Driving for Uber or Bolt with your own car
Vehicle requirements and documents
Have your own car and want to drive for Uber or Bolt in Poland? You can, through a fleet partner such as DEPartner. Your car has to meet the apps' requirements and the Polish taxi rules, and you need a Polish category B driving licence. Here is what the vehicle needs, which documents to prepare and what to check before you buy a car for app work.
In Poland your car works as a taxi
Polish law treats rides ordered through Uber or Bolt as taxi transport. In practice this means three things. The fleet partner holds the taxi licence (licencja) for the municipalities where you drive. Your car gets an extract from that licence (wypis z licencji). And the car is visibly a taxi: the registration certificate (dowód rejestracyjny) carries a taxi stamp, and the car has city markings and a TAXI roof lamp.
With DEPartner you do not need to open your own business to drive. Our taxi licensing guide explains how the licence, the vehicle extract and your personal documents fit together.
Uber vehicle requirements in Poland
Every car on Uber in Poland needs 4 or 5 doors in good condition, the steering wheel on the left, at least 5 seats entered in the registration certificate, registration in the European Union, valid third-party liability insurance (OC) and a valid technical inspection. On top of that, each category has its own rules:
| Category | Year of manufacture | Extra conditions |
|---|---|---|
| UberX | 2005 or newer | General requirements only, all Uber cities |
| Hybrid | 2005 or newer | Hybrid drive entered in the registration certificate (code "EE"), selected cities including Kraków, Lublin, Bydgoszcz and Rzeszów |
| Uber XL | 2005 or newer | 7 seats in the registration certificate and real room in the third row |
| Comfort | 2018 or newer | Driver with at least 30 trips, a rating of 4.85 or higher and an accepted taxi ID in the app |
| Uber Black | 2020 or newer | At least 100 trips, a rating of 4.8 or higher, dark body colour, no estate cars, selected cities |
Do not buy a car for a higher category just because it is accepted for UberX. Comfort and Black have stricter rules for both the car and the driver.
Bolt vehicle requirements in Poland
Bolt asks for at least 4 doors and at least 4 passenger seats, a clean interior and exterior, excellent technical condition without damage and valid OC insurance. The maximum age of the car depends on the category:
| Category | Maximum age | Extra conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Bolt | 20 years | General requirements |
| Hybrid | 20 years | Hybrid or fully electric car |
| Comfort | 10 years | Model from the accepted list, possible extra quality checks |
| Comfort Extra | 7 years | Model from the accepted list, possible extra quality checks |
| Comfort Electric | 10 years | Electric car in good condition |
| XL | 20 years | Compact minivan with at least 6 passenger seats |
Age limits move with time. A car that fits a category today can drop out of it while you are still using it. If you want to drive on both apps, plan for the stricter of the two rules.
Documents checklist: car and driver
For the car
- Registration certificate, front and back, with the taxi stamp.
- OC insurance policy, valid for the whole period you drive.
- Licence extract (wypis). It is issued by the transport department (wydział komunikacji) of the municipality. You need the right to use the car, the taxi-stamped registration certificate and proof of payment. While you wait for the original, Uber accepts the application for 30 days.
- Photos of the car. Uber wants the registration plate, the city marking and the TAXI lamp visible. Bolt asks for photos with side numbers and city markings.
- Equipment. Uber lists a spare wheel, a first-aid kit and the TAXI lamp. The Uber app replaces a traditional taximeter.
For you as the driver
- Polish category B driving licence. If yours was issued abroad, read our guide to exchanging a foreign driving licence in Poland.
- Medical and psychological examination for taxi drivers. DEPartner reimburses the cost when you present an invoice issued to the company (DEPartner).
- Criminal record certificate (zaświadczenie o niekaralności) from the National Criminal Register. Uber expects it to be no older than 30 days at verification.
- In-person verification with the originals of your certificate, driving licence and an ID document (ID card, residence card or passport).
- Taxi driver ID (identyfikator), required in some municipalities.
Buying a car for app work: check before you pay
The price in the advert is not your full cost of starting. If your budget is 20,000 zł, one sensible split is 16,000 zł for the car and 4,000 zł in reserve for the inspection before purchase, servicing, tyres, repairs and the taxi documents. This is a way to plan your own money, not a price list for repairs.
- Ask for the registration number, VIN and date of first registration, and check the car in the free government Vehicle History service (Historia Pojazdu).
- Have an independent mechanic check the brakes, suspension, cooling and air conditioning before you sign.
- Sit in the back. Passengers judge the car by the rear doors, seat belts and legroom.
- Check that the number of doors and seats in the registration certificate matches the advert and the app requirements.
- Confirm that the exact model, year and city are accepted before you pay any deposit.
Own car or fleet car with DEPartner
DEPartner settles drivers who use their own car, and if you would rather not buy one, you can drive a car from our fleet of 500+ vehicles. Your Coordinator will explain the options in your city. We have 14 offices in Poland, and every office speaks Polish and English. Offices and Coordinators work Monday to Friday, 8:00-16:00. Our call center and callbacks run Monday to Friday, 8:00-17:00.