Car registration in Poland
What documents are mandatory when registering a car with Polish license plates in Warsaw?
More information about car registration service in Warsaw
Additional fees:
Car registration in Poland
Buying a car in Poland is a very brave and profitable decision for foreigners. Besides, having your own car is very convenient. However, buying your own vehicle is always followed by registration of the car. This is a rather difficult process that requires certain knowledge in this area.
Can a foreigner register a vehicle in the Republic of Poland?
Of course, he can. It is only necessary to take into account a few nuances. All of them will be described below.
Country of purchase of the vehicle
Even if the car was purchased outside Poland, it can still be registered. The only thing to take into account is the fact that there are no customs duties within the EU Customs Union. Consequently, registering a car in the Republic of Poland will cost much less. For example, if the car was purchased in Germany, it will be necessary to:
1. undergo a Polish technical inspection;
2. pay the excise duty for the car (the amount of the excise duty percentage rates will be described below);
3. have the technical passport and sales contract (invoice) translated into Polish by a sworn translator.
Status of a foreigner in the country
Absolutely any foreigner legally residing in the Republic of Poland can buy and register his or her own vehicle. However, there are nuances here as well. When registering on a permanent basis, the period of legal residence of the foreigner will be noted in the technical passport.
UPD
As of today, the mark indicating the period of a foreigner's stay in Poland, which used to be placed on the back of the technical passport, is no longer applied.
Country of operation of the car
This item determines the type of registration that will be issued for your car.
Types of automobile registration:
1) Permanent. This type of registration is required for those who plan to drive their car in the territory of the Republic of Poland and the European Union. Car owners who are going to operate a car with Polish registration on the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia are obliged to obtain registration of this type.
2) Temporary. This type of car registration is issued for vehicles whose owners plan to operate the car outside the Republic of Poland. For example, you want to buy a car in Poland, but you are going to drive it in your home country. This means that you will need to obtain a temporary registration and temporary (red) license plates, the validity of which will be 30 days - this is the period during which you will have to leave the territory of Poland.
Timeline
The owner is obliged to register the purchased car within 30 days after its purchase (during the period of validity of the law, the period in which the car must be registered increases to 60 days). It should be noted that violation of this law is punishable by a fine. The amount of the fine varies from 200 to 1000 PLN depending on the number of overdue days. In the latest wording of the law, the fine for overstaying the 30-day period is PLN 500 for individuals and PLN 1000 for entrepreneurs. If more than 180 days have passed from the day of purchase of the vehicle, the fine is doubled.
The main point when registering a vehicle - its owner (specifically a foreigner) must legally stay in the country. This requires the grounds for your stay. These include: visa, residence card, decision, UKR status, red stamp in the passport (stamp confirming the fact of filing documents for residence permit / permanent residence), visa-free travel and so on. Note that the last two grounds for legal stay in Poland (red stamp in passport and visa-free status) are not grounds for registration of the vehicle in Warsaw.
Duties
You can pay all fees in advance or do it during the car registration process in city district hall at the cash desk. The list of fees that you will have to pay in any case:
- registration fee,
- license plate fee,
- technical passport fee,
- temporary license fee,
- control sticker fee,
- legalization sticker fee,
- disposal fee.
Where can I register my car in Warsaw?
There is one general rule that states: car registration is done at the place of residence of the car owner. ̶Unfortunately, this rule does not apply to foreigners in Warsaw. A foreigner registered in any district of Warsaw can only register a car at the city district hall located at Leona Kruczkowskiego 2, 00-412 Warsaw. ̶ ̶
UPD
As of August 26, the procedure for registering cars in Warsaw is changing. Now it will be possible to register your car in the district where you are registered (zameldowany).
The following documents are required to register a car:
1. Karta pojazdu ( UPD c 04.09.2022 - no need for a pojazdu card);
2. Dowod rejestracyjny (in case of absence - oświadczenie o braku dowodu rejestracyjnego);
3. Contract of sale or invoice;
4. License plates;
5. A signed power of attorney, which will be provided to you by our employee.
You must also have the following documents:
1. Meldunek (residence registration) for at least 21 days;
2. Technical inspection;
3. Insurance policy;
4. Visa, residence card, decision, UKR status, etc.
Technical passport and registration certificate for foreigners in Poland
It should be noted that after car registration in Poland you will receive a temporary technical passport valid for 30 days, and after 2-3 weeks, when the permanent technical passport is ready, you will need to pick it up at the same office where the car was registered.
The validity period of the permanent technical passport is limited by the validity period of the document (residence card, visa) on the basis of which you are staying in Poland. A stamp is placed in the city district hall, which determines the period for which you have been issued a technical passport. For example, your residence card is valid until 2023, which means that the technical passport will be valid until that year.
Therefore, when the technical passport expires, you will need to apply to the city district hall for its renewal with documents proving that you are legally staying in Poland.
(UPD the validity of the technical passport is now unlimited)
Registration of new and used cars bought outside Poland
If the car is registered for the first time in Poland, you will have to pay excise duty. For example, when the car has a German/Belgian registration (If the car was purchased in a Polish car dealership - you do not need to pay excise duty for it). The amount of excise duty depends directly on the engine displacement and fuel type of your car. If the engine displacement is up to 2000 cm³ - the amount of duty will be 3.1% of the average value of the car on the Polish market. If the engine displacement exceeds 2000 cm³ - the duty will be 18.6%. If you have a hybrid engine up to 2000 cm³ - the amount of duty will be 1.55%. If you have a hybrid engine over 2000 cm³ - the amount of duty will be 9.6%. Electric vehicles (as well as PLUG-IN vehicles) and trucks are exempt from excise duty.
Frequently Asked Questions
The validity period of the registration is unlimited. The validity of the technical passport will not be limited by the duration of your legal stay.
You can check the readiness of the technical passport by clicking here:
https://info-car.pl/new/rejestracja-pojazdu/sprawdz-status-dowodu-rejestracyjnego
It is necessary to specify the new registration number and the last five digits of the VIN number of the car.
Yes, you Can. On October 1, 2018, changes to the traffic law came into force. All information about the technical passport and insurance is in a single CEPiK database. Law enforcement agencies can check the availability of documents online.
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