Has your driving licence been taken? The first few hours decide the most
In drink-driving cases most of the outcome is settled at the very beginning: at the roadside check, during the test and at the first questioning. That is when the documents the whole case will rest on are created, and that is when people most often sign things that cannot be undone later. Our duty line runs around the clock precisely because these checks happen at night and at weekends. Everything below is Polish law - the Kodeks karny (Criminal Code) and the Kodeks wykroczeń (Code of Petty Offences) - and applies to cases conducted in Poland, whatever your nationality.
Petty offence or crime - where the line runs
This distinction decides everything: whether the case ends up before a criminal court or in petty-offence proceedings, whether an entry is made in the National Criminal Register, and whether losing your car is on the table.
- State after consuming alcohol - from 0.2 to 0.5 per mille in the blood (0.1-0.25 mg/dm³ in exhaled air). This is a petty offence under art. 87 §1 of the Kodeks wykroczeń: detention or a fine of no less than 2500 zł, plus a driving ban of 6 months to 3 years.
- State of intoxication - above 0.5 per mille in the blood (above 0.25 mg/dm³). This is already a crime under art. 178a §1 of the Kodeks karny, punishable by up to 3 years' imprisonment.
The difference between 0.49 and 0.51 per mille is the difference between a fine with a ban and a criminal conviction. That is why the way the test was carried out is not a formality.
What you actually face
On conviction for driving while intoxicated the court does not merely impose a penalty. There are additional measures that in practice hurt more:
- Driving ban - mandatory, for no less than 3 years and up to 15 years (art. 42 §2 KK).
- Payment to the Fundusz Pomocy Pokrzywdzonym oraz Pomocy Postpenitencjarnej (Fund for the Assistance of Victims and Post-Penitentiary Assistance) - at least 5000 zł (art. 43a §2 KK).
- Forfeiture of the vehicle - where the concentration was at least 1.5 per mille (0.75 mg/dm³); the court may depart from forfeiture only in exceptional cases. If the driver was not the owner of the vehicle, in place of forfeiture the court orders a payment of at least 5000 zł.
- Entry in the Krajowy Rejestr Karny (National Criminal Register) - with consequences for any certificate of no criminal record, and therefore for certain professions and public tenders.
On reoffending, or when driving during a ban, the case moves to art. 178a §4 KK: 3 months to 5 years' imprisonment, a payment of at least 10 000 zł, and the driving ban may be imposed for life.
What we actually fight for
A conviction is not the only possible ending, and even where it is unavoidable its shape can differ enormously. In these cases we most often work on:
- Conditional discontinuance of the proceedings (art. 66 KK) - realistic on a first offence, where the concentration was not high and nobody was harmed. The key benefit: there is no conviction, no entry in the criminal register, and the driving ban is discretionary and at most two years (art. 67 §3 KK) instead of the mandatory three.
- Challenging the test result - the breathalyser's calibration certificate, the interval between measurements, the absence of a blood test where one was required, and the alcohol absorption phase where the test followed shortly after drinking.
- Shortening the ban and the alcohol interlock - after half of the ban has been served you can apply to have it changed into a ban on driving vehicles not fitted with an alcohol interlock (art. 182a §1 of the Kodeks karny wykonawczy, the Executive Penal Code). Where the ban is for life - after 10 years.
- Reducing the payment and avoiding forfeiture - particularly where the concentration was close to the 1.5 per mille threshold or where the vehicle belonged to a third party.
Drugs and medicines - different rules from alcohol
For intoxicants there are no statutory thresholds corresponding to 0.2 and 0.5 per mille. The statute distinguishes between the state "after use" and "under the influence" of an intoxicant, but the line is drawn on the basis of an expert opinion assessing the substance's real effect on the ability to drive at the time of the incident. This means that the mere presence of a metabolite in the blood is not yet decisive - and that the expert opinion is the main field of defence here. The same applies to prescription medicines.
What not to do before you speak to a lawyer
- Do not sign a caution or a record you have not read in full. A signature under a record of questioning is evidence, not a formality. You have the right to an interpreter, and you should use it.
- Do not give explanations "just to clear things up". You have the right to refuse to give them, and no negative inference may be drawn from that.
- Do not agree to voluntary submission to a penalty at the first conversation. That is often the worst of the available scenarios, signed before anyone has counted the alternatives.
- Do not waive the blood test if you have doubts about the breathalyser result.
Frequently asked questions
From what blood alcohol level is drink-driving a crime in Poland?
Above 0.5 per mille in the blood (above 0.25 mg/dm³ in exhaled air) it is a crime under art. 178a §1 of the Kodeks karny. From 0.2 to 0.5 per mille it is a petty offence under art. 87 §1 of the Kodeks wykroczeń.
Will I lose my car?
Forfeiture of the vehicle is ordered where the concentration was at least 1.5 per mille (0.75 mg/dm³); the court may depart from it only in an exceptional case. If you were not the owner of the vehicle, in place of forfeiture the court orders a payment of at least 5000 zł.
How long will my driving licence be taken away for?
On conviction under art. 178a §1 KK the driving ban is mandatory and runs for no less than 3 years. Where the proceedings are conditionally discontinued the ban is discretionary and may run for at most 2 years.
What is conditional discontinuance and does it apply to me?
It is an ending to the case without a conviction and without an entry in the criminal register. Among other things it requires no previous conviction for an intentional crime. It is most often realistic on a first incident with a low concentration.
Can the breathalyser result be challenged?
Yes. We check the device's calibration certificate, the number of and interval between measurements, and whether the test was taken during the alcohol absorption phase. Where there is doubt, the proper evidence is a blood test.
Driving after cannabis - from what amount?
There is no numerical threshold as there is for alcohol. What decides is an expert opinion on the substance's real effect on the ability to drive, so detecting a metabolite alone need not mean liability as for a state of intoxication.
I was a foreign national stopped in Poland at night - what now?
Call before you give any explanations. The duty line runs around the clock and we work in English. Until we have spoken, do not sign the record and do not agree to voluntary submission to a penalty. A Polish case is decided under Polish law regardless of where your licence was issued, and your home country's rules on permitted levels do not apply here.
