Public Conduct — Poland

Swearing out loud in a public place is a fineable offence in Poland - that is actual statute, not folklore. Police can ticket you on the spot: 50-100 zl for indecent language, and 100-500 zl for shouting, noise, or otherwise disturbing public order or night-time quiet. You may refuse the ticket, but the case then goes to court, where disturbing the peace can reach 5,000 zl or 5 to 30 days'' detention.

Art. 141 Kodeks wykroczen: restriction of liberty (one month of unpaid supervised community work, art. 20 par. 1), a fine of up to 1500 zl, or a reprimand - no detention. Art. 140: the same, plus detention of 5 to 30 days (art. 19). Art. 51 par. 1: detention 5 to 30 days, restriction of liberty, or a fine in the general range of 20 to 5000 zl (art. 24 par. 1); art. 51 par. 2 sets a floor of 1000 zl where the act is of hooligan character or committed under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic. A police on-the-spot ticket (mandat karny) is capped at 500 zl generally and 1000 zl in an art. 9 par. 1 concurrence (art. 96 par. 1 KPW); the published tariff sets 50-100 zl for arts. 141 and 140 and 100-500 zl for art. 51 par. 1-2. You may refuse the ticket (art. 97 par. 2 KPW), and refusal sends the case to court on a wniosek o ukaranie (art. 99 KPW), where the higher statutory maxima apply.

Verified Sep 7, 2026