział komunikacji) of your starostwo powiatowe (district), your town hall (district-status city) or your district office in Warsaw. You leave with a temporary registration of 30 days (extendable by 14 days), then the definitive certificate.
6. On the road: most motorways are free for cars; only concession sections remain paid (see below). There is no vignette: the e-TOLL electronic toll applies to vehicles over 3.5 t (GDDKiA).

Documents

• Registration application (wniosek o rejestrację pojazdu).
• Proof of ownership (sales contract or invoice).
• Foreign registration certificate and former plates (or a written declaration if you must return them to the country of origin).
• Proof of excise paid in Poland, or exemption certificate.
• Proof of a valid technical inspection.
• Translations into Polish by a sworn translator of the foreign documents, except the European registration certificate with harmonised codes.
• Receipts for the fees paid.

Costs and timelines

• Registration fees (gov.pl): PLN 66.50 for the certificate and the legalisation stickers, PLN 13.50 for the temporary permit, PLN 80 for car plates (PLN 1,000 for personalised plates).
• Excise (excise Act, consolidated text of March 2026, art. 105, 109a and 163a): 3.1% of the base for a car with an engine of 2,000 cm³ or less, 18.6% above. Non-rechargeable hybrid: 1.55% up to 2,000 cm³, 9.3% from 2,000 to 3,500 cm³. Plug-in hybrid: exempt up to 2,000 cm³ (until 31 December 2029), 9.3% from 2,000 to 3,500 cm³. Electric and hydrogen: exempt. For an exemption, you request the certificate (zaświadczenie) from the tax office.
• Late registration: fixed fine of PLN 500 if you do not file the application within 30 days; PLN 1,000 if you still have not filed it 180 days after the car's arrival (Road Traffic Code, art. 73aa and 140mb).
• Tolls (GDDKiA, 13 August 2026): free for cars and motorcycles on State-run motorways. Paid on the three concession sections: A1 Gdańsk (Rusocin)–Toruń (152 km), A2 Świecko–Konin (238 km paid out of 255) and A4 Katowice–Kraków. The A4 concession ends in March 2027: the toll for cars and motorcycles there will then be abolished.

Common pitfalls

• Going beyond the 30 days: after this period, you can no longer drive the car and you risk a fine.
• Registering before having the excise certificate: the vehicle department asks for it for every passenger car coming from the EU and registered for the first time in Poland.
• Paying excise when your move exempts you from it, or believing the exemption is automatic: the law (art. 110) exempts the car you bring when settling in Poland from an EU or EEA country, on five conditions: it is for your personal use; you used it for at least 6 months in your previous country before moving (and you prove it); you bring it within 12 months after your settlement; you do not sell, rent or lend it for 12 months; it was taxed normally in that country, with no refund on export. It is not automatic: you request the exemption certificate from the tax office (urząd skarbowy) and hand it to the vehicle department.
• Driving all year on foreign plates: once you are a resident (more than 185 days a year), you must register in Poland; otherwise, carry proof of your residence in another country.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA licences: recognised without compulsory exchange.
• British licences (Scots included): a valid British licence issued up to 31 December 2020 does not have to be exchanged: it remains valid in Poland until its end date (gov.pl). Issued later, it lets you drive for 6 months; request the exchange before the end of these 6 months, without an exam (GOV.UK, 11 December 2025). While living in Poland, you can no longer have it renewed in the United Kingdom.
• Other non-EU licences: exchange possible after 185 days of residence at the starostwo (or the town hall of a district-status city), PLN 100, about 9 working days after the licence is confirmed by the issuing country (which can take several weeks). A licence not compliant with the Geneva or Vienna conventions requires the theory exam; an international licence cannot be exchanged.
• Car coming from the United Kingdom or Switzerland: the excise exemption for a move also exists (art. 112), but you must have lived at least 12 months in a row outside the EU and the EEA, have used the car for at least 6 months, and the request goes through the customs administration (urząd celno-skarbowy).