Fine for no OC car insurance in Poland in 2026: amounts and consequences

OC is Poland’s compulsory third-party motor liability insurance. The fine for not having it — the law calls it a charge (opłata) — applies even to a gap in cover of just a few days¹. Below you’ll find the 2026 rates, how they are worked out, what happens after a payment demand from UFG and how to avoid one altogether. Every figure links to its source.

Who needs OC and from when

Every keeper (posiadacz) of a motor vehicle must have OC¹. A vehicle registered in Poland must be insured for the whole time it is registered — the exception is registered historic vehicles¹. Such a vehicle only needs OC from the moment it goes on the road¹. For all other cars, this means you need OC even if the car sits in the garage and never goes anywhere.

The obligation starts no later than the day of registration or, if the car is put on the road before then, no later than that moment¹.

Temporarily withdrawing a car from traffic (czasowe wycofanie z ruchu) doesn’t release you from OC: the vehicle stays registered, so the policy is still compulsory. At your request, however, the insurer must lower the premium for the withdrawal period by at least 95%¹. A passenger car can only be withdrawn from traffic while damaged main load-bearing structural parts are being repaired, for 3 to 12 months with no extension, and no more than once every 3 years (counted from the end of the previous withdrawal)⁵.

No OC fine in 2026: how much you pay

The charge is paid to the Insurance Guarantee Fund (Ubezpieczeniowy Fundusz Gwarancyjny, UFG)¹. UFG doesn’t set it at its own discretion — the amount comes straight from the law¹. It is calculated from the minimum wage and depends on the type of vehicle¹:

• passenger cars — 2 × the minimum wage,
• lorries, tractor units and buses — 3 × the minimum wage,
• other vehicles, e.g. motorcycles — 1/3 of the minimum wage.

The full amount is due for a gap of more than 14 days in a calendar year. For a shorter gap you pay part of it: 20% for a gap of up to 3 days and 50% for a gap of 4 to 14 days¹. If you can’t document how long the car was without OC, UFG will charge the full amount¹. Amounts are rounded to whole tens of złoty¹.

The amount of the charge and the length of the gap are worked out separately for each calendar year¹. A gap falling in more than one calendar year therefore means a separate charge for each year — even if it’s only a few days over 31 December and 1 January.

In 2026 the minimum wage is 4,806 zł². On that basis, UFG has published this year’s rates³:

The rates change every year along with the minimum wage. UFG announces the amounts for each year by 3 January¹.

A payment demand from UFG: court, instalments and enforcement

After a check or a notification, UFG sends a demand for payment of the charge (wezwanie do zapłaty)¹. From the day the demand is delivered, you have 30 days to pay or to show that the car had a valid policy or that the insurance obligation didn’t apply to you¹.

• Taking it to court. If you disagree with the demand, you can sue UFG within 30 days of its delivery for a declaration (powództwo o ustalenie) that the car had OC or that the insurance obligation didn’t apply to you. If your claim is filed with the court within that time, the charge doesn’t become due, and until the court has given a final ruling, UFG can’t recover it through enforcement¹.
• Not paying. If you don’t pay and don’t file a claim within that time, UFG can issue an enforcement order itself and pass the case on for administrative enforcement (egzekucja administracyjna). It can do the same if a final court judgment confirms that you have to pay¹.
• Limitation period. UFG’s claim for the charge becomes time-barred 3 years after the day of the check, but no later than 3 years after the last day of the calendar year in which the insurance obligation wasn’t met. The limitation period can be interrupted, e.g. by enforcement action¹.
• The charge doesn’t replace a policy. Even after you’ve paid the fine, you still have to buy OC¹.

If you can’t afford to pay, you can apply for relief. In justified cases, UFG can cancel the charge in full or in part (umorzenie) or grant relief in repayment (ulga w spłacie), e.g. by letting you pay in instalments. In doing so it looks above all at whether your financial and property situation is exceptionally difficult, and also at your life situation¹. You can apply for instalments online in UFG’s portal for no-insurance charges — after logging in or creating an account⁴.

An accident without OC: UFG recourse

If an uninsured car causes damage, the injured party is compensated by UFG¹. That isn’t the end of it, though: the driver at fault and the person who failed to insure the vehicle must pay back the amount UFG paid out, plus costs¹. This is known as recourse (regres): UFG recovers what it paid the injured party, and after a serious accident that is usually far more than the fine for no OC itself. On the same grounds as for the charge, UFG can waive recovery of part or all of the amount or grant relief in repayment¹.

Buying a car: what happens to the previous owner’s OC

When you buy a car with the seller’s policy, you take over their rights and obligations under that contract. Since 10 September 2025, such a policy ends when the period it was taken out for expires — it doesn’t renew automatically. You can also cancel it earlier in writing, but then you must take out a new policy no later than the day the cancelled one ends¹.

If you buy a registered car with no OC, you must insure it on the day you become its owner, but no later than when you put it on the road¹.

If you’re the one selling the car, notify the insurer of the sale in writing within 14 days. Until you do, you are jointly and severally liable with the buyer for paying the premium¹.

How not to forget to renew your OC

An OC policy renews automatically for another 12 months only if the whole premium for the period that is ending has been paid. A single unpaid instalment can therefore leave you without OC after a year¹.

You can check whether a vehicle has valid OC on the UFG website — enter the registration number or the VIN and the date you are checking cover for (on the form: “data zdarzenia”, date of the incident). It’s worth doing, especially after buying a car or if you’re not sure whether your policy has renewed.

Rather than relying on your memory, enter your policy’s end date in Zovano. By default, the app reminds you about OC 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before it expires — giving you time to compare offers and buy a new policy with no gap in cover.

This is general information, not legal advice. In a dispute with UFG, it’s worth consulting a Polish legal adviser (radca prawny) or lawyer (adwokat).