Before you start

A valid foreign driving licence
PESEL and a registered address
A sworn translation by a tłumacz przysięgły
A PKK candidate profile, if a theory exam is required

Step-by-step

1
Check whether the exchange applies to you at all
EU and EEA licences are mutually recognised and need no action ever. Non-EU licences stop being valid in Poland six months after you take up residence, whether or not you have driven.
OnlineWho: You
2
Commission a sworn translation
Only a court-registered sworn translator produces an accepted document. An ordinary professional translation, however good, is refused at the counter — the single most common cause of a failed application.
In personWho: YouTypically PLN 60–150
3
Apply at the right city hall, which may not be Katowice's
Driver records are a municipal competence, so you apply where you are registered. In this conurbation that is a real fork: Katowice, Sosnowiec, Gliwice and Tychy each run their own department, with their own queue.
In personWho: YouPLN 100 for the Polish licence
4
Take the theory exam if your country is outside the conventions
The city first generates a PKK candidate profile; only then can you book at WORD Katowice. The theory test is available in English and the Polish highway code differs enough from most countries that studying it is not a formality.
In personWho: You
5
Hand in the original licence
The foreign document is surrendered and returned to the issuing authority. You cannot hold both, which matters if you expect to move on again.
In personWho: You
6
Price the ZTM network pass against the car before you commit
PLN 158 a month buys unlimited travel across all 41 municipalities on trams, buses and trolleybuses. Against city-centre parking, fuel and the A4 at rush hour, that is a serious comparison rather than a virtuous one.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence
Sworn Polish translation
PESEL confirmation and proof of address
Photograph to Polish specification
Medical certificate, where required by category or age

Things most newcomers don’t know

No clean transport zone here — Warsaw and Kraków are the only Polish cities with one in 2026.

Warsaw's zone tightened to its second stage on 1 January 2026 and Kraków's took effect the same day over a large share of that city. Katowice has not introduced one. If you already own an older diesel, or plan to import one, that is a concrete difference from Kraków. It is not a permanent guarantee — the legal power to create a zone exists and Silesian air is the country's worst — so treat it as the current position rather than a settled one.

Source: Polish clean transport zone status, 2026

The sworn translator requirement is the single most common rejection.

A tłumacz przysięgły is a court-registered profession with a ministry number and a physical stamp. HR departments and translation agencies produce excellent documents that are nonetheless not accepted, because the requirement is about the translator's legal status rather than the quality of the translation. It costs under PLN 150 to do correctly.

Source: gov.pl — exchange of a foreign licence

Which city hall handles your licence is decided by your meldunek, not your postcode's feel.

The conurbation reads as one city and is administratively 41. People routinely queue at Katowice's counter for a flat registered in Chorzów and are sent away. Check the municipality on your address registration and go there — the procedure is identical, the building is not.

Source: gov.pl — driver records are a municipal competence

The six-month clock runs from residence, and insurance is the real exposure.

Once your foreign licence has lapsed for Polish purposes, you are driving without a valid licence in the eyes of an insurer as much as a traffic officer. A claim on a policy where the driver was not validly licensed is where this becomes expensive, and it happens long before anyone stops you at the roadside.

Source: Polish road traffic law

Common mistakes to avoid

Submitting a translation that is not from a sworn translator.
Queueing at Katowice city hall for a licence when you are registered in another municipality.
Letting the six-month window close and exposing yourself on insurance.
Booking a WORD exam before the city has issued your PKK profile.
Buying a car without pricing the PLN 158 metropolitan network pass against it first.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.