Receiving a driving license in Poland

The driving license is issued by the head of an administrative county district (starosta) at the request of an applicant and on the basis of an administrative decision. Before the driving license is issued, the applicant is obligated to pay the issuance fee of PLN 100 and a registration fee of PLN 0.50.

The driving license is issued to a person who:

1. has reached a certain age required for a specific category of the driving license;
2. has received a medical certificate confirming that there exist no health or mental impediments that would preclude the person from driving a vehicle;
3. has received the PKK (Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę – Driver Candidate Profile) number from the Department of Motor Vehicles of the administrative county district (starostwo) or from the Municipal Office (district office);
4. has completed the required training;
5. has passed the state exam in the Province Road Traffic Center (Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego);
6. stays on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 185 days in each calendar year, because of his/her personal or business relations, or provides a certificate that he/she has been a student for at least six months;

Before you start attending driving classes you must receive the PKK (Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę – Driver Candidate Profile) number from the Department of Motor Vehicles for administrative county district (starostwo) or from the Municipal Office (district office);

In order to create a driver candidate profile you must submit:

• an application for issuance of the driving license,an application for issuance of the driving license,
• a medical certificate proving that there exist no health or mental impediments to dive a vehicle;
• a clear, current, color photo (3.5 x 4.5 cm);
• Declaration on being aware of Article 233 of the Penal Code

In the driving school chosen by the driver candidate, the driver candidate must present the PKK number which will be used by the school to update the data in the candidate profile after the course is completed, making it possible for the candidate to register for the state exam.

State driving license exams are held in the Province Road Traffic Centers (Wojewódzkie Ośrodki Ruchu Drogowego - WORD). The driver candidate may take the state exam in any center located on the territory of Poland, irrespective of the place of residence of the candidate.

The state exam is composed of two parts:

• theory part – consisting of single choice tests with questions generated in real time by an IT device (it is possible to take this part of the exam in English);
• practice part – in this part of the exam an appropriate vehicle is used (the practice part of the state exam is available only to persons who passed the theory part of the exam); persons not speaking Polish may be accompanied by a sworn interpreter.

After the candidate passes both parts of the state exam, his/her data are updated in the PKK profile and sent to the administrative county district (starostwo) or to the municipal office (district office). After having paid the driving license issuance fee (PLN 100.50), a document will be manufactured. The document can be collected in the same office. The status of the driving license production can be monitored at this website.

You can exercise your rights, i.e. drive a car on public roads, only after having obtained the document!

On 4 January 2016 regulations on the so-called trial period will enter into force. The trial period will apply to a person who received his/her driving license (category B) for the first time and will last for 2 years as from the day on which the document was issued.

During the trial period the driver will be obligated:

1. to attend the following between the 4th and the 8th month (as from the day on which the driver received the driving license):
2. an additional training course within the scope of road traffic safety,
3. a practical training within the scope of road traffic risks;
4. to provide the head of an administrative county district (starosta) with a certificate of completion of the training and course referred to in item 1 before the end of the 8th month as from the day of receiving the driving license;
5. to drive, during the first 8 months of the trial period, only a vehicle marked, in the front and in the back of the vehicle, with a round white sticker depicting a green maple leaf.

• The additional training course within the scope of road traffic safety shall be held by a Province Road Traffic Center (Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego).
• The practical training within the scope of road traffic risks shall be held by a driving technique improvement center. The costs of the practical training are incurred by the driver

The trial period may be extended:

1. by additional 2 years if during the trial period the driver commits two transport safety offences for which the driver got a ticket, for which the driver was sentenced on the basis of a final and non appealable court judgment, or of which the driver was found guilty on the basis of a decision of a body authorized to issue rulings regarding infringement of disciplinary proceedings.
2. by a period equal in length to the period during which the driving license is seized.