Guide · Poland

Driving a UK-registered car in Poland: how long you can keep UK plates, what registering it costs, and what to do instead

If you have come back from the UK with a car on British plates, the rules changed twice on you: Brexit made the car a non-EU import, and from 2024 Poland gives you 30 days to register anything you bring in. This guide sets out what actually happens, what it costs and the alternative.

Last reviewed September 2026

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

Once you live in Poland, a car you import must be registered within 30 days of bringing it in (for a non-EU car, 30 days from customs clearance). Missing the deadline costs 500 zł, and 1,000 zł after 180 days. Visitors and people not resident in Poland can drive on UK plates for as long as their UK registration, MOT and insurance are valid, but once you are resident the clock is running.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Right-hand-drive cars can be registered in Poland (the ban was lifted after the 2014 EU ruling), but the badanie techniczne will expect headlamps adjusted or replaced for driving on the right and a mirror on the left. Expect a harder sale later: Polish buyers pay noticeably less for a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side.

What registering it involves

Customs clearance at the border or an inland customs office (SENT/AES declaration through an agent for most people), paying duty and VAT.
Excise duty (akcyza) declaration and payment to the tax office, with the AKC-U/S confirmation.
Translation of the V5C and any UK documents by a sworn translator.
Badanie techniczne (first admission test) at a district test station, including headlamp conversion if needed.
Registration at the wydział komunikacji: new plates, a Polish registration document and the recycling fee.
Polish OC insurance from the day of registration.

What it costs

Customs duty: 10% of the car's value, unless you can prove it was manufactured in the UK (EU–UK trade agreement origin rules).
VAT: 23% on the value plus duty.
Excise: 3.1% for engines up to 2,000 cc, 18.6% above (hybrids have reduced rates).
Inspection, translation, plates and fees: typically 500–1,000 zł, more with headlamp work.

Moving home? Transfer-of-residence relief

If you lived in the UK for at least 12 months and owned and used the car for at least 6 months before moving, you can usually import it free of customs duty and VAT as personal property under transfer-of-residence relief (ulga celna przy przesiedleniu). You must apply before or at import with proof of residence abroad, you still pay excise and the registration costs, and you may not sell the car for 12 months.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

Selling the car back into the UK trade avoids all of it. We buy UK-registered cars in Poland as they stand, collect free from any address, handle the export paperwork, and pay in pounds sterling on the day — into your UK account if you still have one.

Get a free valuation for your car in Poland

Free collection anywhere in Poland, all export paperwork handled, paid in pounds sterling (£) on the day.

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Common questions

Can I keep driving on UK plates if I am registered as living in Poland?

Not for long. Polish law requires registration within 30 days of import, and a UK registration also expires when the MOT and UK insurance lapse. Driving an unregistered car past the deadline risks a fine and, on the UK side, no valid MOT.

What if my MOT has already expired?

It makes no difference to us — we buy cars with or without a valid MOT and transport them, so the car does not need to be driven on the road.

Is a UK car cheaper to register if it was built in Britain?

Possibly. Cars manufactured in the UK (for example many Nissans, Minis and Jaguar Land Rovers) can qualify for zero customs duty under the EU–UK agreement if you can document their origin; VAT and excise still apply.

Rules, rates and thresholds change. This guide is a general summary as of September 2026, not legal or tax advice — check the current position with the registration authority or a customs agent before relying on it.

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