About the System

The main goal of the Green Card System, which has been in operation since 1 January 1953, is to ensure that victims of motor accidents can receive the compensation they are entitled to for damage caused by the driver of a vehicle registered abroad and that motorists are not forced to purchase motor third party liability insurance at the border of each countries they visit.

The member countries of the System achieve this goal by creating a system of bilateral agreements based on the regulations of the UN Geneva Recommendation (Recommendation No. 5 on Insurance of Motorists Against Third Party Risks – 25 January 1949) under which the International Insurance Certificate (Green Card) is recognised by state governments whose National Bureaux are members of the System – without additional formalities and fees – for proof of the existence of civil liability insurance in accordance with the insurance law in force in their country.

The Green Card system is essentially a European system; currently it includes almost all European insurance markets (except Kosovo) and the insurance markets of Azerbaijan, Iran, Morocco and Tunisia. The basic conditions for joining the System are the existence in the country whose National Bureau is a candidate of compulsory civil liability insurance for motor vehicle owners and the establishment of a National Bureau representing a given insurance market.

As part of the Green Card System, there is a Multilateral Agreement, according to which drivers of vehicles registered in countries whose National Bureaux are Signatories to the Agreement may move around the territories of these countries without the need to have a Green Card. In their case, it is presumed that they have valid third party liability insurance for motor vehicle owners in the country where the vehicle was registered, as evidenced by a valid vehicle registration plate. The Multilateral Agreement includes 36 out of 47 members of the Green Card System, including the Polish Motor Insurers' Bureau.