Naczelna Izba Lekarska (NIL): PWZ, Exams and Fees

• Doctor (lekarz)
• Dentist (lekarz dentysta)
• Right to practise without restrictions, on permanent or fixed-term basis (Article 7(1))
• Right to practise for the postgraduate internship or for specialist training (Article 7(2))
• Right to practise for postgraduate education, doctoral study or research only (Article 7(1a))
• Right to practise on a set scope, period and place under a Ministry of Health consent (Article 7(2e))
• Central Register of Doctors (Centralny Rejestr Lekarzy), searchable at rejestr.nil.org.pl

• A doctor's or dentist's diploma issued outside the EU after at least 5 years of study that entitles you to practise in the country that issued it.
• Either a pass in the LEW (doctors) or LDEW (dentists), or a diploma recognised as equivalent by a Polish university under higher education law that meets the EU minimum training requirements.
• The Polish language examination run by the Supreme Medical Council, unless you completed your medical studies in Polish.
• A postgraduate internship completed in Poland, or a decision of the Minister of Health recognising an internship completed abroad as equivalent.
• A pass in the LEK (doctors) or LDEK (dentists).
• Full legal capacity, health that allows you to practise, confirmed by an authorised occupational medicine doctor, and an impeccable ethical record, each shown by the declarations and certificates the Act lists.
• For the specialist route instead: a non-EU specialist diploma, specialist training broadly matching the Polish programme, at least 3 years of specialist experience in the 5 years before the employer's certificate, a Ministry of Health consent and a Polish certificate at level B1 or higher.

Check your route with the route finder

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   1. Prepare your diploma

   Have your medical diploma legalised by the Polish consul for the issuing country or apostilled, and translated into Polish by a sworn translator working in Poland or another EU country. CEM accepts a copy certified by a notary or by your lawyer instead of the original and does not return documents, so do not send originals you need.
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   2. Pass the LEW

   Create an account on the CEM portal (portalcem.ezdrowie.gov.pl), generate and sign the application, and post it with your diploma. The deadlines are 28 February (spring session) and 31 July (autumn session) for the online application and 5 March or 5 August for the posted documents, and the 700 zł fee is due within 5 days of the application deadline. CEM issues the LEW certificate within 21 days of the exam.
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   3. Pass the Polish language examination

   Apply in writing to the Supreme Medical Council and pay the 500 zł fee. The Council tells you the date and place at least 14 days before the exam, and the six-person board includes specialists and at least one graduate in Polish philology. Parts you pass are kept, and you can resit after at least 6 months.
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   4. Get a right to practise for the internship, or recognition of your internship

   With the LEW and the Polish examination, apply to the regional medical council where you will do your internship for a right to practise for its duration. The internship lasts at least 12 months and starts on 1 March or 1 October; the regional council can allow another start date in justified cases. If you completed an internship abroad, apply to the Minister of Health through the director of CMKP for it to be recognised in whole or in part.
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   5. Pass the LEK

   Apply through the SMK system, after confirming your identity at a regional medical chamber or at NIL, by 30 November of the previous year for the February session or by 15 July for the September session. The LEK has 200 questions over 4 hours and a 56% pass mark. Since 1 September 2025 results are confirmed by an electronic certificate you download from SMK.
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   6. Apply for your full right to practise

   Submit to the regional medical council the documents showing you meet the Article 7 conditions: diploma and LEW certificate (or recognition), Polish examination certificate, proof of internship and LEK, a medical certificate of fitness and the declarations on legal capacity and good conduct worded as the Act requires. Health certificates and similar documents can be used for 3 months from issue.
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   7. Specialist route: present the Ministry of Health's decision

   If the Minister of Health has consented to you working in a set scope, period and place, apply to the regional medical council within 6 months of the decision; a late application must be refused. The council grants the right and issues the document within 30 days of receiving the decision, provided you show a Polish certificate at level B1 or higher from the Minister's list. The document records the scope, period and place, and the first year is supervised.
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   8. Keep your right to practise valid

   A right under the specialist route lapses when you gain the full right, when it expires (at most 5 years, with no renewal on the same basis) or when your employment ends and you do not tell the chamber within a month that you have a permitted new post. The full right to practise replaces it, so plan the LEW, Polish examination and LEK while you work.

• LEW (Lekarski Egzamin Weryfikacyjny) for doctors

  A written test of 200 single-best-answer questions with 5 options each, covering the Polish medical degree programme, set by CEM with Polish medical universities. It lasts 4 hours, is held only in Polish, and you pass with at least 60% of the maximum points. It runs twice a year, between 15 May and 15 June and between 15 October and 15 November; the next sitting is on 4 November 2026.

• LDEW for dentists

  The dental equivalent of the LEW, held at the same time under the same Act, with its own test based on the Polish dentistry programme and the same 200-question format and 60% pass mark.

• Polish language examination for doctors and dentists

  Run by the Supreme Medical Council: part A dictation, part B listening comprehension, part C reading aloud and understanding a text, and part D a simulated history-taking and patient advice task on two medical problems. You need at least 55% in each part.

• LEK (Lekarski Egzamin Końcowy)

  The final medical examination that every doctor in Poland passes before a full right to practise: 200 questions, 4 hours, 56% pass mark, held in February and September, with the next sitting on 5 September 2026. The dental version is the LDEK.

• Nostrification as an alternative to the LEW

  A Polish medical university compares your programme, learning outcomes, placements and length of study with its own and can require you to pass specific exams or complete placements. The Ministry of Health lists the medical universities that carry out nostrification.

• No English test is required. The language requirement is Polish.
• The full route needs the Supreme Medical Council's Polish examination, unless you studied medicine in Polish.
• The specialist route needs a declaration that your Polish is sufficient for your scope of work and, since 25 October 2024, a Polish certificate at level B1 or higher from the Minister of Health's published list before the council issues the right to practise.
• The LEW is held only in Polish. The LEK in a foreign language costs 400 zł per entry and, under the Act, is tied to people who studied in that language at a Polish university.
• The doctors' language regulation expects you to use medical terminology correctly, read medical literature and Polish rules, take histories, explain treatment to patients and keep handwritten records, prescriptions and referrals.

Estimate your total cost

• LEW: two sessions a year, with applications closing on 28 February and 31 July; the certificate follows within 21 days of the exam.
• Polish examination: on the Supreme Medical Council's annual schedule; at least 6 months between attempts if you fail.
• Postgraduate internship: at least 12 months, starting on 1 March or 1 October.
• LEK: two sessions a year, in February and September, with applications by 30 November and 15 July.
• Specialist route: a national consultant gives an opinion within 7 days if asked; you have 6 months from the Ministry's decision to apply to the chamber, which acts within 30 days.
• No authority publishes an overall timeline for the full route. Learning Polish and fitting around the twice-yearly exams are the main factors.