Exchanging a Foreign Driving Licence for a Polish One: Documents, Translation & Fees

Introduction: That Moment When Your Foreign Licence Stops Being Enough

Most expats arrive in Poland and drive happily on their home-country licence for months — until a colleague mentions that a foreign licence is only valid here for a limited time, and the search for answers begins. If that is how you found this page, you are in the right place.

I am Monika Sypniewicz, a sworn translator of English registered with the Polish Ministry of Justice (registration number TP/58/09, on the official list since 2009), based at ul. Ruska 41/42 in Wrocław. Driving licences are among the documents I translate most often. In this guide I will explain who actually has to exchange a licence, what documents the office expects, where the sworn translation fits in, and what it all costs.

Who Must Exchange Their Licence?

The key concept is residence. Under Polish and EU rules, you are considered a resident of Poland for driving licence purposes once you have lived here for at least 185 days in a calendar year because of personal or work ties. Once you are a resident, Polish licensing rules apply to you.

What that means in practice depends on where your licence was issued:

• EU and EEA licences — If your licence was issued in another EU or EEA country (or Switzerland), you generally do not need to exchange it at all. It remains valid in Poland until it expires. You only deal with the Polish office if the licence expires, or if it is lost or damaged — in which case the Polish authorities issue the replacement, because Poland is now your country of residence.
• Non-EU licences — If your licence was issued outside the EU/EEA (the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Ukraine, and so on), the situation is different. In most cases, a foreign national licence remains valid in Poland only for a limited period after you take up residence — commonly 6 months — after which you must hold a Polish licence to keep driving legally. The exact rules depend on the issuing country and on international agreements, so I always advise confirming your specific situation with the local wydział komunikacji before the clock runs out.

Driving on a licence that is no longer recognised is treated like driving without a licence at all, so this is not a deadline to test. If you are settling in Poland on a residence permit, it is worth sorting the licence out around the same time as the rest of your paperwork — my guide to documents and translations for the karta pobytu covers the residence side of the move.

Where to Go: The Communication Department

Licence exchange is handled by the communication department (wydział komunikacji) of your city or county office — the same department that registers cars. Which office is yours depends on where you live: in a city with county rights, the city office; elsewhere, the county (powiat) office. In Wrocław, that means the Wydział Komunikacji of the city office. Many offices, including Wrocław, let you book an appointment online, which I strongly recommend — walk-in queues for licence matters can be long.

The Document List

Here is what the office will typically ask for when you apply to exchange a foreign licence:

1. Application form — the standard licence application (wniosek o wydanie prawa jazdy), available at the office or online.
2. One photograph — a current biometric-style photo, 35 × 45 mm, the same format as for a Polish ID.
3. Proof of legal residence — your residence card (karta pobytu), visa, or other confirmation of legal stay, together with confirmation that you actually live in the area served by that office.
4. Your foreign driving licence — the original card. The office will keep it when the Polish licence is issued (more on that below).
5. A sworn translation of the licence into Polish — prepared by a sworn translator from the Ministry of Justice list. This is the item most applicants are missing on their first visit, and the office will not process the application without it.
6. Medical certificate (sometimes) — for some categories and some situations the office requires a certificate from an authorised examining doctor (orzeczenie lekarskie). Whether you need one depends on your licence categories and the office's assessment, so ask when you book your appointment.

Requirements can vary slightly between offices and change over time, so treat this list as the standard core and confirm the details with your own wydział komunikacji before you go.

The Sworn Translation: What Exactly Gets Translated

The translation must be a sworn translation (tłumaczenie przysięgłe) — an officially certified translation with a round stamp and repertorium number, prepared by a translator registered with the Polish Ministry of Justice. An ordinary translation, a translation done by a friend, or a certified translation from your home country will not be accepted. If the distinction is new to you, my complete guide to sworn translation in Poland explains how the system works.

A few practical points specific to driving licences:

• Both sides of the card are translated. The back of the licence contains the category table, restriction codes, and dates — the office needs all of it. A translation of the front alone will be sent back.
• It is usually one standard page. Despite the small print, a typical licence fits within a single standard page (1,125 characters), so the translation from English costs from 55 PLN — you can see the full rate list on my pricing page.
• Turnaround is the next business day. Send me a clear photo or scan of both sides of the card and the translation is normally ready the following working day. Same-day service is often possible if you are up against a deadline.
• A scan is enough to start. I can prepare the translation from a good-quality scan or smartphone photo; you do not need to part with the card itself.

I translate English-language licences personally. For licences in German, Italian, French, Dutch, or Ukrainian, I arrange the sworn translation through trusted sworn colleagues for those languages, so you can still hand everything over in one place.

Convention Countries vs. Everyone Else: Will You Need an Exam?

Whether you can simply swap your licence or must also pass an exam depends on international road traffic conventions:

• Licences from countries party to the Vienna Convention (and in some cases the older Geneva Convention) are exchanged directly — documents in, Polish licence out, no exam.
• Licences from non-convention countries are exchanged only after you pass the theory part of the Polish state driving exam. You do not retake the practical driving test, but you do sit the theory exam at a WORD examination centre. The good news: the theory exam is available in English (and several other languages), so you will not be tested on your Polish.

Which group your licence falls into is determined by the issuing country, and the lists do get updated, so let the office confirm it at first contact. Applicants with US licences should be prepared for the theory exam requirement — that is the rule most of my American clients have encountered.

Fees and Timeline

The administrative side is inexpensive. The fee for issuing a Polish driving licence is around 100 PLN, paid to the city or county office. Fees are set by regulation and do change occasionally, so check the current amount when you book your appointment.

As for timing: once you submit a complete application, the office sends your foreign licence details for verification with the authority that issued it. How long that takes depends entirely on how quickly the foreign authority responds — for some countries it is days, for others several weeks. A realistic overall expectation is a few weeks from application to collection, sometimes longer for licences from further afield. You can usually track the production status of the Polish card online once verification is complete.

Budget summary for a typical exchange:

• Sworn translation of the licence: from 55 PLN (English; usually one standard page)
• Administrative fee for the Polish licence: ~100 PLN (verify the current amount)
• Photo: 20–40 PLN at a photo studio
• Medical certificate (if required): typically around 200 PLN
• Theory exam (non-convention licences only): the standard WORD exam fee

What Happens to Your Old Licence?

No, you do not get to keep your old licence as a souvenir. When the Polish licence is issued, the office takes the foreign card and returns it to the authority that issued it in your home country. This is standard procedure under the international system — one driver, one licence. If you later move back home, you exchange in the other direction.

One related tip: a driving licence itself never needs an apostille, but supporting civil documents sometimes do — I explain when each is needed in my guide on apostille vs. sworn translation in Poland.

A Suggested Order of Steps

1. Confirm with your wydział komunikacji whether your licence qualifies for direct exchange or requires the theory exam, and whether a medical certificate is needed.
2. Send both sides of your licence for sworn translation.
3. Get the photo taken and gather your residence documents.
4. Book the appointment, submit the application, and pay the fee.
5. Wait for verification, then collect your Polish licence.

If you are also dealing with university paperwork as part of your move — many of my clients are — my guide to diploma recognition and nostrification in Poland covers which education documents need sworn translation and in what order.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a sworn translation of my driving licence?

If your licence was issued outside the EU/EEA and you are exchanging it for a Polish one — yes. The communication department requires a sworn translation of both sides of the card, prepared by a translator on the Ministry of Justice list. If your licence is from an EU or EEA country, you generally do not need to exchange it at all, so no translation is needed.

Which licences are exempt from exchange?

EU and EEA licences remain valid in Poland and only pass through the Polish system if they expire or are lost or damaged. All other licences are subject to the exchange requirement once you become a Polish resident — in most cases after 6 months of residence, though the precise rules depend on the issuing country. When in doubt, ask your local communication department.

How much does the translation cost, and how fast can I get it?

From 55 PLN for an English-language licence — both sides of the card, which almost always fit within one standard page. Standard turnaround is the next business day from receiving a legible scan or photo. If your appointment is tomorrow morning, write to me anyway — same-day delivery is often possible for an additional fee.

Do I have to take the Polish driving exam?

Only the theory part, and only if your licence was issued by a country that is not party to the relevant road traffic conventions. Convention-country licences are exchanged without any exam, and nobody retakes the practical driving test as part of an exchange. The theory exam can be taken in English.

Can the office reject my sworn translation?

No — provided it was prepared by a sworn translator registered on the Polish Ministry of Justice list, the translation is an official document the office must accept. It carries the round stamp, signature, and repertorium number, and the office can verify the translator in the public register in seconds. What does get rejected: ordinary uncertified translations, certified translations made abroad, and incomplete translations that skip the back of the card.

Get Your Licence Translation Sorted in One Day

The sworn translation is the easiest box to tick in this whole process — so tick it first. Send me a photo of both sides of your licence via the contact page and you will have a quote within about 30 minutes during working hours, and the finished translation by the next business day. If anything about the procedure is unclear, ask away — after years of translating licences for drivers from all over the world, I can usually point you in the right direction before you reach the office. I look forward to hearing from you.