Vehicle registration will be available on mObywatel starting January 18, 2027. The license plates are set to be delivered by mail.
Starting January 18, 2027, car owners must register their vehicles electronically through the mObywatel app, without visiting a transportation department. The amendment to the Road Traffic Act also calls for the use of data from national and foreign registers, with physical license plates to be delivered by Pocztą Polską.
Vehicle registration will still result in the issuance of traditional documents and plates, but the application process itself will move to mobile devices. mObywatel, available on Android and iOS, will not be limited to displaying a digital copy of the paper form.
The authorities will retrieve some information from the Central Vehicle Registry and other available databases. If an official can confirm certain data in the system, the car owner will not need to provide it again on paper.
The authority will check the technical inspection and vehicle data from the EU
An example is a technical inspection. If the positive inspection result is available in the central system, there will be no need to attach a paper certificate from the vehicle inspection station to the application.
Digital information exchange is also set to cover cars imported from other European Union countries. The authority will be able to retrieve the vehicle’s data from foreign registers and compare it with the documents submitted during registration in Poland. However, the available information does not indicate which countries will be ready for such data exchange by January 18, 2027.
The car still requires physical plates. According to preliminary plans, the new markings will be delivered by Poczta Polska, so there will be no need to collect them at an office. If the owner keeps the current license plate numbers, shipping will not be necessary at all. The remaining issue is simply delivering such a large package. If the recipient is not available, it may end up with a notice requiring pickup at a branch office.
Online application, but deadlines and penalties remain
Moving the process to an app will not change the deadlines for submitting the application. The person who purchased the vehicle will still have 30 days to register it. Business owners dealing in vehicles will have 90 days.
Failing to meet the deadline risks a fine of 500 PLN. If the delay exceeds 180 days, the amount rises to 1000 PLN. This will save citizens a trip to the office, but it won’t help owners who remember to register only after half a year.
The biggest unknown remains the actual practice. There are still several months before the service launches, and it will be only after its implementation that we’ll know whether foreign registries, the Central Vehicle Registry, and plate issuance will truly function as one integrated system.
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