Car inspection in Poland (przegląd): price, schedule and what is checked

In short

• Price: 149 zł for a passenger car, 245 zł if it runs on LPG. Every inspection station (SKP) charges the same fixed fee, in force since 19 September 2025.
• Schedule: a new car within 3 years of first registration, then 2 years later, then every year. LPG cars go every year from the start.
• Bring: the Polish registration certificate (dowód rejestracyjny).
• Failed: you have 14 days to fix the defects and return to the same station. You pay only for the re-check, for example 21 zł for lights.
• Late: the station charges no surcharge, but the police retain the registration certificate if they stop you.
• Foreign plates: the Polish periodic inspection applies to Polish-registered cars. A car on foreign plates follows its home country's rules.

Poland vs the UK MOT

The last row catches expats out. Go three weeks early in Poland and your next inspection is due three weeks early too.

Price list

Fees are set by a ministerial regulation of 3 September 2025, the first increase in over twenty years (a car used to cost 98 zł). No newer fee table has been published.

When your car is due

Article 81(6) of the Road Traffic Act sets the schedule:

1. First inspection within 3 years of first registration.
2. Second within 5 years of first registration and no later than 2 years after the first.
3. Then every year.

For an imported car, first registration means first registration abroad (Article 81(8)). A 2018 car brought from Germany and registered in Poland today goes straight to yearly inspections.

The next date is entered in the registration certificate. Before buying a used Polish car, check it on the free gov.pl service historiapojazdu.gov.pl with the plate number, VIN and date of first registration. It shows whether the inspection is valid and the mileage recorded at inspections since 2014.

What the examiner checks

The examiner:

• matches the VIN, plates and data against the registration certificate and the central register (CEPiK);
• checks tyres, with a minimum tread depth of 1.6 mm;
• tests every exterior light, headlight aim and beam intensity;
• tests brakes on rollers, checks steering, suspension, wiring, body and chassis, and measures emissions;
• checks the glass: the windscreen and front side windows must let through at least 70% of light;
• checks the fire extinguisher and warning triangle, both mandatory in Poland.

Defects come in three groups. Minor: you pass with a note. Major: you fail and return after the repair. Dangerous: you fail, the examiner retains the registration certificate and the car must not be driven.

A 10-minute check at home

Have someone watch while you switch on every light, including brake, reversing and plate lights. Test the horn and wipers, check the tread wear indicators, and pack an extinguisher and triangle. Then wipe a headlight with a wet cloth. If it turns clear for a few seconds, the haze is on the surface.

Cloudy headlights and the lighting test

Plastic headlight lenses turn milky and yellow with age. A clouded lens scatters the beam, so the cut-off line blurs and the intensity drops. The official defect list includes a damaged lens that affects the light output and incorrect dipped-beam aim.

We restore headlights in 2–3 hours: headlight restoration in Kraków from 400 zł per pair, from 800 zł with protective film (PPF). A cracked lens, water inside or a burnt reflector cannot be fixed by polishing, and we tell you before we start. After restoration, have the aim checked at the station. Within the 14-day window the re-check costs 21 zł for aim or intensity and 30 zł if a damaged lens was recorded.

Failed the inspection: the 14-day rule

1. Take the certificate (zaświadczenie) listing the defects.
2. Get them fixed. We are a detailing studio and do not do mechanical repairs or engine diagnostics.
3. Return to the same station within 14 days. They check only the listed defects and charge the re-check fee.
4. Your next deadline counts from the date of the failed inspection.

Come back later or go to a different station, and the reduced re-check no longer applies.

Late inspection

Stations charge no late fee: you pay the normal 149 zł. Reports of a 300% surcharge describe proposals that have not become law. The risk comes at a police check. If the car missed its inspection date, the officer retains the registration certificate (Article 132(1)(2)). For a Polish-registered car this is an entry in CEPiK, so nobody takes the paper. You get a receipt, which may allow you to drive for up to 7 days. After a passed inspection, the station itself records in CEPiK that the document is returned. A fine is also possible.

Rental, lease and foreign-registered cars

Cars rented or leased in Poland: the law puts the inspection on the owner (Article 81(1)), but the police stop the driver. Check your contract for who books it, and the due date in the registration certificate in the glovebox.

Foreign plates. A car on UK, German or Ukrainian plates follows its home country's inspection rules. The police can still retain a foreign registration document if they consider the car a danger to road safety (Article 132(1a)). Remove the cause within 7 days and you get it back from the same police unit (Article 132(7)). If nobody reclaims it, after 7 days it goes to the embassy or consulate of the country of registration.

Before first registration in Poland, a car as a rule goes through an inspection (Article 81(3)). Exceptions cover new cars and EU type-approved cars whose inspection is not yet due. Registration is done at the local office (wydział komunikacji); we do not handle it.

What is law and what is a draft

Sources

• Fee table: Dz.U. 2025 item 1223 and the Ministry of Infrastructure notice.
• Road Traffic Act, Articles 81 and 132: Dz.U. 2024 item 1251.
• Inspection scope, 14-day rule, defect groups: Dz.U. 2024 item 141.
• Vehicle technical conditions: Dz.U. 2024 item 502.
• Vehicle history service on gov.pl; UK: Getting an MOT.
• Drafts UC166 and UC95: Council of Ministers legislative programme.

Frequently asked questions