This information may change. Always check the official source.Last verified: August 2026 by Ondřej Kadlec
Driving in Poland: the three basics
Drives on the
right
The driver sits on the left and overtakes on the left. Roundabouts turn anticlockwise.
Your licence
EU licence is enough
An EU, EEA or Swiss licence is valid as it stands. A licence from anywhere else works alongside an International Driving Permit, which hire desks and police expect to see.
Motorways
Mixed
Most roads are free and specific crossings, city zones or concession motorways charge. The catch is that several of them have no barrier and expect payment afterwards.
State motorways are free for cars since 2023; the concession sections of the A1, A2 and A4 still charge.
State motorways in Poland became free for cars in 2023, but the concession sections of the A1, A2 and A4 still charge.
Free state motorways since 2023, with three privately run stretches that still charge.
The A1 north of Torun, the A2 west of Konin and the A4 between Katowice and Krakow are concessions and collect a toll at barriers. Everything else is free for a car.
The alcohol limit is 0.2 g/l - low enough that a single drink the evening before can matter in the morning.
Dipped headlights are compulsory day and night, all year.
Motorway speed is 140 km/h, the highest limit in Europe, and it is genuinely used.
The country is big and the secondary roads are slow. Warsaw to Krakow is quick on the A4; Warsaw to Bialystok or the Masurian lakes is not.
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