Rzeszów City Office

Road Transport Department

Service information sheet

Approved on the day of

2022-05-13

Exchanging a foreign driving licence into Polish driving licence

1. Documents required to handle the matter

A holder of a valid driving licence issued abroad may, on request, obtain a Polish domestic driving licence of the corresponding category after the foreign document has been submitted to the licensing authority.

The person wishing to exchange a foreign driving licence shall submit the following:

- a request for a driving licence (application form),

- a photocopy of his/her driving licence along with a translation into Polish made or certified by a sworn translator or a competent consul of the Republic of Poland - there is no requirement to translate a driving licence into Polish if it was issued in accordance with the model set out in Annex No. 1 to Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences (Recast) (Official Journal of the EU L 403 of 30.12.2006, p. 18 as amended) and Annexes No. 1 and 1a to Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991 on driving licences (Official Journal of the EU L 226 of 10.09.2003, p. 4 as amended, Official Journal of the EU Polish special edition, chapter 7, vol. 7 page 441, as amended); a copy of the document shall be attached to its translation in a durable way,

- a colour photograph (see the requirements related to photographs),

- proof of payment of the driving licence fee and registration fee,

- documents required to renew a driving licence - exchange of expired driving licences, is possible only in the case of driving licences issued abroad by a Member State of the European Union, the Swiss Confederation or a Member State of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area,

- identity document (for inspection),

- signed GDPR information clause.

A foreigner applying for a Polish driving licence shall attach to the application a photocopy of their residence card, visa or other document confirming their right of residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland, or a certificate that they have been studying for at least six months.

A driving licence shall be issued to a person who has their place of residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland and:

a) stays in the territory of Poland for at least 185 days in each calendar year,

- because of their personal ties or work, or

- with a view to permanent residence exclusively because of personal ties, or

b) regularly stays in the territory of Poland because of personal ties, and apart from that, regularly stays in at least two Member States of the European Union because of work,

c) resides irregularly in the territory of Poland on account of personal ties, because he/she is staying in another Member State of the European Union in order to carry out a task of defined duration, or

d) resides in the territory of another country on account of studies or schooling continued in that country.

Where a driving licence is being exchanged, the competent authority exchanging the foreign driving licence shall ask the competent authority of the relevant country to confirm the data and information included in the original document.

There is no obligation to verify the content of a foreign driving licence in the country where it was issued, if the document is held by a person who has been granted refugee status, asylum, subsidiary protection or a residence permit for humanitarian reasons or a permit for tolerated stay within the meaning of Articles 348 and 351 of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners.

Important: A holder of a driving licence issued in a country which is not a party to the conventions on road traffic (Geneva Convention, Vienna Convention), if that driving licence does not comply with the model specified in these conventions, may obtain a Polish driving licence on condition that he/she passes the theoretical part of the state examination and presents a certified translation of the foreign document.

The above additional condition is not applicable to driving licences issued in a Member State of the European Union, the Swiss Confederation or a Member State of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.

If a person is required to take a state examination, the licencing authority generates a 'driver candidate profile' to be presented in the examination centre. The driver candidate profile is generated after the data contained in the foreign driving licence have been successfully verified.

If a driving licence issued abroad contains a restriction, the same shall be included in the licence which is to be issued.

2. Sending the request via e-mail

There is no such option

3. Fees

Fee for exchanging the driving licence -100 PLN

The payment can be made in the following ways:

- by credit card at the office,

- cash paid at the branches of PKO BP S.A. Bank in the Town Office,

- transfer to the Rzeszów City Office bank account: 29 1020 4391 0000 6102 0144 6525

A proof of payment shall be included as an attachment to the application.

4. Where to submit the documents

The application should be submitted to the Road Transport Department at Rzeszów City Office, at Plac Ofiar Getta 7, room 14, tel. 17 875 45 74, 17 875 45 75.

5. Method of and timeline for handling the matter

Up to 30 days

6. Appeals procedure

An appeal against the administrative decision may be lodged with the Local Government Appeal Council in Rzeszów via the City Mayor of Rzeszów within 14 days after the decision has been delivered.

7. Legal basis

The Act of 14 June 1960 on the Code of Administrative Proceeding (Journal of Law from 2023, item 775)

Act of 5 January 2011 on vehicle drivers (Journal of Laws 2023, item 622, as amended).

Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Construction of 24 February 2016 on issuing documents confirming the right to drive vehicles (Journal of Laws 2016, item 231 as amended).

Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Construction of 20 May 2016 on models of documents confirming the right to drive vehicles (Journal of Laws 2016, item 702 as amended).

Regulation of the Minister of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy of 11 January 2013 on the fees for issuing documents confirming the right to drive vehicles (Journal of Laws of 2013, item 83, as amended).

Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 15 April 2022 amending the regulation on issuing documents confirming the right to drive vehicles (Journal of Laws 2022, item 874)

Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 18 May 2023 amending the regulation on issuing documents confirming the right to drive vehicles (Journal of Laws 2023, item 1081)

Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 18 September 2023 amending the regulation on issuing documents confirming the right to drive vehicles (Journal of Laws 2023, item 2025)

8. Comments

Client personal data processing in Road Transport Department of Rzeszów City Office

Pursuant to Article 13, clause 1 and 2 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (Official Journal of the EU L 119 of 04.05.2016, p.1), hereinafter referred to as GDPR, please be advised that:

1.     The administrator of your personal data is the Urban Municipality of Rzeszów, Rynek 1, 35-064 Rzeszów.

2.     The Data Protection Officer is Antoni Wilk, e-mail: iod@erzeszow.pl.

3.     Your personal data will be processed in order to perform the tasks designated to the Road Transport Department, in compliance with the provisions of the Act on vehicle drivers, Road Traffic Law and the executive regulations.

4.     Your personal data will only be received by entities authorised to obtain personal data, in accordance with legal provisions.

5.     Your personal data will be retained for the period prescribed by law, in accordance with the official instructions.

6.     You are entitled to request access, rectification or restriction of the processing of your personal data.

7.     You have the right to lodge a complaint with the President of the Office for Personal Data Protection.

8.     Provision of personal data is voluntary, but necessary to secure your and the Administrator's interest in the event of a complaint procedure or claim and to assess the quality of the service.

Polish domestic driving licence is issued to an eligible person after he/she submits his/her foreign driving licence.

The information provided herein is of a general nature and is derived from the provisions of the law. Additional documents and clarifications may be required in specific cases.

If you use the application form provided on the website of the Rzeszów City Office, please make a two-sided print.

For technical reasons (adequate print quality is required), it may be necessary to re-file the submitted application at the office.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Specifics of the service information sheet

Drawn up by

Sylwia Łoza

11.05.2022

Approved by

Zdzisław Sudoł

13.05.2022

Person responsible for updating the sheet

Sylwia Łoza