Snow on your car in Poland: fines, penalty points and who pays

Quick answer

• Is it an offence? Yes. Polish law has no "snow" clause, but a covered number plate, covered lights or windows you cannot see through all break the Road Traffic Act.
• Typical fines: covered number plate 500 zł, covered lights 300 zł, using a vehicle in a way that endangers people 200 zł, unreadable plate 100 zł.
• Penalty points (since 3 June 2026): 8 for covered lights or plates, 12 for endangering safety. They are recorded for foreign licence holders too.
• Snow on the roof: there is no separate fine line for it. The police guide covers it under the general safety rules.
• Warming up the engine while you scrape: a parked car is legally "parking", and running the engine while parked in a built-up area costs 100 zł.
• Rental or car-sharing car: the driver pays. Keeping the plates readable is legally the driver's job.

What the law requires

The Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym) sets general duties that cover snow and ice:

• Art. 66(1) points 1 and 5: a vehicle must be kept so that it does not endanger anyone and gives the driver a sufficient field of view.
• Art. 60(1) point 1: you may not use a vehicle in a way that endangers people inside or outside it.
• Art. 60(1) point 2: you may not cover lights, signalling devices or number plates.
• Art. 60(1a): keeping the number plates in proper condition and readable is the duty of the driver.

The Warsaw police magazine lists what to clear: roof, bonnet, boot lid, headlights, rear lights, number plate and windows.

Fines and points

The officer picks the line that matches what they see: snow on the plate, on the lights, or a windscreen you cannot see through.

The Małopolska police, who cover Kraków, name 200 zł for driving in a way that endangers safety, 300 zł for covered lights and 500 zł for a covered number plate. Older police articles say snow offences carry "no points". Under the points regulation in force since 3 June 2026, lines 195–197 carry points.

You can refuse a fine (mandat). The case then goes to court, and for this type of offence the court can fine you from 20 zł up to 3,000 zł (Petty Offences Code, art. 24 § 1 and art. 97). That is where the "20 to 3,000 zł" range in police materials comes from.

How fines are paid by people without permanent residence in Poland, and how points on a foreign licence work, is in our guide to traffic fines in Poland.

Snow on the roof

No line in the fines table says "roof". The police guide still lists the roof first among the things to clear, citing art. 66(1)(1) and art. 60(1)(1). When you brake, a slab of snow slides onto the windscreen and blocks your view in a second. On a motorway it flies off onto the car behind. The endangering-safety line is 200 zł and 12 points.

Warming up the engine while you scrape

Many drivers start the engine, switch on the heater and then scrape. In a Polish built-up area that is an offence.

• Standing still for more than one minute, when traffic does not force you to, is legally "parking" (postój, art. 2 point 30). A car left outside overnight is parked.
• Art. 60(2)(3) bans leaving the engine running while parked in a built-up area. Fine: 100 zł.
• Going back inside while the engine runs is a separate offence under art. 60(2)(1). Fine: 50 zł.

So clear the car first, then start the engine and drive off. Turn on the air conditioning together with the heater: it dries the air and the inside of the glass clears faster.

Rental cars and car sharing: who pays

A roadside fine is issued to the person driving, whoever owns the car. For number plates, art. 60(1a) says so directly: readability is the driver's duty. If you pick up a rental or a car-sharing car buried in snow, clearing it before you drive is your job.

If an offence is recorded without the police stopping you, the owner must tell the authorities who had the car at that time (art. 78(4)). With a rental or car-sharing company, the owner is the company, so the fine reaches you anyway. For renting in Kraków in general, see car rental in Kraków.

Clearing the car: order and tools

1. Roof, bonnet and boot lid first, or the snow ends up on the glass you have cleared.
2. The whole of every window, side windows included: you need them to see the mirrors.
3. Mirrors, headlights, rear lights and both number plates.
4. Start the engine and go.

• Soft brush for the roof, bonnet and boot. Brush snow off paint; do not scrape it, because a scraper scratches paint.
• Plastic scraper for glass only. Not the edge of a bank card.
• De-icer spray for thick ice. Do not pour boiling water on the windscreen: the temperature shock can crack it.
• Wipers: do not yank a frozen blade off the glass. The rubber tears, then leaves streaks.

A hydrophobic coating on the glass makes winter mornings easier: ice comes off more readily, and at speed rain beads up and blows off the windscreen. At our studio the Window+ glass coating costs from 349 zł, and the plain hydrophobic glass coating from 250 zł. Details are on our ceramic coating page, under glass.

Sources

As of September 2026. Road Traffic Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 item 1251 as amended, art. 2, 60, 66, 78 (isap.sejm.gov.pl); fines table, Dz.U. 2021 item 2484, lines 195–206 (isap); penalty points, Dz.U. 2026 item 724, codes A 09 and H 14 (isap); Petty Offences Code, art. 24 and 97 (isap); police: Warsaw police magazine, 20 Dec 2023, Małopolska police, 4 Feb 2022.

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