Drink-driving limits in Poland: penalties and car forfeiture

Legal limit: under 0.2 per mille (0.0 in the probation period). From 0.2 to 0.5 per mille: a petty offence, a fine from 2500 zł and a ban from 6 months. Above 0.5: a crime, up to 3 years in prison, a ban from 3 years and, from 1.5, forfeiture of the car.

How much alcohol is allowed at the wheel: two thresholds in the law

The definitions are in art. 46 of the Act on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism (ustawa o wychowaniu w trzeźwości i przeciwdziałaniu alkoholizmowi). The state of intoxication is defined in the same way in art. 115 para. 16 of the Criminal Code (Kodeks karny), while the state "after the use of alcohol" exists only in the Act on Upbringing in Sobriety. What counts is the concentration of alcohol in your blood or in your breath, and each of the two thresholds has two units.

One detail decides many court cases: the concentration that the alcohol in your body "leads to" also counts. If you drank shortly before driving and the alcohol is still being absorbed, the test may show the state after use while the concentration is still rising towards the intoxication threshold. The law then treats you according to the concentration it leads to.

The question catalogue tests both thresholds directly: question 8416 on driving above 0.1 mg/dm3 and question 8417 on driving above 0.2 per mille both have the answer NO (it is not allowed), and question 8419, which asks whether driving after the use of alcohol is a petty offence, has the answer YES.

What you face for driving after the use of alcohol (0.2-0.5 per mille)

Driving a motor vehicle in the state after the use of alcohol is a petty offence under art. 87 para. 1 of the Code of Petty Offences. The penalty: detention or a fine of not less than 2500 zł (PLN). On top of that, the court must impose a driving ban (para. 3) for a period of 6 months to 3 years (art. 29 para. 1).

You will not get an on-the-spot fine for this. The fines tariff has no entry for art. 87 para. 1, so the case goes to court. 15 penalty points (code A 03) go on your record, which is the maximum for a single violation. How many points you can have and when they expire is explained in our article on penalty points and losing your licence.

The time your driving licence was withheld before the verdict is credited by the court towards the ban (art. 29 para. 4).

Driving while intoxicated: a crime under art. 178a

Above 0.5 per mille the Code of Petty Offences ends and the Criminal Code begins. Art. 178a para. 1 sets a penalty of up to 3 years of imprisonment for driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of an intoxicating substance.

Three fixed elements come with the sentence:

1. A ban on driving all vehicles, or vehicles of a specified type, for at least 3 years (art. 42 para. 2) and at most 15 years (art. 43 para. 1).
2. A payment to the Victim Support Fund (Fundusz Pomocy Pokrzywdzonym): at least 5000 zł (art. 43a para. 2), with an upper limit of 60 000 zł (para. 1).
3. 15 penalty points (code A 05).

Reoffending makes everything harsher. If you have already been convicted with a final judgment for drink-driving, or you committed the act while under a ban imposed for a crime, art. 178a para. 4 applies: a sentence of 3 months to 5 years, a lifetime ban (unless there is an exceptional case, art. 42 para. 3) and a payment of at least 10 000 zł (art. 43a para. 3).

Amounts and sentencing ranges: valid as of September 2026.

When the court orders forfeiture of the car

From 1.5 per mille (0.75 mg/dm3) the court orders forfeiture of the vehicle you were driving (art. 178a para. 5 and art. 44b of the Criminal Code). The same applies to every act under para. 4, that is reoffending, regardless of the concentration. Below 1.5 per mille there is no forfeiture.

The car does not have to be yours for you to lose its value. If the vehicle is not your sole property, or you sold it, gave it away or hid it after the event, the court orders forfeiture of its equivalent value. The value is taken from the insurance policy for that year, and where there is no policy, from the average market value.

There are two exceptions. A company vehicle driven as part of your professional duties: instead of forfeiture, a compensatory payment (nawiązka) of at least 5000 zł (art. 44b para. 4). And an exceptional case, where the court may decide not to order forfeiture (art. 178a para. 5).

What the police officer does at the roadside

You lose your driving licence at the roadside check, before anyone has calculated the exact reading. Under art. 135(1)(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym), the officer withholds the document against a receipt as soon as there is a reasonable suspicion that you are intoxicated or in the state after the use of alcohol.

What happens next depends on the result: below 0.5 per mille a petty offence case in court, above it criminal proceedings. In both variants the time your licence was withheld is credited towards the ban imposed (art. 29 para. 4 of the Code of Petty Offences, art. 63 para. 4 of the Criminal Code).

Bicycles, e-scooters and towing a drunk driver

The Road Traffic Act (art. 45(1)(1)) prohibits driving any vehicle while intoxicated, after the use of alcohol or of a substance with a similar effect. A vehicle other than a motor vehicle, such as a bicycle, on a public road, in a residential zone or in a traffic zone (strefa ruchu) is nevertheless subject to milder sanctions, and here an on-the-spot fine does exist:

The court may additionally impose a ban on driving vehicles other than motor vehicles (art. 87 para. 4). Electric scooters have their own status in the regulations, which we describe in our article on e-scooters: age and licence rules.

There is one more point that few people remember: art. 45(1)(2) prohibits towing a vehicle driven by a person who is intoxicated or after the use of alcohol. The idea "my mate has been drinking, so I will tow him home and he will just hold the steering wheel" is a petty offence at both ends of the rope. The catalogue asks about this in question 11506, and the answer is NO.

Probation period: 0.0 per mille from 4 September 2026

If you have received your first category B driving licence, an additional rule from art. 91(4) of the Act on Vehicle Drivers (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami) applies to you: 0.0 per mille in the blood, 0.0 mg/dm3 in the breath and 0.0 of any substance acting similarly to alcohol. A violation means your licence is withheld and your driving entitlement is revoked. How long the probation period lasts and what else changes during it is covered in our article on the probation period for new drivers.

The morning after a party: what the question catalogue says

The catalogue gives no calculators and no sobering-up rates, and neither do we, because there is no source for them in the regulations. What it does give is a clear question 11510: what to do in the morning after drinking a large amount of alcohol the previous evening. The answer: do not drive.

That is logical in the light of the definitions. The state after use starts at 0.2 per mille, and the 0.0 threshold in the probation period means that even a trace amount rules out driving. Since you cannot measure the concentration yourself, the only safe decision is to leave the keys where they are.

Question 6318 completes the picture: alcohol narrows the field of vision. A driver who has been drinking notices later what is happening at the side of the road. For a sense of scale: for speeding you get a fine from the tariff, for alcohol you go to court. The amounts for speeding are collected in our article on speed limits and fines.

How the question catalogue asks about alcohol: an exam cheat sheet

Trap number one is the units. 0.1 mg/dm3 in the breath corresponds to 0.2 per mille in the blood, and 0.25 mg/dm3 is 0.5 per mille. If a question gives mg/dm3, convert it to per mille in your head before you answer. Trap number two: "after use" is a petty offence, "intoxication" is a crime, and the catalogue likes to mix the two terms in a single question.

You can practise all the questions on this topic, along with the rest of the Ministry of Infrastructure catalogue, on our list of category B exam questions. A practical tip for life after the test: if you are planning even one beer in the evening, leave the car at home before you go out, not the next morning.