Legal status as of 22 September 2026. We update this page when the City Council changes the resolution or a court ruling is issued.
| Engine | Enters free of charge if it meets… | …or was manufactured |
|---|---|---|
| petrol, LPG, petrol hybrid | Euro 4 | in 2005 or later |
| diesel (up to 3.5 t) | Euro 6 | in 2014 or later |
| diesel over 3.5 t (van, truck) | Euro VI | in 2012 or later |
| electric, hydrogen, CNG | always (a car with foreign plates must be registered) | — |
One of two conditions is enough: Euro standard albo or year of manufacture. A 2012 diesel with Euro 6 in its documents can enter. A 2014 diesel with Euro 5 can also enter, because it meets the year condition.
Does the car meet neither? Until the end of 2028 you can enter for a fee. From 1 January 2029 the fees disappear and only the ban remains.
The studio is at ul. Powstańców 20 in Prądnik Czerwony, in the middle of the zone. Some clients come to us from outside Kraków, often in older cars, so the SCT rules apply to them directly. Owners of older diesels also ask us whether to sell now or keep driving until 2028. Our car detailing studio in Kraków is at ul. Powstańców 20.
The zone has applied since 1 January 2026 under Resolution No. XXXII/619/25 of the Kraków City Council of 12 June 2025. It covers city roads roughly inside the A4 and S7 ring roads, about 60% of the city’s area: Stare Miasto, Krowodrza, Prądnik Biały and Czerwony, Podgórze, Nowa Huta up to ul. Ujastek, Bronowice, Łagiewniki.
Outside the zone are only the A4 and S7 motorways and the access roads to two P+R car parks: Górka Narodowa (Al. 29 Listopada and ul. Papierni Prądnickich), and Mydlniki Wapiennik (ul. Balicka and ul. Brzezińskiego). You can leave the car there and continue by tram without entering the zone. Outside the zone there are also sections of ul. Herberta, Wielicka and Zakopiańska near the A4 junctions, so you can turn around.
The city publishes an exact map of the border, street by street, at sct.krakow.pl. The entrance is marked with sign D-54, the exit with sign D-55.
In February a client came to us with a 2013 Mazda 6 2.2 diesel. The car has Euro 5 and is a year too old, so the system ruled it did not meet the requirements, even though the client was sure his “new diesel” would be allowed. He paid the 5 zł daily fee by phone in the car park in front of the studio, in two minutes.
| Period | Per hour | Per day | 30-day subscription |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.50 zł | 5 zł (paying 2 hours in a row is enough) | 100 zł |
| 2027 | 2.50 zł | 15 zł (paying 6 hours in a row is enough) | 250 zł |
| 2028 | 2.50 zł | — | 500 zł |
| from 2029 | entry prohibited |
The amounts come from § 6 of the resolution. In March 2026 the Mayor of Kraków proposed freezing the rates at 5 zł per day and 100 zł per month until the end of 2028. As of 22.09.2026 this is only a proposal.
How to pay:
via the website sct.zdmk.krakow.pl, in the mKraków app or through mobile payment operators (the resolution gives a 2% discount there). You pay before entering. First you register the car’s number in the fee register, then you choose the period.
You pay for driving in the zone.
According to the city’s guide, the hour runs from entering the zone until leaving it or until you park, e.g. on private property. After you move off again, you pay again. Standing still does not require an SCT fee, and parking in a paid-parking zone is charged separately.
Our advice to studio clients:
if you leave your car with us for a few days, pay for the day you arrive and the day you collect it, 5 zł each in 2026. A car standing on the studio premises does not need a fee.
A Kraków resident can register a car for exemption if they meet all the conditions:
The application requires a PESEL number, a copy of the registration certificate and the first page of the previous year’s PIT with the UPO. The exemption is renewed once a year.
A car bought after 26 June 2025 does not get the exemption, even if the owner is a resident. This is where buyers of used diesels most often get their sums wrong.
In August a client from Bronowice brought us a 2009 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI before selling it. The car was exempt, because she had owned it for years. A buyer from Olkusz worked out that the exemption would not transfer to him and knocked 1 500 zł off the price. If you are selling an exempt car, take this into account before setting the price in the advert.
This applies to cars with Ukrainian, German, British and any other non-Polish plates. Such a car must be registered in the SCT system even if it meets the standards. The city has no access to foreign registers, so without registration the system treats the car as not meeting the requirements.
The application requires:
The form is available in Polish, English, German and Ukrainian. Verification takes up to 14 days; the registration is renewed every year. If the car does not meet the standards, you pay like everyone from outside Kraków.
Entering without authorisation or without paying is an offence under Article 96c of the Polish Code of Petty Offences: a fine of up to 500 zł.
The first data show a gentle start. From 17 February to 17 March 2026 the municipal police carried out 1,953 checks, found 112 violations and issued 4 fines (city data, via SmogLab). The plate-reading cameras were still being installed at the time. In the first three and a half months the city collected over 9.2 million zł in fees, so many drivers are paying.
Few fines are a weak reason to drive without paying. According to the city, the checks will be carried out mainly by cameras, and the penalty for a single entry is 100 times the daily fee.
Most of them must also be registered in the system in advance.
On 14 January 2026 the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Kraków (ref. III SA/Kr 1167/25) declared two parts of the resolution invalid: the definition of a resident and the exclusion of private medical facilities from the exemptions. It dismissed the remaining complaints, and the zone continues to operate. The ruling is not final, because the voivode filed a cassation complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA).
The Mayor of Kraków has announced a new resolution after consultations, in autumn 2026. The March proposals included, among others: exemption for journeys to all P+R car parks and markets, exemption for companies and organisations based in Kraków, for people in financial hardship from across Małopolska, for visits to all medical facilities, for residents who bought a car by the end of 2025, and permanent 5 zł and 100 zł rates until 2028. Until the City Council adopts them, the rules described above apply.
We see such cars every week. The owner has three options.
1. Pay until the end of 2028.
For occasional visits to the city in 2026 it is 5 zł a day. In 2028 a 500 zł subscription for 30 days remains. If you drive in every day, from 2027 the sums quickly stop adding up.
2. P+R and public transport.
Górka Narodowa and Mydlniki Wapiennik are outside the zone. For people commuting to work in the centre, this is the cheapest option.
3. Sell before everyone else does.
The closer 2029 gets, the more pre-2014 diesels will come onto the market and the lower their prices will be in Małopolska. Prices of older diesels have already dropped slightly, but a car that has been prepared still sells for more than a neglected one of the same year.
If you choose to sell, the car’s appearance decides the first offer. The buyer looks at the paint, headlights and interior before asking about mileage.
Example: a 2008 Passat B6 2.0 TDI from Wieliczka, 280,000 km. It arrived with dull headlights, dulled paint on the roof and bonnet, and stained seats. We did a one-stage polish, headlight restoration and upholstery cleaning, one working day in total. The owner listed the car for 2,000 zł more than planned and sold it in 11 days.
What we do before a sale and what it costs is described in our guide Polishing before a sale. We will give you a quote on site at ul. Powstańców 20, with no obligation.
Yes, register it at sct.zdmk.krakow.pl even though it meets the norm. Without that, the system treats it as non-compliant. The city has up to 14 days to verify it, and you renew the registration every year.
5 zł in 2026: pay two consecutive hours (2 × 2.50 zł) and the permit lasts until midnight. In 2027 a day costs 15 zł.
No. The airport is in Balice, outside the city limits, and the zone covers only roads managed by the City of Kraków. Coming from the A4 you do not enter the zone. Driving from the city centre to the airport, you leave it at the city boundary, so a non-compliant car needs a paid permit for that trip.
Up to 500 zł.
Yes, after paying the fee, because the studio is inside the zone. You only pay for the days you drive: arrival and collection. While the car is parked with us, no SCT fee is due.
Kraken Detailing is at ul. Powstańców 20, in the middle of the zone. If your car does not meet the standards, pay for the day you arrive and the day you collect it; a car standing with us does not need a fee.
