Driving licence glossary

The Act on Drivers defines the driver candidate profile as a set of data identifying and describing a person applying for a document confirming a driving entitlement, created, made available, updated and archived in an IT system.

The profile is created on the basis of an application submitted at the office with the required documents, including a medical certificate and a photo. The office verifies the documents and only then generates the profile; the PKK number is needed to book training and the test.

The profile holds the PESEL number or, if the person has none, the details of an identity document. The driving school and the test centre can access it once given the PKK number and the candidate’s details.

The Act on Drivers requires a person applying for a driving licence to obtain a medical certificate of no health contraindications to driving. The psychological certificate mentioned in the Act is not required for category B, among others.

You submit the certificate with the licence application, before training starts; the office verifies it when creating the PKK profile.

The driver candidate profile records the PESEL number or, for a person without one, the series, number and name of an identity document and the state that issued it.

A person without a PESEL gives their date of birth in the application. How this works in practice, including for foreigners, is explained in the guide on getting a licence without a PESEL.

The Act on Drivers describes a driving school as an organisational unit of a business entered in the register of businesses running driving schools. The course follows a training programme and covers theory classes and practical driving lessons.

After the course the head of the OSK updates your PKK profile with the training data, including the completion date and the number of hours, and issues a certificate of completion.

With the OSK’s consent you can take the category B practical test in the school’s vehicle, at your own cost.

Under the Act on Drivers the state test is organised by a provincial road traffic centre. The test is conducted by an examiner employed by the centre’s director, and a fee is charged for it.

The practical part is taken in a vehicle at the WORD’s disposal. For category B you can apply, at your own cost, to take it in the vehicle of the driving school that trained you, if the school agrees.

How to change your WORD and move your PKK profile to another centre is explained in the guide on changing the test centre.

The Act on Drivers provides that the theory part is a single-choice test with questions generated in real time by IT means. It checks your knowledge of the rules for moving safely on the road, hazards, a driver’s duties and conduct in emergencies.

A pass is required to take the practical part. After a fail you can apply to see the exam questions together with the correct answers.

Under the Act on Drivers the practical part checks the ability to move in traffic in compliance with the rules, safely and efficiently. You can take it only after passing the theory part.

The test is taken in a vehicle at the WORD’s disposal. For category B, on your request and at your cost, it can be taken in the vehicle of the driving school that trained you.

Under the Act on Drivers a category B licence entitles you to drive a motor vehicle with a maximum permitted mass not exceeding 3.5 t, excluding buses and motorcycles. It also covers combinations with a trailer, within the limits set by the Act, and category AM vehicles.

To obtain it you must meet the Act’s requirements: age, a medical certificate, training and the state test. The guides cover the details, including costs and the order of steps.

The Act on Drivers ties the probationary period to a person who obtains a category B licence for the first time. During this time additional rules for new drivers apply.

The new probationary-period rules apply to people who first obtained a category B licence on or after 4 September 2026. The length of the period, the limits and the duties have been changed by amendments; the current rules are described in the guide on the probationary period.

Under the Act on Drivers a person holding a valid national driving licence issued abroad may, on request and for a fee, receive a Polish licence of the relevant category after returning the foreign document.

If the foreign document is not one of those defined in the road traffic conventions listed in the Act, an additional condition is a pass in the theory test and a certified translation of the document. This condition does not apply to licences from EU states, Switzerland and EFTA-EEA states.

The rules for specific situations, including holders of Ukrainian licences, are described in the guides.