Registering a Car from England in Poland – Step by Step

Registering a car from England in Poland requires, in order: import customs clearance (duty, VAT and excise duty, or relief for Transfer of Residence goods), a technical inspection at a Polish vehicle inspection station, translation of the documents and an application at the vehicle registration department. Since Brexit, a car from the United Kingdom is, for the Polish authorities, a vehicle from outside the EU, so without proof of import customs clearance the district office (starostwo) will not register it for the first time.

Below is a step-by-step guide. This article covers the whole path "from purchase to number plates". If you are returning to Poland after at least 12 months of living outside the EU and want to claim relief from customs duty, also read: a car from the UK as Transfer of Residence goods and shipping a car as Transfer of Residence goods. The clearance itself is described in customs clearance of a car from the UK to Poland — questions and answers and customs clearance of a car from England.

Registering a car from England — the order in brief

1. Check the car and its documents in the UK (V5C, history, no finance outstanding), and when exporting permanently, notify the DVLA.
2. Check whether the car can be registered in Poland at all (right-hand drive: restrictions apply).
3. Move the car to the EU and carry out import customs clearance: duty, VAT, excise duty or relief.
4. Have the technical inspection done in Poland (after any modifications, if needed).
5. Have the documents translated by a sworn translator.
6. Submit the application at the vehicle registration department for your place of residence and buy third-party liability (OC) insurance.

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Step 1. Documents and taking the car out of the UK (V5C, DVLA)

When you take a vehicle out of the United Kingdom for 12 months or longer (permanent export), the owner must inform the DVLA. According to GOV.UK, you complete the "permanent export" section of the V5C, tear it off and send it to the DVLA, and you keep the rest of the logbook — you will need it to register the vehicle in the destination country. A road tax refund, if you are entitled to one, is usually made within 4–6 weeks of the DVLA receiving the form. You must have the V5C before you leave: the DVLA does not send it to an address abroad.

When buying a car from a seller in the UK, ask for the full V5C, not just the slip for the new keeper, together with an invoice or purchase agreement. Before buying it is worth checking whether the car has finance outstanding: see HPI check — how to check a car. GOV.UK does not describe number plates for permanent export, so confirm the rules on export plates and driving through the EU with the seller, the insurer and the carrier.

Step 2. Can a right-hand-drive car be registered in Poland?

Yes, but only within a narrow scope. According to the powroty.gov.pl portal (in Polish, as at 15.07.2026), only vehicles of category M1 (passenger cars) with right-hand drive are allowed to be registered. Such a car can be registered from the United Kingdom provided that it was first registered in the UK before 1 January 2021. The brexit.gov.pl portal (in Polish) describes this condition slightly differently (last permanent registration in the UK by 31 December 2020), so before buying a car with a later date ask the vehicle registration department that will decide your case.

The basis is § 9(2a) of the Minister of Infrastructure's regulation on the technical conditions of vehicles (in Polish): right-hand drive is permitted in a category M1 passenger car that is new and covered by an EC type-approval certificate, or previously registered in an EU Member State (the United Kingdom is treated as such a state only for registrations before 2021), provided it is fitted with dipped-beam headlamps for right-hand traffic and mirrors meeting the requirements (including a left external mirror with the required field of view). The brexit.gov.pl portal (in Polish) lists three items to adapt: external lights, mirrors and the speedometer (in km/h, or in km/h and mph).

Step 3. Customs clearance: duty, VAT and excise duty

A car entering the EU from the United Kingdom must be declared for clearance. When it is carried under customs supervision, the transit procedure is used: according to powroty.gov.pl (in Polish), the United Kingdom is a party to the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure, so transit in NCTS can be opened already in the UK, and it ends at the office where the declaration for release for free circulation is submitted. If you do not have your own access to the systems, a customs agent will carry out the clearance for you — write to us and we will prepare a list of documents. The fees for our service can be found only on the page how much does UK customs clearance cost.

Customs duty

According to the European Commission (Access2Markets), the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides for zero tariffs on goods that comply with the rules of origin, so the rate is 0% provided that the car's preferential origin is met and documented. The mere fact that the car is coming from the United Kingdom is not enough. Without a preference, the rate from the tariff for CN heading 8703 applies — check it in the ISZTAR4 calculator on podatki.gov.pl. Details: customs duty on cars from the UK.

VAT

The standard VAT rate in Poland is 23%, and the taxable amount on import is the customs value plus the duty due (and, where the car is subject to excise duty, the excise duty as well), according to podatki.gov.pl and biznes.gov.pl.

Excise duty

The import of a passenger car that has not previously been registered in Poland is subject to excise duty (Article 100 of the Excise Duty Act), and the tax liability arises on the day the customs debt arises (Article 101). The taxable amount is the customs value plus duty (Article 104), and the rates are (Article 105): 18.6% for cars with an engine capacity above 2000 cm³, 3.1% for the others, and 9.3% and 1.55% for some hybrids. Electric and hydrogen-powered cars are exempt from excise duty (Article 109a). The taxpayer shows the excise duty in the customs declaration (Article 27).

Beware of the AKC-U/S return. According to the description on PUESC (in Polish), this return concerns intra-Community acquisition (cars from EU countries), conversion of a vehicle into a passenger car, and the acquisition or possession of a car not registered in Poland, and the description does not cover imports from outside the EU. Excise duty on a car brought from England is shown in the customs declaration (Article 27 of the Excise Duty Act). You file the AKC-U/S when the car arrives from another EU country where it has already been released for free circulation (intra-Community acquisition). In that case the deadline is 14 days for the return and 30 days for payment, no later than the day of registration. You can check the confirmation of payment (PZAS) on PUESC by VIN.

Relief: Transfer of Residence goods

Relief from customs duty for a car brought in on returning to Poland requires, among other things, continuous residence outside the EU for at least 12 months and use of the car at your previous place of residence for at least 6 months; the car may not be sold or given to another person for 12 months from release for free circulation (podatki.gov.pl, in Polish). Relief from customs duty does not automatically mean relief from VAT and excise duty — these are separate conditions (excise duty: Article 112 of the Excise Duty Act, including personal use, 6 months of use, 12 months outside the EU and EFTA, and 12 months without giving the car to a third party). A car bought in the UK "on the way back" is not covered by relief from customs duty. Full description: a car from the UK as Transfer of Residence goods.

Step 4. Technical inspection in Poland

The application for registration must be accompanied by a certificate of a positive technical inspection result. For a right-hand-drive car this means that without adapting the lights, mirrors and speedometer to right-hand traffic the inspection will not have a positive result (powroty.gov.pl). The regulation requires dipped-beam headlamps designed for right-hand traffic and a left external mirror with the required field of view. First agree the scope of modifications with a garage, then go to the vehicle inspection station. Gov.pl does not give prices for the modifications or the inspection — ask at the station and the garage.

Step 5. Translating the V5C and other documents

Documents in a foreign language are submitted with a Polish translation. According to the page of the Lipsko District Office (samorzad.gov.pl, in Polish), the translation is made by a Polish sworn translator, the competent consul, or a sworn translator of the country from which the vehicle was brought; the exception is a registration certificate issued in an EU country with standardised codes. The British V5C is not covered by this exception, so plan for a sworn translation of the V5C and of the purchase agreement or invoice.

Step 6. Documents for the vehicle registration department

• an application for vehicle registration,
• proof of ownership (original) and the V5C with a translation,
• proof of import customs clearance (for a non-EU car being registered for the first time),
• a document confirming payment of excise duty, or that there is no obligation to pay it, or an excise duty exemption,
• a certificate of a positive technical inspection result,
• the existing number plates, or a statement that the car was brought in without plates or that the plates have to be returned abroad,
• proof of identity to be shown, and a power of attorney if an attorney is acting.

You submit the application to the starost (at the vehicle registration department) for your place of residence or registered office. The list of documents is based on gov.pl pages and district authorities' pages; the local office may give details (e.g. forms), so check with it before your visit.

Deadlines: how long do you have to register?

Since 1 January 2024 the deadline has followed directly from Article 73aa(1) of the Road Traffic Law (in Polish): for a car brought in from outside the EU, which includes one from England, the application for registration must be submitted within 30 days of the day the vehicle is released for free circulation by the KAS (National Revenue Administration) authority, that is, from the end of customs clearance, not from the day of purchase in the UK. For a car from an EU country, the 30 days run from the day it is brought in. For being late, a fine of PLN 500 applies, and after 180 days PLN 1,000 (Article 140mb). District offices describe it the same way, e.g. the Jasło District Office (in Polish). Other deadlines: excise duty (if the return applies) — 14 days for the return and 30 days for payment, no later than the day of registration; import VAT — according to the customs information, within the deadline indicated by the customs authority.

Number plates, temporary registration and OC insurance

After you submit the application, the office carries out temporary registration ex officio and issues a temporary permit and number plates. Under Article 74(2a) and (2b) of the Road Traffic Law, temporary registration can be made conditionally despite some documents being missing, if you submit a statement that you will not change the car's owner before the registration certificate is issued. The missing documents must be submitted before the registration certificate is issued. Ask your insurer and the carrier about temporary plates for the journey from the UK and about insurance requirements during transport; we did not find an official description of UK export plates in the sources we checked. Polish OC insurance is required for a car registered in Poland.

Official fees

Registration fees are set by a regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and are the same across the country. For registering a car with ordinary plates, district offices list: plates PLN 80, registration certificate PLN 54, temporary permit PLN 13.50 and verification marks PLN 12.50, which makes PLN 160 in total (personalised plates cost PLN 1,000 instead of PLN 80). Where a power of attorney is used, a PLN 17 stamp duty is added. Sources: the Jasło District Office (in Polish) and the Lipsko District Office (in Polish). Before your visit, check the current amounts with your vehicle registration department.

Most common mistakes when registering a car from England

• Buying a right-hand-drive car without checking the date of first registration in the UK (condition: before 1 January 2021).
• No full V5C, or no sworn translation.
• Assuming that relief from customs duty also exempts you from VAT and excise duty — these are separate conditions.
• A car bought "on the way back" and treated as Transfer of Residence goods — relief from customs duty does not cover such a car.
• Entering the car in the business's fixed-asset register within 12 months of import — this breaches the condition of the excise duty exemption, because the Act treats using the car in business activity as a sale (Article 100(5)(9) and Article 112(1)(5) of the Excise Duty Act; powroty.gov.pl (in Polish) says the same for cars from the EU).
• Underestimating the cost of modifying the lights, mirrors and speedometer.
• No proof of customs clearance or confirmation of excise duty on the day of the office visit.

Help with customs clearance of your car

We can carry out the import clearance of a car from the United Kingdom for you — from transit to the declaration for release for free circulation. Contact us and describe the car (year, engine, date of first registration, place of purchase). Returning to Poland permanently? See also the checklist for returning from the UK.

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An informational guide, as at 23.10.2026; it is not an interpretation of the law. Confirm official requirements with the vehicle registration department, the tax office and the customs authority. Easy Clearance / UK Customs Agency.

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