Rules of the road
Driving in Poland
Every value below links to the official source it was checked against, with the date it was checked. What is not verified yet says so.
Quick answers about driving in Poland
- Which side of the road do you drive on in Poland?
- In Poland you drive on the right.
- How old do you have to be to drive in Poland?
- You must be at least 17 years old to drive in Poland. Lowered 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.
- 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.
Which side of the road
Which side of the road you drive on
Right
From the RAC's list of the European exceptions: the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta drive on the left, and every other European country drives on the right.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Speed limits
Speed limit on the motorway
140 km/h
Signed A. The highest general motorway limit in Europe.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Speed limit on a dual carriageway
120 km/h
This 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
How much alcohol you may have in your blood
0.2 g/l
The 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
Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently
0.2 g/l
No separate limit for new drivers. The general limit is already this low.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Your licence and age
Youngest age you may drive
17 years
Lowered 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
Looking to rent a car? The minimum age to drive is 17, but most car rental agencies have their own minimum rental age. Remember to check with your car rental agency before you book. We earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.
What you must carry in the car
What you must carry in the car
- 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
Headlights
When you must switch your headlights on
Required at all times
Dipped headlights at all times, day and night, all year.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Phones at the wheel
Who goes first
Turning at a red light
Only where a sign allows it
Only when a green arrow is lit under the red light, and only after stopping first. A plain red light means stop, with no turn allowed.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Seatbelts and children
Motorbikes and scooters
Helmets on a motorbike or scooter
Required for rider and passenger
Rider and passenger on a motorbike, moped or quad must wear a helmet that meets the technical standard. The only exception is a motorbike built with seat belts at the factory.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence
- 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
Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter
14 years
Category AM. A moped is limited to 50 cc or 4 kW and 45 km/h by design.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Riding between lanes of slow traffic
Not allowed
Not banned by name. The police read the rule that a vehicle may not occupy more than one marked lane as forbidding a motorbike to ride along the line between two queues of cars. The same police page says it is seldom fined unless there is a crash.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway
- 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
Headlights on a motorbike in daytime
Required at all times
The same rule as for cars. Every vehicle must use dipped headlights whenever it is moving, day and night, all year. In daylight, daytime running lights may be used instead.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
More questions about driving in Poland
- What do you have to carry in your car in Poland?
- You must carry a warning triangle and a fire extinguisher.
- Can you use your phone while driving in Poland?
- No. Holding a phone while driving is against the law in Poland. Hands-free: allowed.
- Can you ride a scooter or small motorbike on a car licence in Poland?
- Yes, engine up to 125 cc and power up to 11 kW.
Each answer comes from the rules above, where you can also see the official source and the date it was checked.
29 rules not yet verified for Poland
These rules exist, but no value has been checked against an official source yet. Missing beats wrong.
- Which side you overtake on
- Speed limit in rain or snow
- Speed limit for drivers who passed their test recently
- Speed limit when towing a trailer or caravan
- Whether you need an International Driving Permit
- How long you may drive on your own licence
- What you should carry, but do not have to
- Headlights in tunnels
- Who has priority at a roundabout
- Priority to traffic coming from the right
- Age below which a child needs a child seat
- Height below which a child needs a child seat
- Youngest age a child may sit in the front
- What the lines and painted kerbs mean
- How you pay to park
- Parking on the pavement
- Parking facing against the traffic
- How far you must park from a junction or crossing
- What happens if you park wrongly
- Winter tyres
- When winter tyre rules apply
- Snow chains
- What a rider must wear or carry
- How you pay for motorways
- Low-emission zones
- Congestion charges
- Emergency number
- Typical fines
- Whether police can fine you on the spot