Last year (2007) I already tried to register my English van over here, but after spending a lot of time having friends check with local garages and having my wife call various government offices I discovered that I can’t. You can’t register right-hand-drive (RHD) vehicles in Poland. Don’t let anyone tell you different – you will not be able to get the technical examination certificate (badanie techniczne) which you will require.
Now you might see right-hand-drive vehicles over here or know someone who knows someone who’s got one. This is perfectly possible because a number of years ago you could do it if you were able to demonstrate that you had experience of driving RHD vehicles on the right of the road. But that was stopped a number of years ago (I don’t know when exactly).
This seems unfair to me given that you can register LHD vehicles in the UK, or register English RHD vehicles in France, but that’s the rules I’m afraid.
So if you have a car here from England you have 3 choices (to stay legal):
- Continue to pay your UK insurance, return once a year to do your MOT, renew your tax disc on the internet. This is the simplest solution but with two catches – the first is that insurance in the UK costs a lot. The 2nd is that technically you are not allowed to have your car here for more than 12 months. But if you return every 12 months for the MOT then the clock starts again.
- Convert your car from RHD to LHD. I don’t know anyone who’s done that because the cost of it probably isn’t justifiable. Labour is cheap in Poland but I am sure that would still be a big garage bill, not to mention that cost of new parts (dashboard, steering rack etc..)
- Sell your car. Buy a local one.
If you don’t stay legal (i.e. your insurance runs out while your here) then if you are stopped by the police and can’t produce your documents there and then (you do always carry them with your right?) there is a chance your car will be impounded. Also I don’t think it’s worth the risk of driving without insurance anyway. It’s one of those things that you don’t need when you have, and always need when you don’t.
Hey , yeah I feel your pain. Drove my Irish Polo over here 2 years ago and after much pulling of hair realised I’d never be able to register or insure it so had to drive it back home and buy a Polish car. Misery. And I think of all the Poles driving their cars in my country …..:/ but I’m not bitter…:)
sounds like your pain was worse than mine – luckily for me one day a passing Irishman knocked on the door having seen the van parked outside from the road and bought it in cash. I just wrote a letter to the DVLA to say I wasn’t the owner anymore and that was the end of it. Since then I bought a car locally – which reminds me, I must blog about how to buy a car here!
That’s interesting- perhaps you can advise me the best way. I would like to buy an old van. Any ideas?
Hi,
I understand your frustration as the same and worse happens in greece. I wanted your opinion if u could help me.
I am leaving in NL and i want to buy a used BMW 735.It is about 20K.Importing this car to greece is impossible…taxes are huge.So i wanted to sell this car to my fiance for let’s say 2K euros. Could that reduce the amount of taxes you have to pay?
I say that because in greece they look at the factory price(the customs have their own lists) and they dont care how much you bought the car.
I dont know whether i will move permanently in poland but i just wondered maybe you had an opinion on this question.
thanks!
Kostas
Hi Kostas
As you are not Polish and you owned the car before moving to Poland then it sounds like you are in the same position as me and will only need to pay the same fees that I paid.
Just write a declaration that you bought the car 6 months ago, used it abroad, and now have brought it to Poland.
Interesting pages about the car – 4th option buy a left hand drive car in UK and bring to Poland. Yes my wife and I have bought a house in Wroclaw and we have all our property now in Poland. We have also a LHD on UK plate which we need now to change into and register with PL plates etc.
Can you tell us about any requirements that need to be done – any duties to be paid ! we have owned the the vehicle in excess of 6 months now (as we could not register our RHD) My wife is Polish and I am British and have a 5 year resident status curently running. Which will become permanent after that time.
Any advice you have or help would be warmly welcomed (docs can be in Polish or English eithway we can read and understand them)
Regards
Ian
Hi Ian
So in fact you will be doing exactly the same process as I did with my motorbike – please see here about importing a vehicle in Poland
Hey Ben thanks for the information – I have already spoken with my wife just now ( I am in UK my company – she at home in Wroclaw) and she says what a fantastic web site –
So she will read up on the data later tonight – we also have a small little girl 16 months old – Britsh/Polish
Please stay in touch as we think there are many issues we have in common.
Regards and thank you
Ian
HI,
Thanks for lots of great info on your site. I have 2 questions on this particular article.
1) Somebody told me that you can register RHD if you simply bribe the garage for the correct certificate, not sure how true or legal that is tho
2) A student told me last night that there is some pending legislation to allow the registration of RHD cars in Poland… again, I don’t know where this info has come from or how to validate it.
Have you heard anything along these lines?
I will answer in reverse order:
2) Actually the legislation has been there since Poland joined the EU because according to EU law we are able to bring our vehicles here without a problem. It’s part of the idea that anyone from any EU country can live in another EU country without restriction, and that includes registering foreign cars. To make this possible you need a special permit from the Polish ministry of transport for an RHD vehicle. The problem is that there isn’t much info on how to get this permit, nobody has heard of it and I don’t know anyone that has succeeded in getting one. Poland can say it is within EU law because it has the legal framework, but the reality is somewhat different.
1) Possibly – the problem with RHD is you can’t get a vehicle inspection certificate, so bribing the vehicle examiner in theory might get around that hurdle, but then without the permit mentioned in answer to question 2 you might get stuck trying to then register the vehicle anyway.
Hi – I’ve been looking into this too and I was told a couple of months back by the Polish authorities that you can only regsiter a RHD car in special cases – i.e. if it’s a classic car, military vehicle or special use vehicle – e.g. street cleaning.
I’m about to convert my car to LHD so I can get it registered.
If anyone has new info on RHD registration I’d love to know.
Also I bet if you did manage to register a RHD car the insurance companies here would charge you a fortune!
Got quoted 6000 Zls to convert a Mk 4 Golf with certification whatever that exactly consists of. Quoted 1500 quid in Uk, Parts & labour.
Hi, FANTASTIC website, only just discovered it. Please any help given wil be most welcome.
Briefly, I have a Polish girlfriend and visit as often as I can and vice versa. I have to hire a car every time I come to Poland which is very expensive. As i work in the motor trade I can purchase a very cheap oldish car and kinda planned to drive said vehicle to Poland and leave it, using it every time i go. After eagerly reading all the information contained in this site am I right in assuming that 3rd party UK cover and driving the vehicle back once a year for an MOT test would be sufficeint??
Kind Regards etc..
Yes – that’s right. According to the DVLA you need to keep it taxed too.
Another option would be to buy an old car in Poland and just leave it there for use. You could register it under your girlfriend’s name. Insurance would be really cheap, no road tax to pay and no obligation to do the annual trip back to the UK.
Hi Ben,
Just to abuse your hospitality a little further…….20 yrs experience as a car salesperson,( a nice one!!), and an HGV license class 2 but no great grasp yet of the Polish language. Realistically what are the chances of employment in Poland and at what kind of salary level? IIf I were to move there it would be in the Katowice area.
Thanks Again….
Unless you speak Polish your chances are employment are quite slim. This is why most of us either end up teaching English or go self-employed or work for some of the international firms in the bigger cities. But your HGV licence could come in handy. I recommend you post on polishforums.com because there are lots of helpful people there who might have some good suggestions or contacts. Let me know how you get on and if you do end up moving to Katowice (an hour down the road from me).
Unlucky for you but good to know for me so thanks for posting.
What did you end up doing? Selling in the UK and buying a LHD van?
Seems pretty backwards if you ask me…
CPF
Hi, some great info here!
Just wondering if you know anything (or can refer me to a website) about exchanging an Australian drivers licence for a Polish one? Or even if it is possible? I hope I don’t have to sit tests all over again…
Hi. European Union citizens can drive on their existing licences. For people not from the EU then your licence is recognised if your country is part of the 1968 Vienna agreement, in which case you can exchange your licence for a Polish one.
Unfortunately for Australians, as far as I know Australia did not sign up to this convention and thus is not on the list. My understanding is that you will be required to sit the theory exam, but not the practical exam. Theory exams can be conducted in other languages (I know they do English and German) by prior arrangement.
Hi,
Terrific website, many thanks for all the great info. Do you think its possible to buy a LHD car in the UK and use drive it indefinitely on UK plates in Poland without valid UK MOT and tax, just buying the basic polish insurance? or is that only for polish registered vehicles?
No I don’t think you will be able to get Polish insurance on a non-Polish registered vehicle. Even if you had UK insurance remember that not having tax/MOT could invalidate any claim in the event of an accident so I wouldn’t recommend it.
great website great to hear veiws and advice from likeminded people ive had my rhd jeep in poland for five years now for use every time i visit about twice a year this cant go on.. can i drive someone elses polish car by simply having my uk liecence to hand???
also any uk or irish who visit or live in podlaskie i would be happy to hear from you
Yes you can – another bonus of being in the EU – all EU licenses are mutually recognised. You will also already be covered insurance too as the insurance paid by the vehicle’s owner gives 3rd party cover to anyone who drives it.
Just to second Ben’s last post. I’ve been driving my sister-in-laws seicento for the last two years here in Wielkopolska on her insurance. Perfectly legal here in Poland and one of the reason many 18 year old nutters drive big, mean killing machines – they get their dads to insure the car.
And on the rhd topic. I would dearly love to save myself thousands of pounds and buy a good 4 year old car in England for use here in Poland. But then, if I could do it, all Polish drivers could do it and can you imagine a situation of a countless number of rhd cars being driven on the roads of Poland.
great news cheers ben
hi everyone just wondered if any of you had any exp letting property in poland we have a large ground floor apt with permission to let as a lokal. its been on the books with popular agent for quite some time and nothing seems to be happening,i do understand the down turn but just hoped you might have some advice for us….maybe some web site s etc??? many thanks
just found site as i have just moved to lidzbark 5 days ago,my family all come from warsaw and sadly im the only englishman in my family,and boy do i get some stick,any way i met my fiance last year at a hotel in great yarmouth and decided we want to be together and marry so last week she finished her job and we drove my citreon xsara vts to poland car was amazing it rained all day and car didn’t miss a beat,but know problem sets in converting car to lhd or sell to person or persons going back to england,if any body knows of anyone looking for a good coupe new tyres new brakes and discs very good runner and kept in tip top condition just ask the other half she keeps moaning about time i spend cleaning it,also i have a class 1 psv licence for 22years and also was and still is a emergency ambulance technician for 10 years so if any one knows of a compony thats a driver please give them my email address and would also like to make friends now im here to stay.
HI all, gr8 website and finally got some answers to my Qs. Well I am in a different yet simmilar position. I am a Pole just ab 2 marry an english girl… We have a property in Poland (Kolobrzeg if anyone is in the area) but we live in the Uk. I would like to take our 4×4 and leave it there. I assume the easiest option will be to tax it, insure and mot in the uk and just come back to the uk once a yr for the MOT? the questiion i ve got is: can anyone else drive the car (lets say my polish family if the car is insured 3rd party in the uk?) or do i need a fully comp insurence for other ppl to drive it in poland? Our british friends and family will come and visit and we would like them to be able to use the car?
Any ideas?
Many thanks!!
If you have UK insurance then it won’t cover anybody to drive it except the named driver – i.e. you, unless you specifically add other people to your policy. It doesn’t matter if it is 3rd F&T or fully comprehensive.
Your best bet would be to leave it on UK plates for now, and in a few months time you will be able to register it in Poland because I heard on the news just the other day that a new bill is going through the Sejm to allow the registration of RHD vehicles to finally bring Poland in line with EU rules.
But how long that bill takes to become law and come in to practice is another question….. :-)
Ben, It’s the European Comission that requested Poland to allow registration of RHD cars in Poland (quoting a /number of EU rules). As far as I know, the government is going to resist and end-up going to court in Luxemburg to defend the ban. But, it might be that there is something else going in Sejm: where did you hear about it?
That’s interesting and sounds about right! I heard it from my cousin who is a part-time car dealer. He said he saw it on the news two weeks ago but couldn’t recall where. I tried looking it up but didn’t see anything about it. The only thing I found was this thread in Polish which contains a letter from the Minister of Infrastructure dated February 2008 that says they don’t allow RHD vehicles to be registered but exceptions can be made by the Minister.
If you or anybody has some newer sources I would love to hear about it…
thx very much, very confused still… yeah i heard that hopefully soon the govt will have to change the law and it should be allowed to register RHD – that would be great. I just hope it happens quickly.
so lets say I insure my rav 3rd party in the uk, tax it and mot. then can I buy Polish OC to cover anyone else on the car?? or what can I do to make sure everyone is covered?
Thanks
no – I don’t think that you can legally insure the car twice. If you insure it in the UK then you are stuck with regards to letting anyone else drive it. Having said that you might be able to find a policy that lets anyone over 25 drive your vehicle with just 3rd party liability – I guess you would have to ring around and find out what the brokers offer you.
it might be possible to insure the car only in Poland but I have never tried to get Polish insurance on a UK registered car. If you could that would most likely be cheaper and would let anybody drive it so worth having a go I reckon.
I’ve found the insurance broker that can insure the RHD car (as long as taxed and mot’ed in the UK): STUART COLLINS & CO, 114 WALTER RD, SWANSEA, SA1 5QQ, PHONE 00 44 1792 655562
Then, we need to wait for the EU to push the Government a bit :) This forum is well informed on the matter: http://etransport.pl/forum4887.0.html
thanks guys,
My uncle insures cars, so will have a word with him tonight and see what he says. It may be possible. So if i understand correctly I insure the rav in the UK for lets say a week to drive it over to poland. Once in poland if possible I insure it with the polish company and anyone is allowed to drive it? great – lets hope so!
you could insure it from the start with a Polish company if you can find one. Remember inside the EU any insurance cover is valid throughout the entire EU so your Polish insurance will cover anyone within the EU on 3rd party
I’ve been trying to get my RHD car sorted in Poland for a year. We have just been told today that we can NOT get it reg in Poland. Only the Minister can agree it. He only agrees Ministry people.
Now i need to sell my car or Take it back to the UK before Jan 2010. As i will have no MOT, tax and Insurance.
Yes unfortunately this is the case. Poland is not following EU regulations by doing this so and I have heard that the matter is going to court.
Can we not start a petition or something so this gets sorted?
Hi Guys – another question – as Iam finding it difficult trying to get the right info. Still trying 2get my Rav insured As it is the 2nd car in the houshold im having to start with 0NCB. It is a japaneese import but in the UK for last 7 years – and to me it is just a standard 4×4 Toyota Rav4.
I would like to insure it 3rd party in the UK and drive it to Poland. Someone told me that Uk insurance is only valid 2 months abroad?? Is that right? Or can I keep the car in Poland for a year? My gf is a policy holder on a different vehicle in the UK so I assume she could drive it 3rd party too (on her policy?). Can I keep the car abroad? (Up to 12 months?) and if so what do I do about the question – where is the vehicle normally kept?
under the EU regulations am I right in thinking that any policy holder Poland can also drive my uk car 3rd party? As I would like my dad (polish and brother – both policy holders in Poland) to drive it and my gf and myself?
Any idea?
Many thanks
No, that’s rubbish. Any insurance policy sold in the EU must provide the minimum level of cover legally required in another EU country. This means that every British insurance company has to cover you 3rd party across the EU for the duration of the policy. But if your policy is fully comp then you might find they give you fully comp for only 2 months (and you have to tell them when you will be abroad) and the other 10 months will be 3rd party cover only. Also sometimes they don’t want to tell you that you have 3rd party cover in Europe because they aren’t keen on you knowing about it.
I can’t see why not.
I would assume this to be the case too but have never checked it. So I advise her to call her insurer to double check this. If she can remember that she would need to carry the policy with her whilst in Poland (just like all drivers are obliged to carry their documents with them whilst driving).
No, it is just that most UK policies are on the driver not the car and usually give some cover to the driver on other cars. In Poland the insurance is on the car and usually allows anyone to drive that car.
No they wouldn’t be covered because as I just mentioned their policies cover their cars, not themselves to drive any car.
Hi,
With regard to registering a RHD car in Poland this is my understanding of the current situation.
Currently as of 16th December 2009 you can’t register a RHD vehicle because of Paragraph 9 section 2 of the “Warunków Technicznych Pojazdów oraz ich niezbędnego wyposażenia Dz. U. Nr 31, poz. 262″ (The Polish motoring regulations etc.) Which state ALL vehicles must be left hand drive. Basically it’s an MOT failure point because it’s RHD, hence if you bribe a test station and get an MOT with a RHD it will be registered however if you get stopped by the police and there is no mention of the RHD status of your car on the registration document the vehicle will be towed. So bribing an MOT station is not to be recommended. Solution apply to the Ministry of Transport for an exemption to Paragraph 9 section 2 of the above, and hope for the best. I have successfully done this 3 times and now the registration documents have written on them in the middle section that it’s a RHD vehicle.
Interesting point to note: „Par 9 Sec. 262 of the Warunków Technicznych Pojazdów oraz ich niezbędnego wyposażenia” does not comply with EU law. Currently there is a test case being brought against Poland in Brussels by cheesed of Poles in the same boat as you. From what I have heard Poland has been warned about this issue before they joined the EU.
The issue should be resolved some time in 2010. Hope this helps.
Great info Adrian, thanks for posting – just one question – from what I understand the Ministry of Transport normally only approves applications for diplomats etc.., not for the regular joe public. Do you have some sort of special status or did you give a special reason in your application?
Hi Ben,
As a rule of thumb it’s a case of convincing the ministry of transport that it would be safer for you to driver a right hand driver vehicle. I told them I had a UK licence for 30 years and that I have spent most of my life driving across Europe without any incidents etc. I have to admit it was a fair bit of hassle phone calls, letters etc., but it can be done. Someone said in an earlier posting that certain vehicles are exempt from the RHD policy in Poland, they are not it’s simply a case that the minister for transport is more lenient to the rules. The vehicles are: Classic Cars, Specialist Vehicles (Fire Engines, Road Sweepers, Military Vehicles, Ambulances etc. and of course diplomatic vehicles. The only other group is vehicles that cannot technically be converted i.e. the manufacturer never produced a LHD version, i.e. Dennis Fire Engines pre 1985. I hope this helps.
Adrian K … I moved to Poland last October and brought my RHD car with me. I have owned the car from new (3 years) and as it has low mileage I would love to keep it. If I phone the Ministry of Transport will they send me an application form for an exemption to Paragraph 9 section 2 of the “Warunków Technicznych Pojazdów oraz ich niezbędnego wyposażenia Dz. U. Nr 31, poz. 262″ and if so can it be completed in English.
I am like you in that I have had a UK license for over 40 years, and quite a bit of continental driving experience. Any help that you can give me with this application would be appreciated.
How long is this whole process likely to take?
Great website! Looks like RHD registration is possible but difficult. I’m leaving Poland this year and hoping to buy a new RHD here to bring back.
Hi
I live in Krakow and have a Uk reg Lotus Elise over here (RHD of course) which I’d love to regsiter so I dont have to do the drive back each year. Anyone have any updates on Polands position after the EU gave them a slap on the wrist? Adrian, any more info. on how to get the exemption?
Thanks people.
Update here:
http://www.britishinpoland.com/blog/2010/01/poland-again-refuses-rhd-cars/