Driving licence before 18: course, test and category B from age 17

You can start a driving course 3 months before the required age and sit the test a month before. Category B starts at 17, so the course begins when you are 16 years and 9 months. Until your 18th birthday you need written parental consent, and for the first 6 months you drive with a supervising passenger.

Since when you can hold a category B licence from 17

Since 3 March 2026 the minimum age for category B is 17. It was introduced by the act of 17 October 2025 amending the Road Traffic Act and certain other acts (Dz.U. 2025 item 1676), which changed art. 8 of the Act on Vehicle Drivers (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami). Before that you had to be 18.

It is not, however, a fully fledged document. A driving licence obtained between your 17th and 18th birthdays works only in Poland and for the first six months requires the presence of an experienced passenger. On top of that comes a longer probation period. Details below.

The other age thresholds have not changed: AM from 14, A1, B1 and T from 16. You will find the full list in the table of driving licence categories with ages and entitlements.

When you can start the course and when you can sit the test

The Act on Vehicle Drivers lets you start earlier than the minimum age suggests. You may begin the course at an OSK (ośrodek szkolenia kierowców, a driving school) no earlier than 3 months before reaching the required age (art. 21(1)). You may sit the state test at the earliest a month before your birthday (art. 50(1)).

For category B this means: the course from 16 years and 9 months, the test from 16 years and 11 months. If you pass the theory and the practical before your birthday, you still get behind the wheel only on the day you turn 17. The temporary electronic driving licence in mObywatel (the Polish government's ID app) is generated after you pass the test, but only once you reach the required age (art. 5b).

One exception: a pupil at a vocational school (szkoła branżowa) learning a trade with driver training in the curriculum may start training from the beginning of their studies.

What parental consents are needed

Under 18, written consent of a parent or legal guardian is needed at two stages:

1. To start the course at an OSK (art. 21(2) of the Act on Vehicle Drivers).
2. To have the driving licence issued, submitted when setting up the driver candidate profile (art. 11(2)).

The consent to issuing the driving licence goes to the office together with the PKK application. According to gov.pl, the parent or guardian goes with you to the office and signs the document in front of the clerk. The consent for the course is collected by the driving school. The WORD (Wojewódzki Ośrodek Ruchu Drogowego, the regional driving test centre) does not collect separate consent: before the test it checks whether you have the consent under art. 11(2) (art. 50(2)(8)).

How to get a PKK before your 18th birthday

You set up the Driver Candidate Profile (PKK, Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę) at the transport department (wydział komunikacji) of the district or city office for your place of residence. It is free. The order:

1. A medical examination with a doctor authorised to examine drivers (the fee may not exceed 200 zł (PLN), as of September 2026). A psychological certificate is not required for categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, B+E and T.
2. A colour photo 35 x 45 mm, as for an ID card, taken no earlier than 6 months before submitting the application.
3. The application for a driving licence plus an ID card or passport for inspection.
4. A visit to the office with a parent or guardian, who signs the consent in front of the clerk.

You usually get your PKK number on the spot or within 2 days when the documents are complete. You give it to the OSK and when booking the test. The full procedure with the list of documents is described in the step-by-step guide to getting a PKK.

Watch the dates: you can set up the PKK earlier, but the course will still start only 3 months before your birthday.

What restrictions apply to a licence obtained at 17

A category B licence obtained between the ages of 17 and 18 is subject to art. 8a of the Act on Vehicle Drivers. Two restrictions:

You will drive abroad on your own, even to a neighbouring country, only after you turn 18. For the first six months you also cannot drive alone in Poland: next to you must sit a person who meets the conditions in the Act.

Who can be the supervising passenger

The passenger in the front seat must meet four conditions at once (art. 8a(2)):

1. They are at least 25.
2. They have held a category B licence continuously for at least 5 years.
3. They do not have, and have not had in the last 5 years, a driving ban.
4. They are sober. The police may test the supervisor just like the driver.

The age and experience requirements do not apply to an instructor or an examiner. Most often the supervisor is a parent, but it can be an older sibling or a family friend, as long as they meet every point. Check this before the drive: one missing condition means you are driving without the required supervisor.

Probation period: 3 years and additional bans

From 4 September 2026 the new rules on the probation period apply (art. 91-95 of the Act on Vehicle Drivers). A person who obtained category B at 17 has a probation period of 3 years, no longer than until their 20th birthday. A driver who passed after 18 has 2 years. The time runs from the issue of the document, and with the temporary e-licence from the day you pass the test.

During the probation period every young driver is bound by 0.0 per mille of alcohol in the blood and 0.0 mg in exhaled air. Drivers under 18 have additional bans:

• carrying persons under 18 without a supervising passenger who meets the conditions in art. 8a,
• road haulage, taxi work and occasional passenger transport.

More than 12 penalty points means compulsory training at an advanced driving skills centre, and two final convictions for offences against traffic safety extend the probation period by 2 years. The Act as worded from September 2026 contains no separate speed limits for young drivers and no green leaf (new-driver sticker) requirement; the general limits apply. We have gathered all the consequences of breaches in the article on the probation period for young drivers.

Start earlier or wait until 18

A year earlier behind the wheel means getting to school, work placements or training without asking your parents for a lift. In return you get restrictions that many teenagers have anyway when driving with a parent in the passenger seat.

If 17 is still a long way off, look at category AM, which you can get from age 14. A moped or a light quadricycle lets you ride on your own, and the course is shorter.

A practical tip: count the dates backwards from your birthday. Get the medical examination and the PKK done early, start the course exactly 3 months before you turn 17, and practise the theory in the category B mock test before the OSK lets you out on the manoeuvring area. Then a test a month before your birthday is realistic.