Collecting your licence after the test: fee, timing, e-licence

After you pass, the WORD sends the result to the office and you pay 100 zł for the document. The plastic licence is usually ready within 9 working days of the fee being confirmed. Straight after the test you can drive in Poland on a temporary electronic driving licence in the mObywatel app, valid for up to 30 days.

What happens right after you pass the test

The examiner goes over the result with you and hands you the score sheet. From then on you do not have to take anything to the office. The WORD (Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego, the regional driving test centre) itself sends the information about your passed test to the transport department (wydział komunikacji, the district office unit that issues driving licences) where you set up your driver candidate profile. The office has all your data, because you submitted the application for a driving licence when you set up your PKK (Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę, the Driver Candidate Profile).

From that moment your case runs on two tracks. The first is the temporary electronic driving licence, which appears in mObywatel (the Polish government's ID app) automatically. The second is the plastic document, which you wait for after paying the fee.

If your test is still ahead of you, first see what tasks are in the category B practical test.

Temporary electronic driving licence: how it works

The temporary electronic driving licence is regulated by art. 5b of the Act on Vehicle Drivers (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami). The system generates it automatically in the central register of drivers after you pass the state test, and you see it in the mObywatel app. The service has been running since August 2023.

Note the age condition. The Act makes generating the document conditional on reaching the required age. If you sit the test a month before your birthday, which the Act allows, check in mObywatel or at the office when the document will appear.

Categories C1, C, D1, D and their combinations are not covered by the temporary document. There you wait for the plastic.

How much issuing a driving licence costs and how to pay

The fee for issuing a driving licence is 100 zł (PLN) (as of September 2026). You pay it to the office that will issue the document:

1. At the office cash desk: you get the confirmation on the spot.
2. By transfer to the office's account: after the transfer, e-mail the confirmation to the office, because the issuing deadline runs from the day the office receives confirmation of payment.

Without the fee the document will not be produced. So do not wait to be asked. Pay right after the test, so as not to lose days from the 30-day window of the e-licence.

If you are counting the whole budget, from the medical examination to the document, look at the breakdown of how much a driving licence costs in 2026.

How long issuing the document takes

Nine working days is just under two calendar weeks. If you pay on the day of the test, in a typical case the document is ready with plenty of time to spare before the e-licence expires. That margin shrinks when you delay paying or when the office has to clarify something.

How to collect your driving licence: in person or by post

You choose the method of collection in the application for a driving licence, the one you submitted when setting up your PKK.

• In person: you go to the office with your ID card or passport.
• By post: if you ticked this option and entered an address, the document will arrive at home. If you already have an earlier driving licence, for example you are adding a category, you must return it before the new one is sent.

You can check the status of your case on info-car.pl. You enter your PESEL number (the Polish national identification number), first name and surname, and the service shows what stage the case is at and when the document is ready for collection.

What if 30 days have passed and there is no document

The temporary electronic driving licence expires 30 days after you pass the test, or earlier, the moment you collect the plastic document. After that date, until the day of collection, you have no entitlement confirmed by a document. Do not get behind the wheel then.

Otomoto News describes the case of an 18-year-old motorcyclist stopped for a check in July 2024 who collected his document only two days after the check. A situation like this is usually the result of delaying the fee or visiting the office too late.

What to do when the deadline is approaching:

1. Check the status on info-car.pl.
2. Make sure the office has received confirmation of the fee (for a transfer: the e-mail).
3. If the document is ready, collect it in person, do not wait for the post.
4. If the case requires clarification, ask at the transport department what is missing.

Do you have to carry your driving licence with you

Since 5 December 2020 a driver with a Polish driving licence does not have to carry the document in Poland. The police officer checks your entitlements in the IT system. The duty to carry a document still applies to documents other than a domestically issued driving licence, a tram permit or the temporary electronic driving licence, so during the 30-day period you drive on the basis of the entry in the register, and mObywatel serves you as a preview.

Abroad this does not work. There the rules of the country concerned apply, and the e-licence is valid only in Poland. Details in the article on whether you need to carry your driving licence with you.

From when your experience counts: the date you obtained your entitlement

The date of obtaining the entitlement is the day you pass the test, not the day you collect the plastic (art. 5b(5) of the Act). This matters in several places:

• the probation period for category B runs from the day you pass the test when you use the temporary e-licence, and from the day the document is issued in other cases (art. 91(2) as worded from 4 September 2026);
• the 3 years of holding category B, after which you can ride a motorcycle up to 125 cc in Poland.

The rules in force from 4 September 2026, including 0.0 per mille and the consequences of offences, are described in the article on the probation period for young drivers.

What to check when collecting the document

The expiry date of the driving licence is printed on the document. Check it when you collect it, together with your personal details, photo and categories. If you have a medical certificate with a restriction, for example glasses, the corresponding code will appear on the document. Report any error in the data straight away at the office, before you leave the counter.

A practical tip

On the day of the test, transfer the 100 zł to the office's account and e-mail the confirmation. After a week, look at info-car.pl. When the status shows the document is waiting, collect it in person instead of waiting for the post. That way you have the plastic in hand long before the 30-day validity of the e-licence ends, and nothing in mObywatel expires at the worst possible moment.