In Poland, every hour you spend behind the wheel before your practical exam is spent with a driving instructor. The Act on vehicle drivers allows driving lessons only in a training car marked with the "L" sign, and during a lesson the instructor counts as the driver. There is no way to practise with a parent or a friend before you pass: the rules that let 17-year-olds drive with an adult companion, in force since 3 March 2026, apply only after the state exam.
That makes lesson time precious. This guide explains how the practical exam at your WORD works, what the pass rates say, and how to plan your lessons so that they are spent on the roads and situations that matter most.
How the practical exam works
Practical exams are run by the regional road traffic centres (WORD). Some go by a regional name, such as MORD in Kraków, PORD in Gdańsk, DORD in Wrocław or ZORD in Koszalin. There are around 45 WORD organisations with roughly 90 exam sites once their branches are counted.
For category B the exam has two parts: manoeuvres on the centre's manoeuvring yard, then a drive in traffic on public roads. Under the 2023 exam regulation the road part lasts at least 40 minutes, although the examiner can finish after 25 minutes once every required task has been done and the result is positive. The examiner gives you directions as you go. You normally take the exam in a car provided by the WORD, so ask your driving school whether you can drive the same model in a lesson or two before your date.
A government draft published in 2026 would drop the manoeuvring-yard part for category B and base the whole exam on the drive in traffic. Until that becomes law the yard part stays, so check the current rules with your WORD or your driving school.
What the pass rates say
The drive in traffic is where most attempts end. Figures for 2025 in a Ministry of Infrastructure impact assessment show that 71% of manoeuvring-yard attempts were passed, but only 49% of road-part attempts. In a reply to a parliamentary question in February 2026, the ministry put the category B pass rate for the second half of 2025 at 41.56% at the first attempt and 34.97% across all attempts.
Rates also vary a lot between centres. Figures quoted in a parliamentary question in June 2026 gave 2025 practical pass rates of 58% in Ostrołęka, 50% in Rzeszów, 39% in Opole, 29% in Zamość and 23% in Łódź. Every failed attempt means another wait for a date: in December 2025, Interia reported waits of more than five weeks in Częstochowa, more than six weeks in Katowice and Łódź, and more than two months in Zielona Góra, based on Info-Car data.
No published routes, so learn the area
WORDs do not publish official exam routes for category B. During the road part the examiner directs you on the roads around the centre, choosing the junctions, roundabouts and other situations the exam has to cover. What you can control is how well you know that area: its multi-lane roundabouts, traffic-light junctions, tram tracks in the cities that have them, and the places where the speed limit changes.
Plan every lesson around the exam
- Agree a plan with your instructor. Early lessons build control: clutch, steering, smooth braking and moving off on hills. Later lessons should move to the busy roads around the WORD where you will take your exam.
- Preview before you drive. Look at the route at home before the lesson, so lesson time goes on driving rather than on finding your way.
- Drive the same areas more than once. The second and third time through a difficult junction is where hesitation turns into confidence.
- Ask for mock exams. In the last few lessons, ask your instructor to give directions the way an examiner would, stay quiet otherwise, and talk the drive through at the end.
- Book early. Get your candidate driver profile number (PKK) from your district or city office, then book with your WORD at the centre or online at info-car.pl. A date gives your lessons a deadline to work towards.
- Keep a short note. After each lesson, write down one thing that went well and one thing to work on next time.
Common mistakes on the road part
- Lane choice at roundabouts. Decide on your exit early, pick the right lane and signal clearly before you leave.
- Pedestrian crossings. Watch for people about to step on to a crossing, not only those already on it, and be ready to give way.
- Speed changes. Look out for the signs at the start and end of built-up areas and be at the new speed as you pass them.
- Hesitation. Waiting too long when it is safe to go holds up traffic and suggests you are unsure. Knowing the roads helps you judge gaps with confidence.
SteerClear practice routes around Polish exam centres
SteerClear has more than 800 practice routes that start and finish at 91 exam centres in all 16 voivodeships, from WORD Warszawa (Odlewnicza) and MORD Kraków (ul. Nowohucka) to PORD Gdańsk, DORD Wrocław and WORD Poznań. A typical route is about 16 km and takes around half an hour, so it fits into a lesson with time left to talk it through, and almost every one takes in at least one roundabout. These are practice routes on the roads around each centre, not the routes an examiner will choose on the day.
Bring SteerClear to your lessons
Pick your exam centre in the SteerClear app and preview its routes at home, so you know where the tricky junctions and speed changes are before you get in the car. At the start of a lesson, show your instructor the route you would like to drive and drive it together, with turn-by-turn navigation and live scoring. The score after each drive shows you both what improved and what to work on in the next lesson, and Mac, your AI driving coach, helps you decide what to practise next.
Find your centre among the 91 on the Poland exam centres page, read the Polish practical driving test guide, and download SteerClear to plan your next lesson.