If your driver’s license was issued outside Poland, the following information will certainly be useful to you. Are you interested in whether you need to exchange your driver’s license for a Polish one at all, and if so, do you know what you need to do then? We have prepared answers to the most frequently asked questions and will be happy to help you with the practicalities!
Exchanging a driver’s license means that you get an analogous Polish document containing the same information on the basis of your existing license issued in another country, and you leave the previously issued one at the office.
WARNING: we contact clients only from the phone numbers listed on the website and from e-mails in the magfin.pl domain.
The process of exchanging a foreign driving licence for a Polish one is possible only for foreigners who have already stayed in Poland for at least 185 days. During this process, the foreign driving licence is surrendered and, in return, a Polish driving licence is issued.
To exchange a driving licence, you must have a document confirming your legal stay in Poland, be officially registered in Poland, and be able to prove that you have stayed in the country for the required period. A holder of a driving licence from an EU, EEA country or Switzerland may exchange it for a Polish one without taking an additional exam.
For driving licences from other countries, it is important that the document is issued in accordance with the model specified in the Vienna Convention. If it is not, to exchange the foreign driving licence for a Polish one, you must pass a theoretical exam, and in some cases also a practical one.
Regardless of the country that issued the driving licence, we assist our clients throughout the entire process of exchanging it for a Polish document. MAGFIN is not a government institution, we do not issue Polish driving licences, but we support clients in obtaining them.
To obtain a work permit in Poland, if the worker is outside Poland, it is not possible to exchange a foreign driving licence for a Polish one. In such a case, we can help obtain an international driving licence online.
Is this mandatory?
- No, if your driver’s license is from an EU, EFTA, Swiss or EEA country, or was issued in the UK before December 31, 2020. In that case, you can use it until its last day of validity;
- No, if you have an international driver’s license issued in a different country than the ones mentioned above, but the time of your stay in Poland has not yet exceeded 6 months – you can use this document;
- Yes, if your driving license was issued in a different country than the ones mentioned above and you have been in Poland for more than 6 months. If the country in which the document was issued is not one of the signatories of the Geneva or Vienna Conventions, you must additionally pass a theoretical driving test at a Regional Traffic Center.
In order to obtain a Polish driver’s license on the basis of a foreign one, you need to complete the following steps:
- Prepare the necessary documents – application for driver’s license exchange, photos, proof of identity, proof of address registration, proof of payment, in some cases a sworn translation of the driver’s license into Polish is necessary.
- Go to the office and submit the necessary documents.
- Wait until the office verifies the foreign driver’s license and prepares a new one. The waiting time may be slightly longer, as it depends on the response of the diplomatic post of the country that issued the document, which will receive a copy for verification;
- After receiving a message from the administration office that the driver’s license is ready, pick it up at the same communications department where the application was made.
Additional information:
Translation of a foreign driver’s license is required if it was issued outside EU countries. It must be a sworn translation (made by a competent translator, certified for conformity and stamped with a circular seal), so the fee for a sworn translator should be added to the planned expenses.
If the country of issuance of your driver’s license is not one of the signatories of the Vienna Convention, you will also need to provide the administration office with a medical certificate that you have no health contraindications to driving.
In case of driving categories such as C, C1, D, D1, C+E, C1+E, D+E, D1+E (for example, buses and trucks), you must also prepare the appropriate psychological certificate.
Remember that in order to exchange your driver’s license, you must present a document authorizing your stay in Poland! If you have any doubts in this regard, contact us – we have been successfully supporting foreigners in legalizing their stay for more than a couple of years now.
Do you know what else we can help you with?
We can do many things for you – from helping you get a certified translation and setting up a Driver Candidate Profile (pl. Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę) to correctly filing an application form with the appropriate administration office.
Perhaps, you want to buy a car in Poland or import one from abroad, but don’t know how to do it? We can arrange that as well!
For example, if you buy a car in Poland from a private individual, you will have to submit a file called “PCC-3 declaration” to a Tax Office yourself and pay tax based on it, re-register the car and purchase a valid liability and accident insurance policy.
Want to expand your driving skills with a new vehicle category? You will need to set up a Driver Candidate Profile which is necessary to pass the driving test (theory and practice), and provide the office with additional documents.
In order not to get lost in these procedures, entrust them to us and we will take care of all the necessary details for you.
