13 points and PLN 500: Poland’s new-driver rules from 4 September 2026

Poland starts applying new probationary-period rules to first-time category B drivers on 4 September 2026. They do not apply in the same way to everyone who obtained a licence this year. Transitional provisions create three groups, so the date of entitlement comes first.

Find your group before reading the new rules

“I got my licence in 2026” is not precise enough. What matters is the day on which you first obtained category B.

The first two groups share the old system. Its probationary period lasts 2 years from the issue of the document. During the first 8 months, the car must display a round white sticker with a green maple leaf at the front and rear. The specific limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas, 80 km/h outside them and 100 km/h on motorways and dual-carriageway expressways. During those 8 months, the driver may not take paid work driving a category B vehicle or personally run a business based on such driving, subject to the statutory initial-qualification exception. Between months 4 and 8, the driver must complete a two-hour theory course at a WORD examination centre and one hour of practical training at an ODTJ driving-technique centre, then submit both certificates to the local authority before month 8 ends.

Those periods run from the document issue date, not from 4 September. For someone in the first group, some may already have elapsed; for an early-March driver, the technical register launch may arrive in the middle of the training window. Do not guess that a duty has expired: ask your county office (starost's office) or city office to confirm your individual dates.

The new probationary period from 4 September

For a driver aged 18 or over, the new probationary period lasts 2 years. If a 17-year-old obtains category B, it lasts 3 years but cannot continue beyond the driver’s 20th birthday.

The central restriction is zero alcohol and zero similarly acting substances. The Act states 0.0‰ in blood, 0.0 mg per dm³ of exhaled air and 0.0 ng/ml of such a substance in the body. This is stricter than Poland’s general rule for drivers.

A category B licence obtained after turning 17 but before 18 is valid only in Poland until the holder turns 18. For the first 6 months after obtaining it — but no longer than until the 18th birthday — the holder may drive a motor vehicle other than a quadricycle only with a passenger in the front seat. That passenger must be at least 25, have held category B continuously for at least 5 years, not be subject to a driving ban and not have been banned in the previous 5 years, and be sober and free from similarly acting substances. The age and five-year experience conditions do not apply to an instructor or examiner.

Separately, during probation a driver under 18 may not carry a passenger under 18 unless the qualifying passenger described above is also present. Commercial road haulage, taxi work and occasional passenger transport are also prohibited.

The old 50/80/100 km/h limits and green-leaf sticker do not form part of this new system. They remain relevant only to the transitional group above. A driver under the new rules follows general speed law and road signs.

More than 12 points means at least 13

The new probationary period does not automatically include skid-pad training. The duty arises only when the driver exceeds 12 penalty points — in practice, from 13 points. Those points must result from offences confirmed by final rulings.

After the threshold is crossed, the Central Register of Drivers informs the competent local authority. An mObywatel user is also meant to receive the register information, and the authority notifies the driver of the training duty.

The normal deadline is 12 months from the offence that took the total over the threshold. If the final ruling comes more than 9 months after that offence, the driver has 3 months from the day on which the ruling becomes final.

One hour of training costs PLN 500

The regulation dated 19 August 2026 fixes the fee at PLN 500. An ODTJ driving-technique improvement centre runs the paid training, whose practical part lasts one hour.

The programme includes:

Exercises take place on a skid pad under a driving-technique instructor. One instructor may train no more than three people simultaneously, but each participant must complete every task. The briefing does not count towards the practical hour.

A person restricted to a disability-adapted vehicle uses a suitably adapted car. If the centre lacks one, the participant may provide it. On a justified request, a sign-language interpreter arranged by the participant may attend.

Afterwards, the head of the ODTJ issues a certificate and promptly enters the completion in the register. Keep the document and check that the electronic record appears.

Any two tickets do not automatically extend the period

A separate rule concerns two road-safety offences. It does not mean any two tickets: the acts must belong to the list in Article 92(5) of the Drivers Act and be confirmed by final rulings.

The local authority issues a decision extending probation by another 2 years if both final rulings were issued during probation, or imposing a supplementary 2-year period if at least one was issued after probation ended. After a final finding of a transport-safety crime or three listed offences, the authority issues a decision withdrawing the entitlement. The Act provides the same consequence after a final finding that the driver breached a prohibition in Article 91(4) or (5).

Your practical checklist

Two distinctions prevent most mistakes: the entitlement-date group and the points threshold. In the new system, probation itself does not cost PLN 500. The fee applies only after a driver exceeds 12 points during that period.