Exchanging a driving licence in Poland: Ukraine, Belarus and other countries
Exchanging a driving licence in Poland does not go through MOS or the residence-card office. The pack is filed at wydział komunikacji of the starostwo, the office of a city with powiat rights or, in Warsaw, the district office. We assemble the application, the translation, the photos, a medical examination if needed, book a visit or go with a power of attorney (pełnomocnictwo) and take the case through to issue of the Polish plastic.
When Poland becomes the place of residence (usually 185 days in a calendar year because of work or family, or studies of 6 months or more), foreign licences from most countries outside the EU cease to be a sufficient document for daily driving. After that you need a Polish plastic.
For Ukrainians on UKR until the end of temporary protection (currently until 4 March 2027) national licences are still recognised in the EU — but not for taxis and not after a move to a residence card or CUKR. Belarusians have no such window. For everyone else we look at the form: Vienna 1968 / Geneva 1949 — more often without an exam; if the specimen is different — theory at WORD. At the consultation we look at where and when your licence was issued.
Consultation on exchanging a driving licence
We will save you time and take the difficult parts on ourselves.
We will review the documents and propose the best option for your situation.
If we cannot deliver the service, we will refund you or file again at our own cost.
Exchanging a driving licence — what it is and who needs it
You need to exchange a licence not as every foreigner after six months, but if you already have, in Poland, a place of residence in the sense of the drivers’ act: 185 days a year because of personal or professional ties. Students — from 6 months of study and a certificate from the university. A short visit does not oblige you to exchange.
At the consultation before the contract we look at:
- the country and the form of the licence — Vienna, Geneva, the EU or theory at WORD;
- when and where it was issued: a licence obtained already from Poland «back home» is often refused by the starostwo (point 6 of the Vienna Convention);
- the term of the document: expired ones often require a medical certificate, sometimes lead to a refusal;
- status of stay: visa, residence card, permanent residence, UKR, CUKR — for Ukrainians this decides whether you must exchange or not yet;
- categories: B — one set of documents; C/D and code 95 — a psychologist and extra papers;
- whether you want to keep the national licence: on an exchange the original is, as a rule, taken and sent to be cancelled. The law does not usually provide for two sets.
Without an exam — if the form matches the convention. For the USA, Canada, China, a number of Gulf states and forms not to the specimen, theory at WORD is usually needed. As a rule you do not take the practical test on an exchange.
Review and the pack. We look at the form, the status, 185 days. We assemble the application, passport / card / UKR, the original licence, a sworn translation, a 35×45 photo, and where needed — orzeczenie lekarskie, proof of address.
Where to take it. Starostwo powiatowe, urząd miasta or urząd dzielnicy in Warsaw — at the actual place of residence. An appointment or filing through a pełnomocnik — as your department accepts.
The state fee. The fee for issuing a Polish licence is currently 100 PLN (not inside our 1500). After they accept the pack they often give a potwierdzenie — you drive on that while they wait for an answer from the country of issue.
A check of authenticity. The communications office sends a request to the authority that issued your licence. Ukraine — sometimes through the consulate and a separate fee. Belarus and other countries — from a few weeks to a few months. The term depends on the answer from the country of issue.
The plastic. When the answer has come and the fee is paid — production, status on info-car.pl / kierowca.pwpw.pl. You surrender the original foreign licence, or they will not issue the Polish one. There is no separate «50 zł fee for the plastic» in the current government service.
Exchanging a driving licence in Poland
Support is one pack. Leave a request: at the consultation we will say whether you need to exchange a licence now (especially on UKR) and whether there is a risk of refusal because of a licence issued already after the move.
EXCHANGING A DRIVING LICENCE IN POLAND
1500 PLN / netto
A review of the country, the form and the status — exchange, wait on UKR, or go to WORD
The application, the translation, photos, a medical examination if needed
Filing at wydział komunikacji: Warsaw, Gdańsk, Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław and online across Poland
A request to the country of issue and support through to the Polish plastic
What is in the service of exchanging a licence in Poland
What is in the support for 1500 PLN / netto:
- We read your licence and status: Ukraine / Belarus / the EU / Britain / the rest, UKR or a card, categories B or C/D.
- We say if it is too early, too late, pointless or theory is needed — before the contract, not after.
- A checklist tailored to your wydział komunikacji: in Warsaw the districts’ requirements may differ.
- We fill in the wniosek, the data consent, and where needed — a pełnomocnictwo in our name.
- We organise a sworn translation of the licence (Cyrillic almost always).
- We check the 35×45 photo: a light background, a current shot to the department’s requirements.
- If the licence is expired or the categories are professional — we send you to a driving medical board / a psychologist.
- We book the filing or take the pack ourselves, where the department accepts a representative.
- We give you the payment details for the state’s 100 PLN (that is not our fee).
- We accompany the request to Ukraine, Belarus or a third country through to the answer.
- We watch production, go to collection, and help exchange the original for the Polish plastic.
- If there is a refusal — we quote an appeal to SKO within 14 days, or the path through driving school if the exchange is closed.
We do not sit the WORD exam for you: we will point you to PKK, the language and what to prepare.
Exchanging a Ukrainian driving licence in Poland
Exchanging a Ukrainian driving licence in Poland depends not only on citizenship, but on the stamp in PESEL and the ground of stay.
PESEL UKR, temporary protection. Regulation (EU) 2022/1280: valid Ukrainian licences are recognised in the Union while protection is in force. Currently that is until 4 March 2027. For private driving on a Ukrainian form you are not obliged to exchange, but you may — if you are staying long, you plan taxis, or you do not want to be tied to the end date of protection.
A residence card, a visa, CUKR, permanent residence. UKR status no longer applies. The general rule: you may use a Ukrainian licence 6 months from the start of permanent or temporary stay, then you need a Polish one. After CUKR the general rules apply, not the temporary-protection rules.
Taxis, apps, carrying people. Art. 27e of the road transport act: you need a licence issued in Poland. First the exchange, then the job.
How we exchange a Ukrainian licence. A translation (if the department does not read the form itself), photos, stay, address, 100 PLN to the state. The check: the department itself against the database, or the consulate of Ukraine — the second path sometimes about 125 PLN. A refusal is possible if you obtained the licence while already living in Poland, or exchanged «temporary» for «permanent Ukrainian» already from here — we check that before filing.
At the consultation we will say when an exchange is not yet compulsory, and when a Polish plastic is the only lawful way to drive.
Exchanging a Belarusian driving licence in Poland
Exchanging a Belarusian driving licence in Poland usually goes without an exam: Belarus is a party to the Vienna Convention 1968; on a standard form they do not set theory. Belarusians have no European exception «like UKR until 2027». If you have lived here 185 days, the national licence is already not a basis for daily driving.
A residence card, a visa, permanent residence, Karta Polaka confirm stay, but they do not by themselves give a Polish licence. No card and no 185 days — it is too early to exchange: a short visit does not replace a resident’s pack.
Cyrillic — almost always a sworn translation. A request to the competent authority of Belarus can run longer than a Ukrainian one when the database check goes well. The original will go for cancellation: you can drive at home on a Polish plastic; the Belarusian one is not kept after the exchange.
Categories C/D, work on an HGV — a psychologist and code 95 separately. This is no longer the same pack as exchanging category B. At the consultation we will say whether you fit the pack or you need the board first.
If it matters to keep the Belarusian licence — that is not an exchange, but a Polish driving school and exams. We do not file that path as «an exchange».
Exchanging a licence for everyone else: the EU, Britain, the CIS, the USA and non-convention forms
For other countries there is a different set of rules by form. The passport is secondary here.
The EU, the EEA, Switzerland. A valid Union licence is recognised in Poland. You are not obliged to exchange. We exchange if it is expiring, you have lost it, you need a Polish one for work, or it is more convenient to drive on a Polish specimen. There is no exam.
The United Kingdom. Issued until 31 December 2020 — while the document is valid, you may drive as with a Union licence; exchange is optional. Issued after Brexit — as a third country: after 185 days of residence the exchange is compulsory. We look at the date the licence was issued, not the date of entry.
Moldova, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and other parties to Vienna or Geneva. Usually without an exam, with a translation and a request to the country of issue. A Russian request can now run long or stall — we will say so before the contract.
The USA, Canada, China, the UAE and forms not under the convention. If there is no match to the Geneva/Vienna specimen, you need theory at WORD. An international driving permit (IDP) is not exchanged for a Polish one.
What is in the same 1500 PLN / netto: we determine the path (exchange, WORD, or not your case yet), assemble a pack for communications; if theory is needed — open the road to PKK and collect the plastic after you pass. The questions and a place in the WORD queue are not in the pack.
EU citizens with a Ukrainian or Belarusian licence: we look at whose licence it is, not whose passport. Dual citizenship does not make the form a Union one.
What to watch when exchanging a licence
Most often the case stalls or ends in a refusal if the pack went to the wrong department, the photo is not to requirements, the translation is not sworn, the licence was obtained already after the move to Poland, or MOS was confused with wydział komunikacji. On UKR an exchange for private driving is often not yet needed while protection is in force. After CUKR or a residence card the rule is already the general one — 6 months. For taxis you need a Polish licence. Theory at WORD is not in the 1500 PLN pack.
At the consultation we will go through your form and status: whether you need to exchange a licence, where to file and what to assemble. Support for 1500 PLN / netto we connect after that — when the path is clear.
Advantages of filing with MIA CONSULT GROUP
Experience and expertise
A clear reading of your situation and expert help from specialists with 10+ years of practice.
Individual approach
We solve the case as a whole — for you and your family, in line with your plans.
Professional advice
Our specialists are ready to propose the most suitable option for your current situation and long-term plans.
Easy communication
Our offices are in Warsaw and Sopot. Most services are available online, from home or the office, with a short turnaround.
Full range of services
Our specialists will help you both with exchanging a licence and with legalisation, opening a business, accounting and HR.
Multilingual specialists
We work in Polish, English and Russian and act as your representative before the relevant authorities.
Why exchange a driving licence?
- After 185 days / 6 months a foreign licence from most countries outside the EU is already not enough for daily driving. The police and the insurer read this differently, but it is better not to find that out at a roadside stop.
- In an accident the insurer checks the ground for driving. An expired «still on Ukrainian ones» can become a reason to refuse payment.
- Work as a driver, taxis, apps, bus: you often need a Polish licence, even if UKR is still in force.
- Car hire, credit, leasing — a Polish plastic is taken without a translation at the desk.
- A Polish licence in categories A/B is usually up to 15 years, if the medical certificate allows; this is an EU specimen, not a replacement for a passport or a residence card.
Documents for exchanging a driving licence
The pack is filed at communications at the place of residence. An appointment — by the rules of your department. It also happens without meldunek: then an oświadczenie and the documents the gmina / starosta will take — we clarify before the visit.
- an application for issue / exchange of prawa jazdy;
- a passport; for a foreigner — a residence card, a visa, UKR, permanent residence or another document of lawful stay;
- the original national licence + a copy;
- a sworn translation if the form is not in the Latin alphabet / is not readable as a convention one;
- a colour photo 35×45, light background;
- proof of address (meldunek, umowa najmu, whatever the department asks for);
- orzeczenie lekarskie — if the licence is already invalid, there is a term, professional categories; not every department needs a new certificate;
- a psychologist — C1/C/D and related categories, if there is no current code 95;
- payment of 100 PLN for issue of the Polish document;
- for theory at WORD — a PKK number, when the form is not under the convention.
An international driving permit (IDP) for a Polish one is not exchanged. It is an annex to the national licence, not a replacement.
Result guarantee
If for any reason we cannot deliver the service — we will refund you or file again at our own cost.
How a foreigner exchanges a driving licence in Poland
The Polish plastic is a European specimen. The term for A/B is usually up to 15 years, unless the board shortened it. After filing you wait from a few weeks, if the country answers quickly, to 3–4 months, if Ukraine or Belarus go through the consulate. The government service says: up to 9 working days after from confirmation of the data and payment. Confirmation of the data — that is the months of waiting.
While they wait, you drive on a potwierdzenie złożenia wniosku, if they issued one. This is a temporary document for the period of the case. Status — PESEL on info-car.pl or kierowca.pwpw.pl.
They will take the original. If it matters to drive at home on the old licence, take that decision until filing. Already cancelled Belarusian or Ukrainian licences cannot be restored «as they were».
Who can exchange a driving licence?
- Ukraine: residence card / visa / CUKR — after 6 months of residence almost always yes; UKR for private driving — while protection is in force, you need not exchange; taxis and carriage — a Polish licence anyway.
- Belarus: Vienna, no exam on a standard form, without the exception that UKR has. 185 days — and the national licence is already not a basis to sit behind the wheel every day.
- Moldova, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and other parties to Vienna / Geneva: usually an exchange without an exam; a request to the country of issue can run long.
- The EU / the EEA / Switzerland: a valid licence is recognised in Poland, you are not obliged to exchange. We exchange if it is expiring, you have lost it, or it is simply more convenient for you.
- The United Kingdom: issued until 31.12.2020 — as Union ones, while they are valid. After that date — as a third country, after 185 days you have to exchange.
- The USA, Canada, China, a number of Gulf states and any non-convention form: more often theory at WORD, then the plastic. An international permit is not an exchange.
An EU passport with a foreign licence from another country does not cancel the form rule. We look at who issued the licence.
What a Polish driving licence gives you
- to drive in Poland and around the EU on a Polish specimen, without a translation at every hire;
- to close the period when 185 days have already passed and the plastic is still foreign;
- to be hired as a driver / in a taxi where the law requires a Polish licence;
- to renew later in Poland on a medical certificate, without the consulate in Minsk or Kyiv;
- a licence does not replace a passport and a residence card — for a foreigner this is a driving document, not «a new passport».
Our company also provides extra legalisation services:
Help exchanging a driving licence in Poland
MIA CONSULT GROUP takes an exchange of a licence through to issue of the plastic.
We assemble, translate, take it to communications, accompany the request to Kyiv, Minsk or another capital, and collect the plastic. Offices — in Warsaw and Sopot; across Poland — online and a pełnomocnik, where the department accepts a representative.
If the form cannot be exchanged without theory — we will say so before you pay for the pack. If UKR still covers private driving — we do not offer an unnecessary exchange «just in case», unless you yourselves ask for the plastic for work.
Individuals, sole traders, companies, relocation of drivers. The history of the case is in the account.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to sit an exam when exchanging a licence?
If the form is under the Vienna or Geneva Convention (Ukraine, Belarus and most of the CIS) — usually there is neither theory nor a practical test. If the form is not under the convention — theory at WORD; as a rule you do not take the practical test on an exchange. A licence obtained already after the move «back home» may not be accepted by the starostwo.
Can you drive while waiting for the Polish licence?
After they accept the pack they often issue a potwierdzenie złożenia wniosku — you drive on that until the plastic. If they did not accept the pack or there is no certificate, you may not drive yet. We will check with your department which document gives you the right to drive.
What happens to the original Ukrainian or Belarusian licence?
They take them and send them to be cancelled. Polish licences are not issued, under the government service, without the foreign original being surrendered. It is better to file in person and collect in person, so the original does not go by post before the plastic. Take the decision to keep the national licence for trips home until the application.
How much does exchanging a licence in Poland cost?
Our support is 1500 PLN / netto, one pack. To the state — 100 PLN for issue. On top: translation, photos, a medical examination if needed, sometimes a consular check of Ukraine (~125 PLN, if the department does not check the database itself). This is not the MOS stamp duty and not the cost of a residence card.
Do you need to exchange a Ukrainian licence if you have PESEL UKR?
For private driving, while temporary protection is in force (currently until 4 March 2027), Ukrainian licences are recognised in the EU. After a residence card, CUKR or another ground — the general 6-month rule. Taxis, app-based carriage, bus — you need a Polish licence even on UKR. After a move from UKR to a card you can no longer drive «on the old one» under the same rules.
How does exchanging a Belarusian licence differ from a Ukrainian one?
The form is conventional too, usually there is no exam. There is no European window like UKR. 185 days of residence — and you need to exchange if you want to drive lawfully every day. A request to Belarus sometimes runs longer than a month. The original will go for cancellation in the same way.
Do you need to exchange an EU, British or US licence?
The EU / the EEA / Switzerland — valid ones need not be exchanged. Britain until 31.12.2020 — close to Union ones; after that date — as a third country. The USA and other non-convention forms — more often theory at WORD. An international permit is not exchanged for a Polish one.
What is 185 days and is registration compulsory?
185 days in a calendar year because of work or family — that is the place of residence for the drivers’ act, not a stamp in the passport. Students — 6 months of study and a certificate. Meldunek helps, but the government service says plainly: no registration — check with the gmina what to use instead. We file at the place of residence, not in someone else’s district for the sake of the queue.
Is a medical certificate always needed?
No. More often if the foreign licence is already invalid, there is a term, or categories C/D. A valid category B licence under the convention — many departments take without a new board. Do not buy a certificate in advance until we have spoken to the requirements of your starostwo.
Do you sit the WORD exam for me?
No. If theory is needed — we open PKK, explain where and in which language, and take the pack for the plastic after you pass. The practical test is not usually required on an exchange. We do not mix an exchange with driving school «from scratch».
Is this filed through MOS, like a residence card?
No. MOS is stay. The licence is wydział komunikacji. These are different authorities. We handle residence cards too, but that is a different service and a different price.
What if the starostwo refuses?
You have 14 days for an appeal to SKO through the same office. A frequent refusal: the licence was issued while you were already living in Poland. Then it is either school and exams, or you cannot drive. At the consultation we check this until payment for the translation.
