Seat belts and child car seats in Poland: rules, exceptions, fines

Seat belts are compulsory for the driver and every passenger, on every seat and every road. A child under 150 cm rides in a car seat matched to weight and height. Exceptions: from 135 cm in the back in a belt, a third child aged 3 or over, taxis. Fines: 300 zł (child without a seat), 100 zł (no belt).

Who must wear a seat belt: the driver and every passenger, including in the back

Art. 39(1) of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym) is short. The driver of a motor vehicle fitted with seat belts, and every person carried in such a vehicle, must use the belts while driving. There is no distinction between front and rear seats, or between town and motorway.

So you wear a belt on every road, in every vehicle with belts and on every seat. The catalogue of exam questions comes back to this rule several times: questions 6393 (answer A), 6388 (C) and 6389 (C) check whether you know that the duty applies on every road and in every seat in the car.

The duty is twofold. You are responsible for your own belt, and as the driver also for whether your passengers have theirs fastened. The fines tariff has two separate entries for this, which we cover below.

A belt is an element of passive safety: it does not prevent an accident, but it limits its consequences. How it works together with pretensioners, airbags and the head restraint is described in our article on safety systems in a car.

Who is exempt from seat belts: the exceptions in art. 39(2)

The list of exceptions is closed. The duty to use seat belts does not apply to:

1. a person with a medical certificate stating that seat belts are contraindicated;
2. a woman who is visibly pregnant;
3. a taxi driver while carrying a passenger;
4. an instructor or examiner during training or an exam;
5. officers transporting a detained person;
6. a medical team while providing assistance;
7. an escort while transporting cash or valuables;
8. an officer of the State Protection Service (Służba Ochrony Państwa) during official duties and a soldier of the Military Police (Żandarmeria Wojskowa) during protective duties;
9. a sick person carried on a stretcher or in a wheelchair;
10. a child under 3 in a bus;
11. a child referred to in art. 2(2) of the Act on reduced fares (ustawa o ulgowych przejazdach).

Watch out for two exam traps. The taxi exception applies only when the driver is carrying a passenger. An instructor does not wear a belt during training, but the learner does, because the exception covers only the person doing the training or the examining.

Question 7441 checks the exception for a visibly pregnant woman (answer C), and question 4483 concerns seat belts (answer B).

Car seat up to 150 cm in height: which one and how it is fitted

Art. 39(3) covers passenger cars and lorries (categories M1, N1, N2 and N3) fitted with seat belts. A child under 150 cm tall travels in such a vehicle in a child safety seat or another child restraint. The criterion is height, not age.

Paragraphs 3 and 3a set three conditions for the seat:

1. it is matched to the child's weight and height;
2. it complies with European Union rules or the UNECE regulations the Act refers to;
3. it is fitted according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The Act does not list weight groups or specific models here, so you will not find them in this article. The manufacturer's instructions decide whether the seat faces forwards or backwards, how you secure it and which seat it may go on. The catalogue asks about fitting in line with the manufacturer's instructions in question 10815 (answer C).

A seat fitted contrary to the instructions is a separate offence with its own entry in the fines tariff: 300 zł (PLN). Reading the instructions before the first journey is therefore not a formality.

Three exceptions to the car seat: 135 cm in the back, a third child, a taxi

The rules allow situations in which a child under 150 cm may travel without a car seat, fastened with an ordinary belt:

The third-child exception is a frequent topic in the catalogue: question 10882 has the answer A. The exceptions in para. 4 are tested in questions 13382 (answer B) and 10994 (answer C).

Be careful with the 135 cm threshold. It does not mean that every child of 135 cm or more may travel without a car seat. The conditions are that no seat can be matched to the child's weight and height, and that the child sits in the back. In the front, a child under 150 cm may not travel outside a car seat (art. 45(2)(6)).

Rear-facing car seat and the airbag

Art. 45(2) adds three bans addressed directly to the driver:

• point 4: a ban on carrying a child in a rear-facing car seat on the front seat when the passenger airbag is active;
• point 5: a ban on carrying a child under 3 in a vehicle with no belts and no car seat;
• point 6: a ban on carrying a child under 150 cm on the front seat outside a car seat.

The first ban has a simple logic. A rear-facing seat has its backrest towards the dashboard, exactly where the airbag deploys. If you want to carry an infant in the front, the passenger airbag must be switched off. Question 10806 in the catalogue has the answer C: a rear-facing seat in the front is allowed only with the airbag deactivated.

The second ban covers vehicles with no belts, for example older cars. A child under 3 may not be carried in them at all.

How much is the fine for no seat belt and for a child without a car seat: table

The amounts come from the fines tariff (the regulation of 30 December 2021, entries 58-64). As of September 2026.

A passenger who has not fastened their belt is liable under entry 63. You, as the driver, then get a separate fine under entry 64. One hundred złoty for belts is one of the lower amounts in the tariff, but points come with it. For comparison, a phone in your hand at the wheel costs 500 zł and 12 points.

Penalty points: 5 for yourself, 8 for passengers, up to 15 for children

Points are assigned by the regulation on the register of drivers who breach road traffic rules, in force since 3 June 2026.

Three children without car seats means 15 points straight away, the highest number for a single offence. For a driver in the first year after their first driving licence was issued the limit is 20 points, later 24.

How points are cleared and what happens after you exceed the limit is described in our article on penalty points and losing your licence. The rules for new drivers from September 2026 are in our text on the probation period.

How the question catalogue tests seat belts and car seats: cheat sheet

Questions 4485 and 6432 also concern seat belts. You can practise all of them on the list of category B exam questions, and every question has its own page, for example question 10806 on a rear-facing car seat.

A practical tip before every journey with a child: check three things, in this order. Does the seat match the child's weight and height, is it positioned as the instructions require, and with a rear-facing seat in the front, is the passenger airbag switched off? Those are three tariff entries of 300 zł each that you can rule out in a minute.