Is it possible to get an MOT on a RHD car in Poland?

Hello Everybody,

I am located in Wroclaw
I am wondering if anybody on here has any experience in getting an MOT on a Right Hand Drive car in Wroclaw and where would be the best place to get it done.

I understand that most garages do not like to touch Right Hand Drive cars.
I just need to know if there is a garage out there that deals with this.

Many thanks in advance

Is the car Polish registered? I'm pretty sure that only Polish registered cars can have a Polish MOT issued.

Hi,

No the car is not polish registered but that has not been a problem for me in the past,
According to EU law Right hand drive cars can be registered in any country but in Poland and one or two other countries this is not the case.

I understand that poland have just lost this fight but they are dragging their heels to change the law for this.

But as i said it was never a problem for me in the past to get an MOT for my car.

I can't imagine why any test centre would be reluctant. The Polish badania techniczne is pretty straightforward. It's not as if you want to change the car to LHD. They usually just test the brakes, steering column, suspension, etc. and have a look underneath.

That's my understanding too but have they allowed RHDs to be registered here now then? I had thought it was still in the courts.


I assume you mean for an unofficial safety check? Because if it's not PL registered, then surely they don't do an official test on a car right or left hand drive/

Is the law clear or not? Can you register a RHD car in PL?

EU law says you can, while Polish law is taking there time to change this.
Just wondering if anybody has had any experience this year (2014) with getting an MOT on a RHD car

But if it isn't PL registered they probably won't do any official check, RHD or LHD, will they? Surely the computer will say nie?

Can no one answer a question on these forums? You I think the first post wants to register a r/h/d car in poland , so they want to know will it be possible now? they don't want to bring a UK car then find the law has not changed yet!!

when i arrived in Poland in 2005, had a rhd car. Couldn't register it in PL and thought "this is anti EU law, how dare they?". After a year, changed my mind. Having experienced Polish driving, thought to myself: " My God, given the number of Poles living in the UK, imagine if each of them brought a rhd car to Poland, what a carnage that would be!"

You could be correct, I hope not. There are already more UK cars here visible on the roads. Of that I am sure. Whether they are summer visitors or purchases I am yet to discover. I personally agree that the roads here are no fun thanks to pushy, speeding drivers. However, I would register my car here for various reasons if it were possible. Whether I'd drive it much would very much depend.

I have had 3 MOT's now on my RHD in Lublin.
The local Ford garage did the safety check on my UK RHD Smart car. I have used them three times now. Never had a problem. Gave me the paper work too.

They have to do it. They should never say no. As if YOU crash you will need to show this to the police.
I admit for 2 years i had no safety check as i didn't think i could get one. Then a friend told me i could and to go to the Ford garage. I did, job done and i will continue to go.

My advice is to find a bigger garage to go to. Audi, Ford, VW, Opel or Nisssan.

They then gave you some sort of roadworthiness test certificate? How, because surely it has to go through the computer and then they stamp the Poland vehicle document book or give a test certificate (or both). Is your vehicle still road taxed in the UK? I was told that if my vehicle is used in Poland it must be road taxed and MOT'd in the UK. If I were to SORN it and then somehow get it out of the UK to use it in Poland it would cause an offence to be committed.

That doesn't make sense. So if the police stop you, I grant you they are not au fait with the law but what do your docs say, and how can you get Polish insurance on a car with British plates?

Please spill the beans :)

I suppose you did the safety check and somehow you don't need to return to UK for MOT. This is the only benefit.

I'd be interested in the somehow, because I'd like to do the same. My understanding is that any UK-registered vehicle used in Poland must be road taxed (this means a large fee, typically 1000-1500 zł) is paid to the UK vehicle tax office and the vehicle must have an annual UK MOT (safety test) if over 3 years old to be able to get that tax fee accepted and the vehicle allowed on the road, as well as insurance and a UK registration document called a V5. (The taxing of vehicles is to become paperless from October, by the way.)

If a UK vehicle is SORN (notified to the UK vehicle tax authority as off the road and not in use), I was told that it may not be used on Poland's roads until a valid MOT is passed (if the vehicle is 3 years old or more) and UK vehicle tax is paid. If there is a clause which says UK vehicle tax can be paid and an EU member state's MOT is acceptable, this is the first time I have heard about it.

You are correct Inwo - I would have thought the police can act if the UK RHD has no tax disc, ergo no legitimate MOT etc.

But at the moment they don't seem to want to get involved. At the moment.

I wouldn't want to be in a smash though with my family in tow where the insurance situation is dodgy, to put it mildly. It's OK for hoodlums and single lads who enjoy a laugh, but otherwise this is too much even for an anti-establishment being like myself.

Yes they gave me a full Polish safety check. Printed it out of the system and stamped it. The same as all the Polish cars get.

I do not have insurance with a Polish company. I have it with "Stuart Collins" via AXA. They are very good and i have used them for 5 years now. I do pay more but it gives me full eu yearly insurance.

I have been told i do not need car tax if the car isn't in the UK. SORN is on my car but that is for the UK only. I pay road tax with Petrol in Poland, Same as everyone else.

My insurer told me to get a safety check as that is Polish law so that is all i need for then to insure me.

When I moved to Poland i spoke to someone at the DVLA and they said if the car is SORN that is for UK roads. I would not be allowed to drive it into the UK unless i de-SORN it.

If you have no road tax, it's the other way around! You cannot drive it into the UK without a tax disc. Sorry. The only way to "de-SORN" is get an MOT and VED paid (electronically from October). And the info below suggests SORN is not applicable if it is out of the country as you have to pay road tax if under 12 months out the country, otherwise officially it seems you need to apply to export it.


Source: Page 10 direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_171976.pdf


Source: gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/for-12-months-or-more

So, looks like the only way is to do a V5C/4 or V756 which tells DVLA you have exported? In which case, it can't be on UK plates, can it?

Forfour44 I am interested to speak with you for some advice on my UK car in Poland. Basically I am having problems understanding registration and MOT details etc.

My UK MOT has expired as has my insurance and I want to make use of the car. Can I insure an English car and get an MOT in Poland? I live in Lublin and see you mentioned the Ford garage.

Is you car still registered and taxed in the UK?

I went to the Ford Garage in East Lublin and they said no they will only work on a Ford car. Was it the one near Turykczna?

I know this is a bit old and dead thread. But finally you can register RHD cars in Poland. The national parliament changed the law after being ordered to by the European parliament. ..

Sources please :)

I have just got my RHD car registered in Poland. It is a complicated process involving different government offices. You need to be a Polish resident; you need to have all UK documentation officially translated and presented to Customs, including evidence of ownership. Customs have specified that the car is purely for my personal use and I cannot sell the car for one year. The next step is for a roadworthiness certificate from an official testing station ( to meet their requirements I needed to fit LHD headlights). Next step to the local registration office where I was issued with my registration documentation and plates. I would stress that at each stage there was always a charge, the total amount around 1000zl.

So yes you can register RHD cars in Poland.

wow that's good news! sounds like a bit of a hassle but RHD cars are so much cheaper in UK could be worth it :)

Hi can I now import an Irish car (RHD) re register it onto polish plates, insure and mot it here in Poland, I believe the law has changed very recently, any help will be much appreciated.

Merged: Registration of RHD car in Poland

Hello Everyone,

Im not sure how to touch this subject but one of our cars which I barely use (rhd car) is still on UK plates, I have that car for ages but I want this to be converted to Polish plates and I want the car to be under my wife name. I don't worry about polish MOT as car had converted headlights and mirrors and it will pass polish MOT with no problem, I also don't worry about insurance. What I worry about is that car currently have my name on it, polish law states that you cannot sell anything to your wife so not sure on how to do that. I don't want to cut any corners here, I'm more than happy to pay a tax on that car etc, I have a document which show how much I bought it for, I will do translations etc, my only problem is how to get it registered under my wife's name??? I only kept this particular car as its really nice to drive, convertible, and has really low mileage plus everything was always changed on time, it's old - 02reg but has fantastic condition, I would say it's better condition than our 14 reg LHD car! I just like it so I want to keep it, at the moment it's in my mums house back in UK but I want to take it here...

Thanks a lot for your input

The simple answer is:

Affirmitive.

Just go to the dept of transport office and hand them the Irish plates. Then tootle off to the MOT centre...lights might need work for LHD. Not much else.....

I suppose it wont be long before the insurance rates go sky high though to "dissuade" this wheeze of a cheaper car:(


Transfer it to your wife's name in the UK......? I don't see your problem:(

my family was wanting UK V756 recently and was told about an online service that hosts a searchable database . If others need UK V756 as well , here's goo.gl/BBDsGW