Driving licence and PKK photo in Poland: the requirements

A Polish driving-licence photo must measure 35 × 45 mm, be in colour, be current and use a uniform light background. The authority also checks the framing, eyes, expression and narrow exceptions for dark glasses or religious headwear, so take this checklist to the photographer and use it before applying for a PKK.

The short answer

You need a clear colour photograph measuring 35 × 45 mm and taken no more than 6 months before the application date. It must show you face-on, from the top of your head to the upper shoulders, against a uniform light background. Your face should occupy 70–80% of the photo. Look straight at the camera, keep your eyes open and unobscured by hair, use a natural expression and close your mouth.

Normally you must not wear headwear or glasses with dark lenses. Polish rules provide two limited exceptions, each supported by a specific document. Ordinary corrective glasses are not banned, provided that they leave the eyes visible and do not create reflections that make identification difficult.

1. Tell the photographer which Polish document you need

Do not ask only for a small identification photo. Say that it is for a Polish driving licence, in the 35 × 45 mm format, with a full-frontal pose. The studio should provide a uniform light background, even lighting and enough sharpness to show the pupils while rendering skin tone naturally.

The frame covers the entire head and upper shoulders. Do not cut off the top or leave excessive empty space: the face must fill 70–80% of the image. Ask to see the final crop before printing and check the space above and beside the head.

2. Check the eyes, hair, mouth and background

Sit or stand straight and look directly into the lens. Both eyes must be open and hair must not cover them. The regulation calls for a natural expression and a closed mouth, so a broad teeth-showing smile belongs in another portrait. The outline of the head must remain clear; an overexposed background can make light hair disappear into a white patch.

Look at the print in normal light before leaving the studio. Reject a blurred, visibly pixelated, heavily smoothed or unnaturally coloured image, because the county office cannot repair it by trimming the paper.

3. Dark lenses and religious headwear require evidence

A person with a congenital or acquired visual impairment may submit a photograph wearing glasses with dark lenses. The application must include evidence of disability caused by that impairment. For a person under 16 this is a disability certificate; a person aged 16 or older needs a certificate stating the degree of disability. Light sensitivity, an ordinary glasses prescription or a request made to the photographer does not replace that document.

Religious headwear is allowed under the rules of your faith, but the whole face must remain visible and the application needs a certificate of membership in a religious community registered in Poland. The current regulation does not require a similar dark-glasses or headwear photo in your identity document.

4. The application photo becomes part of the PKK

PKK stands for Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę, the electronic Candidate Driver Profile used by the authority, driving school and WORD examination centre. The photograph submitted with the application is recorded in that profile and later supports production of the licence. There is no separate set of visual rules for a “PKK photo” and another photo for the plastic licence.

The authority should generate the PKK within 2 working days after receiving a complete application. That period assumes that the photograph and the remaining documents pass verification. A missing image or a crop that does not meet the regulation stops the file from being treated as complete until the defect is corrected.

The regulation permits a digital photograph on an external data carrier but does not repeat old file parameters still shown on some information pages. Before bringing only a file, ask whether your county or city office accepts that carrier. A 35 × 45 mm paper print is usually the simplest option to arrange with a photographer.

5. A request to correct the file is not an immediate refusal

If the authority finds that the photograph is missing or non-compliant, it should ask you to cure the defect under Poland's Code of Administrative Procedure. The deadline set in that request cannot be shorter than 7 days. The notice should also explain that failure to correct the defect will cause the application to be left unexamined.

Do not wait until the final day. Read the precise objection, obtain a new photograph or the required certificate, and keep proof of submission. The 2-working-day PKK period is not an unconditional promise while the application remains incomplete.

A common mistake is to treat a driving-licence photo as any small portrait for a membership card. Give the photographer the format and framing rules, then check the date, size, background, face proportion, eyes, mouth and any document needed for an exception. Do that before filing your PKK application.