Financial Standing: You Do Not Have to Freeze €9,000 per Truck
Financial standing is one of the four conditions behind a Polish transport licence, and the one most often misunderstood. The usual assumption is that the money must sit frozen in a bank account. It does not.
The amounts
For heavy vehicles:
- first vehicle: €9,000
- each additional vehicle: €5,000
For vans of 2.5–3.5 tonnes used in international transport the thresholds drop sharply:
- first vehicle: €1,800
- each additional vehicle: €900
The euro amounts are converted into złoty at a rate fixed once a year, so the PLN figure you actually need moves annually. Do not budget on last year’s rate.
How you prove it
There are three routes, and none is more valid than the others:
- Annual accounts certified by an auditor or authorised person, showing capital and reserves meeting the requirement.
- A haulier’s professional liability insurance — the route most new companies use, because a company that has just been formed has no annual accounts yet.
- A bank guarantee.
For a new company the second option is usually the one that makes commercial sense: keep the capital working in the business and evidence standing through insurance.
Annual, not once
This is the part most operators miss. Financial standing is not shown once at licensing and then forgotten — it is verified every year. And the requirement grows with the fleet: add vehicles and you must re-evidence standing at the new number.
Losing financial standing puts the licence at risk in the same way losing good repute does.
Common mistakes
- Calculating the amount at formation and never updating it as the fleet grows
- Treating a screenshot of a bank balance as evidence
- Ignoring that the euro/złoty conversion changes annually
- Not realising vans of 2.5–3.5 tonnes need standing too
Related
The licence process and its fees: The Polish transport licence
The full setup route: Setting up a haulage company in Poland
What Meyis does
We evidence financial standing by whichever route fits your situation: arranging the insurance or guarantee, preparing the accounts, updating the amount as the fleet grows, and tracking the annual re-check.
Tell us how many vehicles you plan to start with and we will work out the amount and the cheapest way to evidence it.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I have to freeze the money in a bank account?
- No. Financial standing can be evidenced through annual accounts, a haulier's professional liability insurance, or a bank guarantee. New companies typically use the insurance route because they have no accounts yet.
- How much is required?
- For heavy vehicles, €9,000 for the first and €5,000 for each additional vehicle. For vans of 2.5–3.5 tonnes in international transport, €1,800 and €900.
- Is it checked only once?
- No, it is verified annually. The requirement also grows with the fleet, so adding vehicles means re-evidencing standing at the new number.
- How are the euro amounts converted to złoty?
- At a rate fixed once a year, which means the PLN amount you need changes annually. Budgeting on the previous year's rate is misleading.
- Do small vans need financial standing too?
- Yes, for vans of 2.5–3.5 tonnes used in international transport — but at the lower thresholds of €1,800 for the first vehicle and €900 for each additional.