🇵🇱 Riding laws in Poland
Poland lets you ride a privately owned e-scooter (20 km/h, minimum age 13) or a pedal-assist e-bike without registration or insurance, and riders under 16 must wear a helmet on both. Anything with a throttle or more power counts as a moped or motorcycle, which needs registration, compulsory third-party (OC) insurance, a helmet and the right licence.
Checked 9 Nov 2026. This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.
Electric scooters
Stand-up e-scooters (personal light electric vehicles).
| Status | Allowed on public roads |
|---|---|
| Speed limit | 20 km/h (12 mph) |
| Weight limit | 30 kg |
| Minimum age | 13 |
| Helmet | Required for younger riders (under 16) |
| Insurance | No |
| Plate or sticker | No |
| Licence | Not required for adults |
| Younger riders | Ages 13–17 need a cycling card (karta rowerowa) or an AM, A1, B1, B or T licence |
| Where to ride | Use a cycle path or cycle lane where one runs in your direction, otherwise the road only if its limit is 30 km/h or less, or else the pavement at walking pace, giving way to pedestrians. |
| Notes | No approval scheme and no motor-power cap, but national technical rules apply: design speed limited to 20 km/h, max 1.4 m long, 0.9 m wide and 30 kg, front and rear lights, reflectors, a brake and a bell. No passengers, animals, cargo or towing. Since 3 Mar 2026 under-13s may ride only in a residential zone (strefa zamieszkania) with an adult; since 3 Jun 2026 under-16s must wear a helmet (the parent or carer faces a fine of up to 100 zł). Police fines: 1,000 zł after drinking, 2,500 zł when drunk. Personal transporters (UTO) share the age, helmet and 20 km/h rules but may not use the road. Planned, not in force: the Ministry of Infrastructure announced a crackdown on 10 Jul 2026; a draft regulation (1 Jul 2026, at inter-ministerial stage) would require a tamper-proof 20 km/h limit on scooters and UTO made after 31 Mar 2027; bill UC95 (TDT market surveillance, fines for sellers of non-compliant scooters) was at the government's Legal Commission stage on 6 Nov 2026 and has not yet been adopted or sent to the Sejm; draft UD402 (25 Sep 2026) would make shared scooters park only in designated bays. |
Pedal-assist e-bikes (EPAC)
Motor helps only while you pedal, up to 25 km/h and 250 W rated power.
| Status | Allowed on public roads |
|---|---|
| Speed limit | 25 km/h (16 mph) |
| Power limit | 250 W rated |
| Minimum age | 10 |
| Helmet | Required for younger riders (under 16) |
| Insurance | No |
| Plate or sticker | No |
| Licence | Not required for adults |
| Younger riders | Ages 10–17 need a cycling card (karta rowerowa) or an AM, A1, B1, B or T licence |
| Where to ride | Use a cycle path or cycle lane where one runs in your direction, otherwise the road or a usable hard shoulder; the pavement only exceptionally (escorting a child under 10, a pavement at least 2 m wide beside a road with a limit above 50 km/h and no cycle facility, or bad weather) and at walking pace. |
| Notes | Counts as a bicycle only if the assistance starts when you pedal, runs at no more than 48 V and 250 W rated continuous power, and fades to zero above 25 km/h; the legal definition makes no allowance for a throttle or a 6 km/h walk-assist, and a throttle or more power or speed can make it a moped or motorcycle. Children under 10 may ride only as pedestrians under adult supervision, and you must be 17 to carry a passenger. Helmet for under-16s since 3 Jun 2026; children up to 7 carried on a bike also need one, unless strapped into a seat or trailer with factory belts that rule out a helmet. Planned, not in force: bill UC95 would let the TDT inspect and withdraw non-compliant e-bikes; draft UD402 (25 Sep 2026) would drop the cycling-card requirement from age 14. |
Speed pedelecs
Pedal assist up to 45 km/h, type-approved as L1e-B.
Poland has no separate class for these: moped rules apply.
Mopeds and light e-motos
Up to 45 km/h: e-mopeds, throttle e-bikes and approved light e-motos.
| Status | Allowed under moped or motorcycle rules |
|---|---|
| Speed limit | 45 km/h (28 mph) |
| Power limit | 4,000 W rated |
| Minimum age | 14 |
| Helmet | Required |
| Insurance | Yes |
| Plate or sticker | Yes |
| Licence | AM (from 14); A1, A2, A, B1, B, C1, C, D1, D and T also cover mopeds; no licence needed if you turned 18 before 19 Jan 2013 |
| Approval | EU type approval |
| Where to ride | On the road, using a usable hard shoulder; not on cycle paths, cycle lanes or pavements, and not on motorways or expressways. |
| Notes | Poland has no separate speed-pedelec category: an electric two- or three-wheeler of up to 4 kW whose design limits it to 45 km/h is a moped (motorower), which takes in L1e-B speed pedelecs and throttle e-bikes. Needs a registration certificate and moped plate, compulsory OC insurance and a technical inspection within 3 years of first registration, then every 2 years. Rider and passenger must wear helmets; max 40 km/h when carrying a child up to 7. Planned, not in force: bill UC95 would let the TDT inspect sellers and withdraw mopeds sold as e-bikes. |
Motorcycles
Faster electric motorbikes, such as L3e-A1 models.
| Status | Allowed under moped or motorcycle rules |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 16 |
| Helmet | Required |
| Insurance | Yes |
| Plate or sticker | Yes |
| Licence | A1 up to 11 kW and 0.1 kW/kg (from 16; in Poland a B licence held for 3+ years covers up to 125 cm3 and 11 kW), A2 up to 35 kW (from 18), A above that |
| Approval | EU type approval |
| Where to ride | On the road, including motorways and expressways; not on cycle paths, cycle lanes or pavements. |
| Notes | A2 from 18 (up to 35 kW), A from 24, or from 20 after two years on A2. The B-licence concession is worded around a 125 cm3 engine and does not separately address electric motors. Registration, plates, compulsory OC insurance and periodic technical inspections apply; rider and passenger must wear helmets. |
Models we cover, as sold
Official sources
- https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20240001251
- https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20250001676
- https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20250001226
- https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20210001877
- https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20240000502
- https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20260000783
- https://www.gov.pl/web/infrastruktura/kaski-dla-dzieci-i-prawo-jazdy-od-17-roku-zycia--sejm-przyjal-nowelizacje-prawa-o-ruchu-drogowym
- https://www.krbrd.gov.pl/obowiazkowe-kaski-ochronne-dla-dzieci-do-16-roku-zycia/
- https://www.gov.pl/web/infrastruktura/regulujemy-rynek-hulajnog-elektrycznych-minister-dariusz-klimczak-zapowiada-zmiany-w-przepisach-dotyczacych-elektrycznych-jednosladow
- https://legislacja.gov.pl/projekt/12412302
- https://legislacja.gov.pl/projekt/12402254
- https://legislacja.gov.pl/projekt/12411950
- https://api.sejm.gov.pl/sejm/term10/interpellations/attachment/ATTDY8E2W/z03760-o1.pdf
- https://ksp.policja.gov.pl/wrd/aktualnosci/152077,33-kierujacych-hulajnogami-elektrycznymi-po-alkoholu-Mandaty-na-laczna-kwote-pon.html
- https://olawa.policja.gov.pl/doa/aktualnosci/bieza/180675,Wyglada-jak-rower-jednak-moze-nim-nie-byc-Ten-sam-quotelektrykquot-zupelnie-inne.html
- https://www.tdt.gov.pl/informacje/baza-wiedzy/homologacja-pojazdow-kategorii-l/