The Ministry of Infrastructure plans to make a first-aid kit mandatory equipment in passenger cars first registered after 31 March 2027. The rule would therefore not cover vehicles already on Polish roads.
Who will be affected by the new obligation
The change is to be introduced through a regulation on the technical conditions of vehicles and the scope of their required equipment. According to the draft submitted for consultation, the obligation will depend on the date of a vehicle’s first registration, not on the date of purchase by a subsequent owner. Owners of cars registered earlier will not have to buy a first-aid kit under the new rules.
The ministry estimates that the new rules will apply to about 650,000 cars a year. The estimated average cost of a first-aid kit, according to the government calculations cited, is about PLN 75 (between PLN 50 and PLN 100).
What is mandatory today
Currently, two items are mandatory in a private passenger car: a warning triangle with type approval and a fire extinguisher with an extinguishing agent mass of at least 1 kg. Failing to carry them during a road inspection can result in a fine of up to PLN 500, and at a vehicle inspection station it leads to a negative result of the technical inspection.
A first-aid kit is currently required only in some vehicles: buses, taxis, trucks adapted to carry passengers, and driving school and driving test vehicles. This follows from a letter from the minister of infrastructure dated 16 April 2026, responding to a petition on the matter. In it, the ministry noted that the regulations do not specify what a first-aid kit should contain and announced an amendment to the regulation.
Fine for lacking a first-aid kit
The exact amount of the fine for lacking a first-aid kit depends on the final wording of the rules. The existing references to a fine of up to PLN 500 concern the lack of a warning triangle and fire extinguisher. Only after the regulation enters into force will officers be able to check first-aid kits in new cars during inspections.
The draft is at the consultation stage. As of publication, there is no information about the final version of the regulation being published in the Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw).
