Polish Drivers in Turkey 2026: 1968 IDP or Notarised Copy

A Polish driver heading for Istanbul or the Aegean coast stays on the right-hand side and meets familiar road signs. The differences are a document question, lower motorway limits, a much heavier fine scale and a big-city driving style that leaves little room.

Licence and permit

Turkey’s traffic regulation, art. 88, lets a foreign licence be used for six months from entry. Poland and Turkey are both parties to the 1968 Vienna Convention. UK government advice, written for licences of that kind, asks drivers to carry a 1968 international permit or a licence notarised in Turkish, and says the 1949 permit is no longer accepted. When you apply at the starostwo, ask for the 1968 model. If you take your own car, carry the green card for third-party insurance. The Driving Permit Checker covers transit countries.

Speed limits, Poland against Turkey

State-run motorways stop at 130 km/h; only build-operate-transfer toll motorways allow 140. Lorries are held to 90 km/h on Turkish motorways and 80 in Poland.

The new Turkish fine scale

Since the law of 27 February 2026, speeding fines follow fixed steps by km/h over the limit. In towns they begin at 6 km/h over, and outside towns at 11 km/h over:

• 6-10 km/h over in town: TRY 2,000
• 11-15 km/h over in town: TRY 4,000
• 16-20 km/h over: TRY 6,000
• 21-25 km/h over: TRY 8,000
• 26-35 km/h over: TRY 12,000
• 36-45 km/h over: TRY 15,000
• Higher steps climb to TRY 30,000, with a licence confiscated for 30, 60 or 90 days from 46 km/h over.

Other fines: TRY 5,000 for a handheld phone or a red light and TRY 2,500 for a missing seatbelt. Poland’s tariff starts at PLN 50 and rises in smaller steps, with a doubling for repeat offences from 31 km/h over. The Turkish amounts are several times higher at the low end. The Speeding Fine Calculator gives an estimate.

Traffic and alcohol

Istanbul traffic is dense and assertive, and GOV.UK says accidents are common, mainly from poor or reckless driving, especially at night. The alcohol limit is 0.05%, above Poland’s 0.02%, and police can confiscate a licence for six months. Drink nothing before driving.

Equipment: more than Poland asks

Poland requires a warning triangle and a fire extinguisher. Turkey’s list is longer: a fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, spare bulbs and warning triangle must be in the car, and a reflective vest is recommended. A Polish car that carries only the Polish minimum should add the first-aid kit and bulbs before crossing. Rental cars normally have them.

Arriving in a rental or your own car

Turkey counts the six months from the day you enter, so keep the passport stamp or entry record where you can find it. Check which permit the rental firm expects before you pay, because hire desks apply their own rules on top of the law. Photograph the car and the equipment kit at pick-up, and ask how motorway tolls are billed, since the toll roads that allow 140 km/h are the ones that charge. In your own car, the green card for third-party insurance travels with the registration papers. Allow extra time around Istanbul, where a short distance can take much longer than the map suggests.

Emergency numbers

Poland uses 112 generally, 997 for police, 998 for fire and 999 for an ambulance. In Turkey, call 112 for an ambulance or general emergencies, 155 for police and 110 for fire. Save those before departure.

The Turkey driving guide covers tolls.

Sources

• Karayolları Trafik Yönetmeliği art. 88, as amended by the 5 June 2020 Resmî Gazete (the six-month rule for foreign licences): resmigazete.gov.tr
• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Turkey, safety and security (1968 IDP or UK licence notarised in Turkish; 1949 IDP not accepted; green card; accidents; six-month confiscation for drink-driving): gov.uk
• Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü, legal speed limits table (50/90/110 km/h; 130 km/h KGM motorways; 140 km/h build-operate-transfer motorways since 2 June 2022): kgm.gov.tr
• Amendment to the Highway Traffic Law, Resmî Gazete of 27 February 2026 (the step scale of fines by km/h over): resmigazete.gov.tr
• UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic (Poland and Türkiye parties): treaties.un.org
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Türkiye and Poland profiles (0.05 and 0.02 g/dl; Poland 140 km/h motorway): who.int, who.int