A Ukrainian driving licence entitles you to drive in Poland for six months from the day your permanent or temporary stay begins - that is what Article 5(4) of the Polish Act on Persons Driving Vehicles (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1226, as amended) says. After that period you need a Polish document to keep driving legally. Usually that means exchanging the Ukrainian licence for a Polish one - and, contrary to a widespread belief, that normally does not require passing an exam.
Do you have to pass an exam to exchange a Ukrainian licence
No, provided the document complies with the model and the scope of data required by the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The theory exam is an additional condition only for documents that fail that test. A compliant document is exchanged with no examination stage: you need the application, the surrender of the Ukrainian licence, a certified translation and the fee, and the office also has to confirm the details of your document with the country that issued it.
The provision behind this is Article 14(1) of the Act, in the wording given to it by the Act of 17 October 2025 (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1676) and in force since 17 December 2025. It allows a person holding a valid national driving licence issued abroad to receive, on their own application, a Polish licence of the corresponding category, after surrendering the foreign document to the authority issuing driving licences. Only then does it add a condition: if the licence issued abroad does not comply with the model and the scope of data required by the Vienna Convention, an additional requirement for obtaining the Polish document is passing the theoretical part of the state exam and presenting a certified translation.
The change is bigger than it looks. What used to matter was whether the document fell within either of the two road traffic conventions. What matters now is whether the licence itself complies with the model and the scope of data of one specified convention. Ukraine being a party to the Vienna Convention has stopped being a sufficient reason - it is the document that is assessed, not the country.
The practical conclusion is this: do not assume up front that every Ukrainian licence meets that condition. Older models may not, and the call is made by the authority issuing the Polish licence, looking at the specific document in front of it. If the assessment is negative, the theoretical part of the exam is added - and only that part. The exchange itself never requires the practical part.
There is one more condition, independent of the model of the document. For a licence issued outside the EU, the office asks the authority that issued it, or the diplomatic mission of that country, to confirm the data. You can also bring the confirmation yourself - a document from the consulate, for example, counts. If the data cannot be confirmed, the licence is not eligible for exchange (Article 14(2e) of the Act). Exempt from this requirement are, among others, people with refugee status, asylum or subsidiary protection, and drivers with a licence from a country affected by an armed conflict who provide documents showing that they work as drivers for a road transport operator active in Poland. Temporary protection is not one of these exceptions.
How long you can drive on a Ukrainian licence
Six months from the day your stay begins - permanent or temporary. The clock starts from the beginning of your stay in Poland, not from the date the document was issued and not from the day you decided to exchange it.
The wording of Article 5(4) covers foreign licences defined in the road traffic conventions. Ukraine is a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so a standard Ukrainian document falls squarely under that provision - which is precisely why the six months apply to you at all. Note the difference: here what counts is whether the document is one defined in the conventions, whereas for an exchange without an exam what counts is whether it complies with the model and the scope of data of the Vienna Convention. Those are two different tests in two different provisions.
This is the general rule and it concerns people without temporary protection status. Separate regulations apply to those who do hold that status - they are covered below.
What happens after six months
The Ukrainian document stops certifying your entitlement to drive on Polish territory. The Act does not provide a separate penalty for simply not having exchanged the document; the consequence is different - driving on without the exchange, or without an exam passed in Poland, would be driving without the required entitlement.
The obligation is therefore conditional: it arises at the moment when, after six months of stay, you still want to drive in Poland. If you are not getting behind the wheel, the passing of the deadline on its own does not push you towards the traffic department. If you are, assemble the paperwork early - the statutory deadline runs out regardless of the stage your case has reached.
What if the Ukrainian licence has expired
An expired document can still be exchanged, only on additional conditions. Article 14(1a) of the Act, added by the same amendment, says so: a national foreign driving licence whose validity has expired is exchanged under the general rules, provided the holder meets the residence condition in Article 11(1)(5) - after the data entered in the original document has been confirmed by the competent authority of the state that issued it, and after the applicant has supplied the documents that make it possible to extend the validity of the licence.
So there are exactly two extra steps: confirmation of the data by the authority that issued the document, and the documents allowing its validity to be extended. The rest of the procedure stays the same, including the fact that the exchange itself requires no exam where the document complies with the Vienna Convention model.
In practice this provision decides whether an expired document is still a starting point for an exchange or whether you have to begin from scratch in Poland. If your expiry date has passed, ask the office about these two conditions before you assemble the rest of the paperwork.
What documents to prepare
The set consists of the application, the Ukrainian licence, its certified translation, an identity document, a photograph, proof of payment and a declaration of residence in Poland. The original Ukrainian licence goes back to the authority issuing the Polish document - that follows directly from Article 14(1).
| What you bring | What to watch for |
|---|---|
| Application for a driving licence | filed according to your place of residence in Poland |
| Original Ukrainian driving licence | surrendered to the authority issuing the licence (Article 14(1)) |
| Certified translation by a sworn translator | covers the document you are surrendering |
| Identity document | shown when the application is filed |
| Photograph | ask about the photo requirements where you file |
| Proof of payment of the fee | 100 zł - see the section on costs |
| Declaration of residence in Poland | at least 185 days in each calendar year because of personal and occupational ties or - with the intention of staying permanently - because of personal ties alone (Article 11(1)(5)(a)) |
The 185-day condition is not a box to tick. It is what makes a Polish licence possible in the first place: the document is issued by the country where you actually live.
The declaration itself is submitted later than you might expect: no later than the day you collect the licence or the day you sit the exam, and it is made under pain of criminal liability for a false statement. The 185-day condition has to be met regardless of when you sign that paper.
The composition of this set is based on Article 11(1)(5) of the Act and on information published by government information services. It is not a verbatim quotation of a single provision, so treat the list as a point of reference rather than a closed catalogue.
Where to file the application
The application is filed with the traffic department of the district authority or of a city with district status, the one competent for your place of residence. That is information from government information services, not a provision quoted verbatim: the district head's competence to issue driving licences follows from the Act, but the procedural provision on where the application is filed is not quoted here.
In practice the reference point is simple: you look for the office covering your place of residence in Poland, not your employer's address. What differs between offices is mainly how you book an appointment and when they are open - that is what to check in advance.
How much the exchange costs
The fee for issuing a driving licence is 100 zł. Its amount is set by the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 9 July 2025 (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 953), and it is the only figure you will find in this text.
The certified translation is a separate expense. It is a cost on the translator's side, not an official fee, which is why no sum for it appears here.
What about people under temporary protection
A separate rule from European Union law applies to people with temporary protection - Regulation (EU) 2022/1280. As long as temporary protection lasts, a valid Ukrainian licence is recognised throughout the Union without being exchanged, and you do not need to present either a certified translation or an international driving permit to drive. The regulation stops applying the day after temporary protection ends, and the Council of the EU has already extended the protection several times - which is why you will not find any specific date in this text.
The reason is straightforward: a date written into an article ages faster than the article gets updated. The only place where the situation is genuinely current is the government information service devoted to temporary protection, which is updated as things change.
If you hold temporary protection status, check the position on the day you are reading this. Not the date someone passed on to you a year ago, and not what people write in group chats - today's position.
An alternative: taking the exam in Ukrainian
Instead of an exchange you can follow the ordinary learner driver route in Poland and sit the state exam here. The theory test is currently available in Ukrainian in some cases - according to information from the Ministry of Infrastructure, for categories B and C. The availability of language versions does get changed, so it is worth checking before you book.
That route makes sense mainly when you are opening a category you do not hold in the Ukrainian document anyway: an exchange carries over what you already have, it does not add anything new.
It is also worth knowing how a sworn translator fits into the exam. During the theoretical part the translator may be present in the room only until the test begins (§ 18(1)(4) of the examination regulation, Dz.U. 2023 poz. 2659) - so they help with the organisational briefing, not with answering questions. There is no such limit for the practical part: there the translator may be present throughout the exam.
The whole matter comes down to two sentences. If you hold a Ukrainian licence that complies with the model and the scope of data of the Vienna Convention, the office confirms its details and you live in Poland, the exchange happens without an exam and the state charges 100 zł for the document itself. If you hold temporary protection status, the rules are different and they do get changed, so check them on the day you need them.
