Germany → Poland

Driving in Poland when you know Germany

Differences first, worst-to-get-wrong first. Rules that match are folded away at the bottom.

Driving to Poland from Germany: what to check before you go

These are the key destination rules to check first. The comparison below shows every verified difference. Follow local signs and instructions on the road.

Which side of the road do you drive on in Poland?: In Poland you drive on the right.
What is the speed limit in Poland?: 140 km/h on motorways, 120 km/h on dual carriageways, 90 km/h on country roads, 50 km/h in towns and cities and 20 km/h in residential and living zones. Those are the national default limits, which apply where no sign says otherwise.
What is the drink driving limit in Poland?: The legal limit in Poland is 0.2 g/l.
What do you have to carry in your car in Poland?: You must carry a warning triangle and a fire extinguisher.

Read the full driving rules in Poland and the required car equipment in Poland .

Looking to rent a car? Rental agencies often have their own rules on driving ages and equipment, make sure you check with them before you travel.
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What's different (11)

Speed limit on the motorway

Critical

Germany · homeNo general limitNo general limit for cars. 130 km/h is the official recommendation, and going faster can mean sharing liability after an accident. Signed limits apply on many stretches.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destination140 km/hSigned A. The highest general motorway limit in Europe.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on country roads

Critical

Germany · home100 km/hChecked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destination90 km/hChecked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

How much alcohol you may have in your blood

CriticalStricter than at home

Germany · home0.5 g/l0.5 Promille. From 1.1 Promille driving is a criminal offence, and below 0.5 you can still be liable if driving is visibly affected.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destination0.2 g/lThe same for everyone — new drivers, professional drivers and visitors alike. One drink will put most people over it. If you are coming from a country with a 0.5 or 0.8 limit, treat Poland as zero.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

What you must carry in the car

Critical

Germany · home

Warning triangle
High-visibility vest
First aid kit

Triangle and vest under StVZO §53a. The first aid kit (DIN 13164) is required separately by StVZO §35h: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvzo_2012/__35h.htmlChecked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destination

Warning triangle
Fire extinguisher

The fire extinguisher is the one visitors do not expect. Check the hire car has one before you drive away. A first aid kit is not required in Poland, though the police advise carrying one anyway.Checked 19 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on a dual carriageway

Important

Germany · homeNo general limitRoads with structurally separated carriageways have no general car limit, like motorways. The 130 km/h recommendation applies. Signed limits are common.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destination120 km/hThis is the expressway signed S, with two carriageways. Poland treats it as its own road class, below the motorway. A single-carriageway expressway, or an ordinary road with two lanes each way, is 100.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently

Important

Germany · home0 g/lZero alcohol for the two-year probationary period and for anyone under 21.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destination0.2 g/lNo separate limit for new drivers. The general limit is already this low.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may drive

Important

Germany · home18 years17 is possible only in the accompanied-driving scheme, within Germany.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destination17 yearsLowered to 17 recently. Until you turn 18 the licence is valid only inside Poland, so a 17-year-old cannot drive out of the country on it.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence

Important

Germany · home

Engine up to 50 cc
Power up to 4 kW
Top speed up to 45 km/h

A German category B licence includes class AM. The speed limit applies to every AM machine; the engine limit is for petrol engines and the power limit for diesel or electric. The rule itself is in FeV §6, which names only the EU class L1e-B; the figures are from the federal motor transport authority's licence-class table. With a short training course and no exam, drivers aged 25 or over who have held B for five years can add code B196 for 125 cc, 11 kW motorbikes. B196 is valid only inside Germany.Checked 2 Sep 2026

Poland · destination

Engine up to 125 cc
Power up to 11 kW

Only once you have held category B for at least 3 years, and only inside Poland. The licence page adds a third condition with no slot here, a power-to-weight ratio of at most 0.1 kW per kg of unladen mass. From day one a B licence covers category AM, so a moped is always included; the Road Traffic Act defines that class as 50 cc for petrol or 4 kW for electric, with a design speed of 45 km/h. The source does not say whether a foreign B licence gets the same 125 cc allowance.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

When you must switch your headlights on

Good to know

Germany · homeNot requiredRequired for motorcycles only. Cars need lights at night and in poor visibility.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Poland · destinationRequired at all timesDipped headlights at all times, day and night, all year.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter

Good to know

Germany · home15 yearsUntil the 16th birthday the AM licence is valid only inside Germany.Checked 2 Sep 2026

Poland · destination14 yearsCategory AM. A moped is limited to 50 cc or 4 kW and 45 km/h by design.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway

Good to know

Germany · home

Top speed at least 60 km/h

Framed as a design speed, not a vehicle class or engine size: only vehicles whose design speed is more than 60 km/h may use motorways and motor roads, so exactly 60 km/h is not enough. A 45 km/h moped does not qualify.Checked 2 Sep 2026

Poland · destination

Engine at least 50 cc
Power at least 4 kW
Top speed at least 45 km/h

Anything the Act classes as a moped is banned, from motorways and from the S-signed expressways alike. A moped is a two- or three-wheeler with a petrol engine of at most 50 cc or an electric motor of at most 4 kW, whose build caps it at 45 km/h. The size cap and the speed cap apply together: a machine that exceeds either one is a motorcycle and may enter. The Act also requires a motorway vehicle to be able to reach 40 km/h, which any motorcycle does. The ban is by vehicle class, not by a sign, because the statute keeps mopeds out of the motor-vehicle class that motorways and expressways are reserved for.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Known on one side only (17)

Whether you need an International Driving Permit

Germany · homeDepends on where your licence is fromEU and EEA licences are accepted as they are. Other licences need a German translation unless the licence conforms to the 1968 Vienna Convention or an International Driving Permit is carried.Checked 3 Aug 2026