Category B driving course: how long, how much, how to choose a school

A category B course includes at least 30 hours of theory (with 4 hours of first aid) and 30 hours of driving; at 2-3 lessons a week it takes several weeks. It costs approx. 3842 zł on average, range 3500-5590 zł (as of September 2026). You need a PKK number and can start 3 months before turning 17.

What a category B driving course includes

A course at an OSK (ośrodek szkolenia kierowców, a driving school) consists of four parts, listed in art. 23 of the Act on Vehicle Drivers (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami). These are the theory part (lectures and exercises), the practical part (manoeuvring area, urban traffic and driving outside built-up areas), first aid training and an internal test. An alternative to a course at an OSK is school-based training, if your school runs it.

Before you enrol at a school, you need a PKK number (Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę, the driver candidate profile). Without it the school will not start your training, because that is the profile your course is attached to. How to get one is described in our guide on how to get a PKK step by step.

A school cannot train anyone who is banned from driving, whose licence has been withheld, or who has no medical certificate (art. 22). The certificate is needed for the PKK anyway, so in practice you sort it out at the very beginning.

How many hours the course has: the minimum from the regulation

The number of hours is set by the regulation on driver training (§ 9). This is a minimum that the school cannot reduce. It can, however, offer more driving lessons if you need them.

A theory lesson hour lasts 45 minutes, and a practical lesson hour 60 minutes (§ 10). When a school promises 30 hours of driving, ask whether that means 30 full clock hours. That is what the regulation requires.

How much you can drive in one day

The regulation also limits the daily pace (§ 11). For category B, during the first 8 hours of practice you drive at most 2 hours a day, then at most 3 hours a day. For AM, A1, A2 and A the 2-hour limit applies during the first 4 hours of practice. The limit of 4 hours a day after completing half of the practice applies only to categories C1, C, D1, D, their trailer variants and the tram permit.

How long the course takes in practice

The regulations set no deadline for finishing the course. The time depends on three things: the availability of driving slots at the school, your own pace, and whether you do the theory in the classroom or online.

The practical part is 30 clock hours. With 2-3 lessons a week it takes several weeks. If the school has free slots and you drive more often, you will finish sooner, but the daily limits from the regulation still apply to you.

You can start the course at the earliest 3 months before reaching the minimum age (art. 21(1)). For category B the minimum age has been 17 since 3 March 2026, so you can enrol from 16 years and 9 months. Anyone under 18 needs written consent from a parent or guardian (art. 21(2)).

Theory online or in the classroom: e-learning and theory at WORD before the course

The Act allows lectures in the form of e-learning under the supervision of the OSK (art. 23(3)). You then work through the theory part at home, at your own pace, and the school signs off its completion. Exercises, first aid and the internal test take place as normal.

There is a second route. With your PKK number you can pass the theory test at WORD (Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego, the regional driving test centre) before the course, at the earliest one month before reaching the required age (art. 50(1)). Anyone who has passed the theory at WORD is exempt from the theory part of the course and from the theory part of the internal test (art. 23a). What remains at the OSK is the driving lessons, first aid and the practical internal test.

You prepare for that test on your own, for example with an online theory course based on the official question catalogue of the Ministry of Infrastructure (Ministerstwo Infrastruktury). A passed theory test is valid indefinitely, so there is no rush with the practical part.

How much a category B course costs (as of September 2026)

No regulation sets course prices; each school sets its own. According to the Rankomat overview from August 2026, based on the price lists of two random schools from each voivodeship (region), a category B course in regional capitals costs approx. 3842 zł (PLN) on average. The spread between offers is 3500-5590 zł.

An extra driving hour outside the package costs approx. 150 zł. The course is only part of the expense, though: add the medical examination, test fees and the issue of the document. We break down the whole bill in our text on how much a driving licence costs from PKK to collection.

If you are interested in another category, the same overview gives approximate course prices: AM 1400-2500 zł, A, A1 and A2 approx. 3000-5000 zł, C and C1 4300-6000 zł, D and D1 5999-12100 zł.

How to choose an OSK: seven things to check

1. The register. The school must be entered in the register of businesses running OSKs, kept by the starosta (the head of the district office). Ask for the entry number or check with the district office.
2. Learner pass rates. WORDs and district offices publish pass rate statistics for individual schools. The info-kierowca.pl portal is eventually meant to provide a database of OSKs with such statistics. Compare schools from the same city, because they take the test at the same WORD.
3. An itemised price. How many driving hours are in the package, whether materials and the internal test are included, what an extra hour costs.
4. E-learning. Whether the school offers online lectures and how it signs off their completion.
5. The car. Ideally one similar to the car your WORD uses for tests. Taking the test in the school's car is possible only at your request and expense (art. 53(4a)), so do not count on it as standard.
6. Dates. How soon after enrolling you start driving and whether there are lessons in the evenings or at weekends.
7. A written contract. Number of hours, price, rules for cancelling lessons and any extra charges.

The internal test and completing the course

The internal test closes the course and is a compulsory part of it (art. 23). It has a theory part and a practical part. The theory part does not apply to you if you have already passed the theory at WORD (art. 23a). The practical part checks what the examiner will later assess: the manoeuvring area and driving in traffic.

Once you pass the internal test, the school records completion of the course in the system linked to your PKK number. With the same number you then book the state test at WORD.

What to watch out for: traps in school offers

The most common trap is a low base price plus extra charges you learn about after signing the contract. This applies to fees for the internal test, materials, driving outside the city or providing the car for the test.

The second is the length of an hour. The regulation speaks of 60 minutes of driving, but some offers count lesson hours. Over 30 hours the difference is 7.5 hours behind the wheel that you will not get.

The third is the car. If the school drives a different model from your WORD, it is worth doing your last lessons in a car similar to the test vehicle, or choosing a school that has that model from the start.

Before you sign a contract, ask for a written price list and work out the full cost: the package price plus a few extra hours at approx. 150 zł each. Compare that total between schools, not just the price in the advert.