Driving licence categories: age, vehicles and rules (2026 table)

Poland has 16 driving licence categories, from AM to D+E, plus a tram permit. The lowest threshold is 14 years (AM), you can get category B from 17, and a bus with category D from 24. The age, vehicles and exceptions, such as a lower threshold with an initial qualification, are set by the Act on Vehicle Drivers.

Table: driving licence categories, vehicles and minimum age

The categories and the minimum age are set by the Act on Vehicle Drivers (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami), art. 6 and art. 8. The table shows the position as of September 2026, after the amendment that lowered the age for category B. Masses are given as the maximum authorised mass (MAM, in Polish documents DMC), unless stated otherwise.

The Act also sets the age for vehicles that need no driving licence: a bicycle from 10 years, an electric scooter and a personal transporter from 13 years.

What changed on 3 March 2026

The most important change is category B from the age of 17. It was introduced by the Act of 17 October 2025 (Dz.U. 2025 item 1676; Dz.U. is the Dziennik Ustaw, the Polish Journal of Laws). A licence obtained before your 18th birthday has restrictions under art. 8a, though: until you turn 18 you drive only within Poland, and for 6 months, when driving a motor vehicle other than a quadricycle, only with an accompanying passenger who is at least 25 years old and has held category B for 5 years. The course dates, parental consent and the probation period for 17-year-olds are described in a separate guide to getting a driving licence before your 18th birthday.

The same amendment raised the age for electric scooters from 10 to 13 years. The thresholds in art. 8 for the other categories were left unchanged; from 3 September 2026, on the other hand, the lowered thresholds in art. 9 for professional drivers (D, D1) did change.

You can start the course for any category 3 months before reaching the required age, and take the exam one month before. Under 18 you need the written consent of a parent or guardian.

Which categories are included in others

You do not have to take a separate exam for a moped if you have a car licence. Art. 6 of the Act sets out which entitlements are included in higher ones:

The rule is simple: a higher category in the same group includes the lower one. It works only within the group, though. Category B does not give you A1, and B1 does not replace B. A quadricycle other than a light one requires category B1 or higher, which is what an exam question from the catalogue asks about.

What extra category B gives you in Poland

Category B is the most popular category, so the legislator added entitlements to it that are valid only on Polish territory (art. 6(3)):

1. An agricultural tractor and a slow-moving vehicle, also with a light trailer.
2. A motorcycle up to 125 cm3, up to 11 kW and up to 0.1 kW/kg, or a three-wheeled motorcycle, if you have held category B for at least 3 years.
3. A motor vehicle running on alternative fuels with a MAM above 3.5 t and up to 4250 kg, if the extra mass comes from the drive system, is entered in the registration certificate, and you have held category B for at least 2 years.

Then there are trailers. A light one (up to 750 kg) goes with every B licence. A heavier one too, as long as the MAM of the combination does not exceed 4250 kg, but above 3.5 t for the combination you need code 96 after an additional practical test. The details with examples are collected in our article on what you can drive with category B, and the trailer mass thresholds in our article on towing a trailer with category B, code 96 and B+E.

Category A: 24 years, or 20 years after A2

There are two routes to a motorcycle with no power limit. The first: you wait until you are 24 and take category A straight away. The second, step by step: A1 from 16, A2 from 18, and after at least 2 years with category A2 you take A at the age of 20.

The step-by-step route requires three exams, but it lets you ride a motorcycle from the age of sixteen. On top of that, a category B holder can, after 3 years, ride a motorcycle up to 125 cm3 in Poland without any exam, which for some drivers replaces A1.

Categories C and D: initial qualification and psychological certificate

The lorry and bus categories have higher age thresholds: C, C+E, D1 and D1+E from 21, D and D+E from 24. Art. 9 of the Act lowers them for people with an initial qualification (kwalifikacja wstępna, the training for professional drivers): C and C+E from 18, D and D+E from 21. From 3 September 2026 the new wording of art. 9 also contains lower thresholds for domestic transport: D and D+E from 20 years for transport within Poland, and from 18 years for regular services of up to 50 km; D1 and D1+E from 18 years for transport within Poland.

The second difference is the examinations. For the driver candidate profile (PKK, Profil Kandydata na Kierowcę) for categories C1, C1+E, C, C+E, D1, D1+E, D and D+E you need a psychological certificate in addition to the medical one. For AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, B+E and T a psychological certificate is not required. The medical examination costs at most 200 zł (PLN) (as of September 2026); its scope and procedure are described in our article on medical examinations for a driving licence.

How much the exam costs for each category

Exam fees are set by the regional assembly (sejmik), so they differ across the country. In the Mazovia region, from 1 January 2026 the rates from resolution no. 179/25 of the Mazovian Regional Assembly apply (as of September 2026):

In other regions the amounts are similar. Booking methods, fee refunds and changing the date are described in our article on exam fees and booking through info-kierowca.

How to take several categories at once

You can take the theory part for several categories in a single sitting. The basic exam lasts 25 minutes, and for each additional category the system adds 25 minutes. For each category you answer a separate set of 32 questions (§ 20(3) of the regulation on examining). A person trained for A1 can take AM on the same occasion (art. 50(4)).

A passed theory test is valid indefinitely and exempts you from the theory part of the course. The practical test is taken separately, in a vehicle appropriate for the given category.

International driving permit and travelling abroad

An international driving permit is issued by any starosta (the head of the district office) on application, on the basis of the national document (art. 10(2) of the Act on Vehicle Drivers). Whether you will need one, check in the rules of your destination country before you travel.

Two things do not work outside Poland: the additional entitlements of category B (tractor, 125 motorcycle after 3 years, vehicle up to 4250 kg on alternative fuels) and a category B licence obtained at 17, which until your 18th birthday is valid only within the country.

Which category to start with

Choose the category for the vehicle you will actually drive, not for the lowest age threshold. If the goal is a car, category B from 17 also gives you a moped, and after 3 years a light motorcycle. A teenager who wants to ride earlier has category AM from 14.

The theory looks the same for every category: 32 questions, 25 minutes, a pass mark of 68 out of 74 points. Only the pool of specialist questions differs, so practise with the mock exam for your category: cat. B, cat. A, cat. C or cat. AM. A practical tip: subtract 3 months from the minimum age and sign up for the course on that day, and sort out the PKK and the medical examination even earlier.