Driving licence validity: how many years, when to renew, expiry

Categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, B+E and T: valid 15 years, C and D 5 years, less with a time-limited medical certificate. A first category B licence issued from 4 September 2026 covers the probation period. No driving after expiry: renewal costs 100 zł. Documents from before 2013 are exchanged in 2028-2033.

For how many years a driving licence is issued

The term depends on the category. For AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, B+E and T the document is issued for 15 years. For C1, C1+E, C, C+E, D1, D1+E, D and D+E for 5 years. So says art. 13(1) of the Act on Vehicle Drivers (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami).

There is one important exception. A category B licence obtained for the first time is issued for the length of the probation period: 2 years, or 3 years for a licence from age 17 (art. 13(1)(1)(b) in conjunction with art. 91(1)). This provision waited years to be implemented and began to apply on 4 September 2026, together with the probation period (art. 9(1) of the amendment of 17 October 2025). After the probation period you exchange the document for a 15-year one. The rules of the probation period are described in the article on the probation period for young drivers.

In both groups the term may be shorter. If the doctor issued a certificate with an expiry date, you get the document for as long as the certificate is valid. For categories C and D psychological certificates also count: the driving licence cannot be valid longer than they are.

If you hold several categories, each has its own term. Category B may still be valid for another 10 years when C has already expired. You will find the full list of categories and ages in the table of driving licence categories.

Do you lose your entitlements after expiry

The end of the 15-year term of the document does not take away your entitlements: it is the validity of the physical document, not of the decision granting the entitlements. It is different when the term resulted from a medical or psychological certificate: then you need a new certificate to renew, because gov.pl states plainly that the examinations are valid for as long as your entitlements. In both cases you may not drive with an expired driving licence.

The official catalogue asks about the same thing. Question 6414 concerns driving with a document whose expiry date has passed. The correct answer: No. In the test this question falls into the basic pool, where you answer YES or NO.

Extending the validity is in practice an exchange of the document: you submit an application, pay the fee and get a new driving licence with a new date (art. 13(6)). Only art. 13(1), (4) and (5) and art. 12(1)-(3) apply to the exchange, with no test (art. 13(6)), so you do not go back to the WORD (Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego, the regional driving test centre).

Open-ended driving licence from before 2013: when to exchange it

Documents in the new format, with an expiry date, have been issued since 19 January 2013 (art. 124(2)). If your driving licence was issued up to 18 January 2013 and has no expiry date, it is still valid (art. 124(6)). The exchange of such documents is to take place between 19 January 2028 and 18 January 2033, on dates to be set by the minister (art. 124(4)). You can also exchange the document earlier, on request.

There is no ministerial schedule yet (as of September 2026). So do not believe the specific dates "by year of birth" circulating on forums. When the regulation appears, you will learn from it when your turn comes.

This is a topic for learners' parents: if mum or dad have an old document without a date, they do not have to do anything until 2028. It is only worth checking whether the details in the document are still current, because a change of surname forces an immediate exchange.

Codes on the driving licence: what they mean

A driving licence may contain restriction codes (art. 13(4)-(5)). The ones you will most often come across:

• the requirement to drive in glasses or contact lenses,
• a hearing aid,
• a limb prosthesis,
• vehicle modifications adapted to your state of health,
• an expiry date linked to the medical certificate,
• an alcohol interlock.

Most codes result from your state of health, that is from the medical certificate: if the doctor entered a sight defect, the glasses code will appear on the document. The restriction to a vehicle with an alcohol interlock has a separate basis (art. 13(4)(2)). We do not list the code numbers here; you will find them on your document and in the certificate.

When exchanging the driving licence is compulsory

Gov.pl lists three situations: a change of first name or surname, expiry of the document, and expiry of one of the categories. Moving house is not on this list: gov.pl does not mention a change of address among the reasons for exchange.

How to exchange a driving licence step by step

The procedure from gov.pl (as of September 2026):

1. Check the validity of your medical and psychological examinations. If they have expired or you have a referral, book a new examination.
2. Gather the documents: the application for a driving licence (a PDF to print or a form at the office, ticking collection at the office or by post), a current photo, ID card or passport (a foreigner: passport or residence card), your current driving licence, a medical certificate where required.
3. Pay 100 zł (PLN) for issuing the document at the office cash desk or by transfer and attach the confirmation.
4. Submit the application at the city office of a city with district status, a district office in Warsaw or the district office (starostwo). In person, by post or through a representative.
5. Wait up to a month from submitting a complete application, usually less. When the office has to clarify your situation (for example a driving ban), up to 2 months.
6. Check the status on kierowca.pwpw.pl or info-car.pl by entering your PESEL number (the Polish national identification number), first name and surname.
7. Collect the document the way you ticked in the application.

If the office refuses, you have 14 days from receiving the refusal to appeal to the local government appeals board (samorządowe kolegium odwoławcze). You file the appeal at the office that refused.

Do you need new examinations to exchange

Usually not. Medical examinations are valid for as long as your entitlements. You get a new certificate only in two cases: when the previous one had an expiry date and that date has passed, or when you have a referral for an examination.

For categories C and D the document is valid no longer than the certificates, so the dates often end together. Check them before visiting the office. How much the examination costs (up to 200 zł) and what it looks like is described in the article on the medical examination for a driving licence.

What happens if you drive with an expired driving licence

The police officer takes the invalid document against a receipt (art. 135(1)(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)). The receipt lets you drive for another 7 days (art. 135(4)). Then the starosta (head of the district office, which issues driving licences) issues a decision withholding the driving licence (art. 102(1)(1) of the Act on Vehicle Drivers).

Getting the document back is described by gov.pl in the service "Odzyskaj zatrzymane prawo jazdy" (Recover a withheld driving licence):

• you submit an application for its return,
• you pay 100 zł for a new document if the old one is invalid,
• you attach a medical and psychological certificate only when the examinations have expired or you have received a referral,
• the return is immediate when the document is still valid, and up to 7 days when the office issues a new one.

The difference is a week of driving on a receipt and a visit to the office under pressure. It is simpler to exchange the document earlier.

How not to miss the deadline

The office has up to a month to issue a new document, so submit the application at least a month before the expiry date. If you need new examinations, add time for the visit to the doctor. Put the expiry date in your phone calendar with a reminder two months ahead.

A newly qualified category B driver has the first deadline sooner than everyone else: the end of the probation period, that is 2 or 3 years from the issue of the document. What collecting the first document looks like and from when your experience counts is described in the article on collecting your driving licence and the temporary electronic document. And if you are still studying for the theory, you can practise question 6414 and similar ones in the online theory course.