Foreign driving licence in Poland — validity and exchange

Recognition and exchange are separate matters. Recognition allows you to drive on a foreign document. Exchange means obtaining a Polish licence in place of a foreign domestic licence (Articles 4–5a and 14 of the Act on drivers). Being eligible for exchange does not itself allow you to drive while the application is processed.

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226.

Generally no, provided it is valid. Article 5(6) recognises it for its period of validity. Moving to Poland does not trigger the six-month limit for this group. This includes, for example, Germany, Czechia, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Recognition is conditional: Article 4(3) excludes licences retained, or driving entitlements temporarily or permanently withdrawn, in one of the listed countries. Exchange does not remove category restrictions or driving bans. For expired licences, see Article 14(2a).

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226.

Article 4(1)(2) distinguishes an international driving permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention (point a), a domestic licence or international permit under the 1968 Vienna Convention (point b), EU/EEA/Swiss licences (point c), and domestic licences covered by another international agreement (point d).

Article 5(4) limits recognition of documents under points a and b to six months from the start of permanent or temporary residence. The document must also remain valid. For another international agreement, Article 5a and the agreement determine the scope. There is no single rule for all non-EU documents.

Check the actual format, categories and legal basis, not just the country name. A domestic licence from a Geneva Convention country is not the document listed in point a: that provision refers to an international permit. Do not assume a translation replaces the required document.

A Vienna international driving permit never replaces the domestic licence. Always present it together with the corresponding domestic licence on which it was issued (Article 41(2)(a)(ii) of the Vienna Convention as amended). The international permit alone, without the domestic document, is not a basis for driving.

Older formats must also be assessed under Article 43: documents issued under the earlier rules before the transitional period ended remain recognised for their period of validity. An older appearance alone therefore does not establish that a document must be rejected.

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226.

Six months concerns recognition of certain documents; 185 days concerns residence for issuing a Polish licence. The first period starts with permanent or temporary residence (Article 5(4)), not with receiving a PESEL number or applying for exchange. Do not replace calendar months with 185 days.

Article 11(1)(5)(a) provides for presence in Poland for at least 185 days in each calendar year because of personal and occupational ties, or personal ties alone with an intention to reside permanently. Intending to stay does not remove the day requirement in this route.

Points b–d cover other situations: regular presence due to personal ties while working successively in at least two EU countries, a task of a definite duration in another EU country, and studying abroad while retaining residence in Poland.

This is not an automatic exemption for everyone studying in Poland. Address registration, a visa and PESEL do not replace the residence assessment.

Since 3 September 2026, Article 11(1a)–(1b) specifies the latest relevant stage: personal collection, planned postal delivery, or the state test referred to there for categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, B+E and T.

If your exchange requires a category B theory test, satisfy and declare residence by the test date; do not wait until collection. Without that test, the collection/delivery stage applies. The declaration carries criminal liability for false statements.

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226.

1. Check recognition and exchange eligibility. Identify the issuing country, format, categories, validity, restrictions and start of residence. Begin before your right to drive on that document ends.
2. Prepare the basic documents. Application, identity document for inspection, a 35 × 45 mm photograph taken no earlier than six months before applying, a copy of the domestic licence, and proof of the fee. Have the original ready for verification and surrender.
3. Add documents for your circumstances. A foreign national attaches a copy of a residence card, visa or another document confirming the right to stay, or a certificate of at least six months of study (§ 14(4)). This attachment does not automatically waive statutory residence requirements. Translations and medical or psychological certificates depend on the document and renewal of validity.
4. Apply to the competent authority. The starosta responsible for your residence issues the licence (Article 10(1) of the Act and Article 21(1)(3) of the Code of Administrative Procedure); a city with county status uses its city office, and Warsaw its competent district office. Confirm the available application channel.
5. Pass theory if required. The authority creates a Driver Candidate Profile (PKK) for the procedure. Do not automatically book a full course and practical test.
6. Complete the formalities and collect the licence. Exchange requires surrender of the foreign document. Agree collection with the authority: § 16(1) excludes postal delivery where receiving a new document is conditional on surrendering the previous one.

The documents and checks are governed particularly by §§ 5, 14(1)(5)–(6), 14(4) and 15 of the 2025 regulation, as amended in 2026.

Legal basis: Document regulation — Dz.U. 2025 item 1073.

Since 17 December 2025, Article 14(1) bases the additional test on non-compliance with the format and range of data required by the Vienna Convention. In that case, a theory pass and a certified translation are required.

This additional condition does not apply to domestic EU, EEA or Swiss licences. The country name or participation in a convention does not establish whether the actual document complies.

No test does not automatically mean no translation. Under § 14(1)(5)(d) of the regulation, the exchange procedure specified there requires a copy with a Polish translation prepared or certified by a sworn translator or competent Polish consul.

The exemption covers licences following the EU models listed in that provision. Assess recognition for driving separately from translation for exchange.

For an ordinary exchange under Article 14(1), the additional test is theory. That provision does not require a new full course or practical test. Separate proceedings concerning withdrawn entitlements can follow other rules.

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226.

Yes, subject to statutory conditions. Article 14(1a), in force since 17 December 2025, allows exchange of an eligible foreign domestic licence after expiry.

It requires residence under Article 11(1)(5), confirmation of the original document’s data by the competent issuing-country authority, and documents allowing renewal of validity. Article 14(1) also applies, including theory where required.

Article 14(2a) contains a corresponding rule for EU, EEA and Swiss licences. Check which medical or psychological certificates are needed for renewal. Eligibility to exchange does not restore permission to drive on an expired document.

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226.

The Act on drivers contains no separate rule for UK driving licences. Article 4(1)(2)(c) lists EU, EEA and Swiss licences, not the United Kingdom.

The provisions that would have added it (Article 44 of the Act of 15 March 2019, Dz.U. 2019 item 622) were to enter into force only on a withdrawal without an agreement (Article 63); the United Kingdom left under an agreement, so they never took effect.

Licences issued by 31 December 2020 — official guidance, not a statute. The Brexit portal (published 7 July 2020) and the gov.pl instructions explain that such documents are treated as issued by an EU country and can be used for their period of validity without exchange.

This is the administration’s position; no national provision expressly establishing it was found. You can rely on it, but it is not a statutory rule.

Licences issued from 1 January 2021 — statutory rules. The United Kingdom is a party to the Vienna Convention, so the document falls under Article 4(1)(2)(b) and Article 5(4): six months from the start of permanent or temporary residence.

Article 14(1) governs exchange and any theory requirement (conformity with the format and data required by the Vienna Convention). The Brexit portal also speaks of recognition “for the period of validity” alongside the six months; Article 5(4) of the Act decides this.

A document dated 1 January 2021, a replacement or a renewal — interpretation. Both official sources speak of the date a document was issued (“before 1 January 2021”, “until 31 December 2020”), not the date entitlements were first gained.

On their wording, a document dated 1 January 2021 and a replacement or renewed document issued after that date fall under the convention rules. Neither source discusses replacements or renewals expressly, so confirm the classification with the authority before exchanging or deciding not to.

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226; guidance: government Brexit portal.

Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1280 recognises valid Ukrainian licences held by people enjoying temporary protection or the adequate national protection covered by that provision. A certified translation or international permit is not required for driving on that basis. Restrictions and bans still apply; nationality alone is insufficient.

Decision (EU) 2026/1912 extends protection to 4 March 2028, with the extension applying from 5 March 2027. Article 2, applying from 5 August 2026, concerns compliance with military obligations in Ukraine and, where applicable, evidence.

Following the corrigendum, that condition excludes people already protected in the same Member State on or before 4 August 2026 who continuously retain that status there. Extension dates do not guarantee individual status.

Collecting a CUKR residence card converts the protection entitlement into a temporary residence permit (Article 42r(1) of the Ukrainian assistance Act). Do not assume the regulation still applies automatically or a new six-month period starts. Clarify the deadline and legal basis for further driving before the status change.

Not every expired Ukrainian document is recognised: Article 5 requires an extension by Ukraine and official notification to the Commission and Member States for documents expiring after 31 December 2021. Article 6 covers loss or theft. See Ukrainian driving licences in Poland — recognition, exchange and CUKR.

Legal basis: Regulation (EU) 2022/1280.

Yes. Lack of PESEL does not itself block an application. The annex to the regulation in Dz.U. 2026 item 1162 contains a “Nr PESEL / Data urodzenia” field, instructing people without PESEL to enter their date of birth.

Section 6(4)(8) of the document regulation provides for their identification in PKK using an identity document. Other conditions, including residence and identity, still apply.

If you are obtaining your first entitlements, see a driving licence without PESEL — requirements and documents. That is a separate procedure from exchanging an existing licence.

Legal basis: Amending regulation — Dz.U. 2026 item 1162.

• 17 December 2025: revised Article 14(1) and new paragraph 1a (Article 4(8) and Article 22(2) of the amending Act, Dz.U. 2025 item 1676, published 2 December 2025). Article 11 of the amendment applies this wording also to exchange proceedings started and unfinished earlier: the new exchange rules cover every case unfinished on that date.
• 3 September 2026: new Article 11(1)(5) and (1a)–(1b), i.e. the residence condition and declaration (Article 4(7)(a)–(b) and Article 22(4)). Article 12 of the amendment keeps the previous wording for proceedings on issuing a licence in which residence is confirmed, started and unfinished “before the entry into force of this Act”. As published, the provision referred to the repealed Article 11(5) of the Act; the reference to Article 11(1)(5) was corrected by the Act of 23 January 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 item 180, Article 4(3)), from 3 March 2026. The Act entered into force generally on 3 March 2026 (the date given by ELI), while the new residence rules apply only from 3 September 2026; the provision does not say which date it means. In short: a case started before 3 March 2026 — previous wording (Article 12); started from 3 September 2026 — new wording; started between 3 March and 2 September 2026 and unfinished on 3 September — the outcome depends on how Article 12 is read and must be confirmed with the authority. Do not equate Article 12 with Article 11 (exchange).
• Regulation 2026/1162 (generally from 3 September 2026; § 1(8) from 4 September) concerns forms and attachments, not the substantive residence rules. Section 2(1) preserves earlier pending applications and attachments; old forms may be used until stock runs out, no later than 31 December 2026, with the new declaration attached (§ 2(2)). That an application on an old form remains valid does not decide which wording of Article 11 applies to the case.
• 1 January 2027: the revision of § 15(12) concerning the issuing-country code and exchanged licence number (§ 1(5) and § 3(2) of the amending regulation). It is not presented as in force on 2 November 2026.

Legal basis: Amending Act — Dz.U. 2025 item 1676.

Issuing the licence costs PLN 100 (§ 1(1) of the fee regulation, Dz.U. 2025 item 953, in force since 1 August 2025). Photographs, translation, required examinations and theory may cost extra. Check payment arrangements with your authority.

Gov.pl gives up to nine working days after confirmation of the foreign licence data and payment; verification itself can take weeks. This is administrative guidance, not a guaranteed statutory deadline for the whole case. The guidance cites older legal bases: current legislation takes precedence.

Legal basis: Fee regulation — Dz.U. 2025 item 953.

• Moving from Germany with a valid licence: check validity and restrictions. Residence in Poland alone does not require exchange after six months (Article 5(6)).
• A newer UK licence and a longer stay: establish when residence started and begin exchange before recognition under Article 5(4) ends. Applying does not extend that period.
• A US licence: show the actual document to the authority. Do not assume a domestic licence alone provides the basis in Article 4(1)(2)(a). For exchange, compliance with Vienna requirements and Article 14(1) determine the additional theory requirement.
• A Ukrainian licence and collecting CUKR: establish the effect of changing status before collection. Do not automatically count a fresh six months from the card.
• An expired licence: do not drive on it; check Article 14(1a) or (2a) and the necessary confirmations.

Legal basis: Act on drivers — Dz.U. 2025 item 1226.

Check the reason, justification and appeal instructions. Article 14(2e) excludes exchange where the data cannot be confirmed or entitlements have been withdrawn.

However, § 14(12) of the regulation provides specific exceptions to data confirmation, including listed protection statuses and certain professional drivers from conflict countries. Do not extend these exceptions to every foreign national.

A starosta’s decision can generally be appealed to the local government appeals board (SKO), through the authority that issued it, within 14 days of service (Articles 17(1), 127 and 129(1)–(2) of the Code of Administrative Procedure). Oral information at a counter is not a served decision. Missing documents and a final refusal are different matters.

Legal basis: Code of Administrative Procedure — Dz.U. 2025 item 1691.