Retention and return of registration certificates

Art. 132.

1. A police officer, an officer of the Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) or an officer of the Customs and Fiscal Service (Służba Celno-Skarbowa) shall retain the registration certificate (temporary permit) in the event of:

1) a finding or a reasonable presumption that the vehicle:

a) endangers safety, in particular after a road accident in which the essential load-bearing elements of the body, chassis or frame were damaged,

b) endangers the order of traffic,

c) infringes environmental protection requirements;

2) a finding that the vehicle has not undergone the periodic technical inspection within the prescribed time limit or that the time limit for the inspection was not set correctly;

3) a finding that the technical inspection was carried out by a body not authorised to do so;

4) a reasonable presumption that the data concerning the registration certificate (temporary permit) held in the central register of vehicles do not correspond to the actual state of affairs.

1a. In relation to a driver of a vehicle registered abroad taking part in traffic on the territory of the Republic of Poland, a police officer, an officer of the Border Guard or an officer of the Customs and Fiscal Service shall retain the registration certificate (temporary permit) in the event of:

1) a finding or a reasonable presumption that the vehicle:

a) endangers safety, in particular after a road accident in which the essential load-bearing elements of the body, chassis or frame were damaged,

b) endangers the order of traffic,

c) infringes environmental protection requirements;

2) a finding that the vehicle has not undergone the periodic technical inspection within the prescribed time limit or that the time limit for the inspection was not set correctly;

3) a finding that the registration certificate (temporary permit) has been damaged to an extent that makes it illegible;

4) a reasonable suspicion that the registration certificate (temporary permit) has been forged or altered;

5) a finding that the technical inspection was carried out by a body not authorised to do so;

6) failure by the driver to produce a document confirming the conclusion of a compulsory third-party liability insurance contract of the vehicle holder or proof of payment of the premium for that insurance, if the vehicle is registered in a country referred to in Art. 129(2) point 8 letter c;

7) a reasonable presumption that the data contained therein do not correspond to the actual state of affairs. 1aa. In relation to a driver of a vehicle referred to in Art. 73(3), a police officer, an officer of the Border Guard or an officer of the Customs and Fiscal Service shall retain the registration certificate (temporary permit) in the cases referred to in para. 1a points 1-5 and 7.

1b. The retention referred to in para. 1 takes place by entering information about the retention of the registration certificate (temporary permit) into the central register of vehicles.

1c. The retention referred to in paras. 1a and 1aa takes place by retaining the document produced.

2. Where the registration certificate (temporary permit) is retained, the police officer, the officer of the Border Guard or the officer of the Customs and Fiscal Service shall issue the driver with a receipt. The officer may permit the vehicle to be used for a period not exceeding 7 days, setting out the conditions of that use in the receipt. The permission may not be granted in the cases referred to in para. 1 point 1 letters a and c, and also in para. 1a point 1 letters a and c and point 6.

3. (repealed)

3a. The competent authorities of the Police, the Border Guard or the National Revenue Administration shall notify the competent director of the tax administration chamber of the retention of the registration certificate where the reasonable presumption referred to in para. 1 point 4 arises, in a situation where it concerns the vehicle meeting the technical requirements laid down in the provisions of the Act of 11 March 2004 on the tax on goods and services.

4. In the case specified in para. 1 point 1, the registration certificate (temporary permit) shall also be retained by the body authorised to carry out technical inspections. The provisions of paras. 1b and 2 apply accordingly.

5. A retained document of a vehicle registered abroad, except in the cases specified in para. 1a points 4 and 6, shall be kept at the unit of the Police, the Border Guard or the National Revenue Administration for a period of 7 days. After that period the document is forwarded to the diplomatic mission of the State in which the vehicle is registered.

5a. A retained document of a vehicle referred to in Art. 73(3) shall be sent without delay to the authority that issued it. The retained document is returned without delay once the reason justifying its retention has ceased to exist.

6. Once the reason justifying the retention of the registration certificate (temporary permit) has ceased to exist and the information about the cessation of that reason has been transmitted, and once the holder of the retained registration certificate (temporary permit) has produced the receipt referred to in Art. 38(1) point 4b letter b to the authority that retained the registration certificate (temporary permit) or to the authority that issued it, that authority shall transmit to the central register of vehicles information about the return of the retained registration certificate (temporary permit).

6a. In the cases referred to in para. 1 points 1 and 2 and in para. 4, the retained registration certificate (temporary permit) may also be returned by the body authorised to carry out technical inspections, after carrying out a technical inspection corresponding to the reason for the retention and, where the time limit for the technical inspection was set incorrectly, after that time limit has been set anew, by transmitting information about the return to the central register of vehicles.

7. In the case of a vehicle registered abroad taking part in traffic on the territory of the Republic of Poland, the retained document is returned without delay once the reason justifying its retention has ceased to exist, subject to Art. 133.

8. (repealed)

Art. 132a.

1. The provisions of Art. 132(1a) points 1, 3, 4 and 7 apply accordingly to the professional registration certificate referred to in Art. 80s(1).

2. A police officer, an officer of the Border Guard or an officer of the Customs and Fiscal Service shall also retain:

1) the professional registration certificate - where the professional registration certificate is used by a person not authorised to do so;

2) the blank form of the professional registration certificate - where a test drive is carried out with an uncompleted blank form of the professional registration certificate.

3. Where the professional registration certificate is retained, the police officer, the officer of the Border Guard or the officer of the Customs and Fiscal Service shall issue a receipt. The officer may permit further use of the vehicle for a period of 24 hours, setting out the conditions of that use in the receipt. The permission may not be granted in the cases referred to in para. 2, and also in Art. 132(1) point 1 letters a and c.

4. The competent authority of the Police, the Border Guard or the National Revenue Administration shall send the retained professional registration certificate or the retained blank form of the professional registration certificate without delay to the district governor (starosta) who issued it.

Art. 133.

1. In the case specified in Art. 132(1a) point 6, the competent authority of the Police, the Border Guard or the National Revenue Administration shall return the retained document once a document confirming the conclusion of a compulsory third-party liability insurance contract of the vehicle holder or proof of payment of the premium for that insurance has been produced.

2. If the document produced confirming the conclusion of a compulsory third-party liability insurance contract of the vehicle holder shows that the contract had not been concluded before the registration certificate was retained, the return of the retained document is additionally conditional upon payment of the charge for failure to comply with the obligation to conclude an insurance contract, as laid down in separate provisions.

Art. 134.

In relation to vehicles of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and other vehicles driven by soldiers in active military service, the powers and duties of police officers laid down in Art. 132(1)-(2) and (5)-(7), Art. 132a and Art. 133 are also exercised by soldiers of the Military Police (Żandarmeria Wojskowa).

Art. 134a.

In relation to vehicles carrying out road transport within the meaning of the Act of 6 September 2001 on road transport, and also in the case of the inspection referred to in Art. 129a(1) points 2-4, the powers and duties of police officers and of the authorities of the Police laid down in Art. 132(1)-(2) and (5)-(7), Art. 132a and Art. 133 are also exercised, respectively, by inspectors of the Road Transport Inspectorate and by the authorities of that inspectorate.