Polygraph law in Ukraine: what is allowed and what is not

Polygraph law in Ukraine: what is allowed and what is not

Ukraine has no separate law on the polygraph. But it is not a legal grey zone: the rules come from the Constitution, the personal data law, several special laws for state bodies, DSTU standards and Supreme Court practice. There is one main rule — a test is only possible voluntarily and with written consent.

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In this article I, polygraph examiner Andriy Maryniak, have collected the current rules with links to the primary sources. This is not legal advice, but after reading it you will know your rights — whether you are an employer or the person being tested.

Is it legal to take a polygraph test in Ukraine?

Yes. The law does not prohibit polygraph testing, but it does not regulate it in a separate act either. Bills on the subject have been submitted more than once — for example, No. 4094 “On the protection of the rights of persons undergoing polygraph interviews (examinations)” and the alternative No. 4094-1 “On polygraph activity” in 2016 — but none was adopted: they were withdrawn in 2019.

So general rules apply. Article 28 of the Constitution of Ukraine states that no person may be subjected to medical, scientific or other experiments without their free consent, and Article 32 prohibits collecting and using confidential information about a person without their consent, except as provided by law. These provisions are applied to polygraph testing by analogy. Hence the practical rule: the person agrees to the test in writing, knows the questions in advance and may refuse.

Testing employees and job candidates: what an employer may do

The Labour Code does not mention the polygraph at all. What follows from it:

• Article 22 gives the employer the right to choose freely among candidates but prohibits refusing employment on grounds unrelated to qualifications or professional qualities; at the candidate’s request, the reason for refusal is given in writing;
• Article 25 prohibits demanding documents that the law does not require;
• Article 40 allows dismissal only on the grounds listed in the law. Refusing a polygraph test is not one of them.

Conclusion: an employer may offer a test and explain why it is needed, but cannot force anyone to take it. An employee cannot be dismissed for refusing. Rejecting a candidate solely because they refused a polygraph test is risky in light of Article 22.

This rule is stated most clearly in a document for the police — the Instruction approved by Ministry of Internal Affairs Order No. 920 of 13.11.2017: an interview is conducted only with the written consent of the person, and a refusal entails no legal consequences. This order is not binding on private companies, but it shows the state’s approach well.

Personal data

The Law “On Personal Data Protection” does not mention the polygraph. But it defines consent as a voluntary, informed expression of a person’s will, and classes health, biometric and genetic data as a special category that may be processed with unambiguous consent (Articles 2 and 7). The law does not say directly whether polygraph recordings fall into this category, so we treat them as special data: written consent, access for the client only and no disclosure to third parties.

Where the polygraph is expressly provided for by law

For some state bodies, polygraph testing is set out in law:

• State Bureau of Investigation (Article 26 of the Law “On the SBI”) — a test before joining and at least once a year. A candidate’s refusal is a ground for not considering the candidacy. At the same time, the results cannot be grounds for refusing a position or for proceedings.
• Economic Security Bureau (Article 24 of the Law “On the ESBU”) — candidates are tested with their consent, staff by decision of the Director. The results are destroyed after 14 days (candidates) or 7 days (staff).
• National Police (Article 50(2) of the Law “On the National Police”) — candidates take a polygraph test with their consent.
• Customs (Article 572-1 of the Customs Code) — candidates and officials, by decision of the head and with their consent. The results cannot be grounds for refusing a position or for proceedings.
• Military service (Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”) — foreigners and stateless persons joining the Armed Forces, the State Special Transport Service or the National Guard, with their consent; refusal is a ground for not admitting or for discharging them.
• State Protection Department (Article 16 of the Law “On State Protection of State Authorities of Ukraine and Officials”) — candidates for service; refusal is a ground for not admitting them.
• Access to state secrets (Law No. 4560-IX of 31.07.2025) — staff of NABU, SAPO, the ESBU, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the SBI and the police with such access undergo a polygraph examination at least once every two years.

In several other agencies — the Ministry of Defence, the State Border Guard Service, the State Emergency Service and the State Criminal Executive Service — testing procedures are set by departmental orders.

The polygraph in court

The Criminal and Civil Procedure Codes, the Code of Administrative Procedure and the Code of Administrative Offences do not contain the word “polygraph”. Its place is defined by Ministry of Justice documents:

• The scientific and methodological recommendations on ordering and conducting forensic examinations (Order No. 53/5, Section VI, para 6.8) say that, to obtain orienting information, interviews may be conducted using a special technical device — a computer polygraph, and only with the person’s written consent.
• Such an examination is a type of psychological examination. Forensic experts are certified in specialty 14.1 “Psychological examinations” — there is no separate “polygraph” specialty.
• Under the Law “On Forensic Examination” (Articles 9 and 10), examinations are assigned to certified forensic experts from the Register or to other specialists in the relevant fields.

How the Supreme Court assesses it:

• in case No. 589/4601/21 (Civil Cassation Court, 29.11.2023), the courts rightly found an examination report using a polygraph to be insufficient evidence to refute a receipt for USD 250,000: an expert opinion has no predetermined weight;
• in case No. 686/12914/16-k (Criminal Cassation Court, 06.03.2018), the Court found the defence’s complaints about the refusal to order an examination with a computer polygraph groundless: carrying out particular investigative actions is a right, not an obligation, of the investigator and the court.

So an examiner’s conclusion is not a “verdict” but one source of information that the court weighs together with other evidence. More in the article “The polygraph as evidence in court”. A recent example is the article on the lie detector in the Farion case: can you be forced to take a test.

DSTU standards

• DSTU 8692:2016 “Polygraphs. Technical specifications” — requirements for the instrument itself; in force since 20.01.2017.
• DSTU 9266:2023 “Forensic psychological examination. Use of the polygraph. General requirements” — organisational and methodological requirements for such examinations; in force since 01.05.2024.

Under the Law “On Standardisation” (Article 23), standards are applied voluntarily unless a separate act makes them mandatory. An example of such an act is Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 449: for tests in the SBI, the instrument must comply with DSTU 8692:2016.

The polygraph examiner profession

Since 2021 the National Classifier of Occupations has included the occupation “Polygraph examiner”, code 2490 (Amendment No. 10, Ministry of Economy Order No. 810 of 25.10.2021). The former title “Expert polygraph examiner” (code 2144.2) was abolished at the same time.

How we work within the law

• Testing is voluntary only — with the written consent of the person being tested.
• We agree all questions in advance; the person knows them before the test.
• The person being tested knows in advance who will receive the result.
• Results are confidential: only the client receives them, and we do not pass them on to third parties.
• For court, a forensic examination is needed — it is ordered by an investigator or a court, or arranged through a lawyer. We can explain the procedure.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Can an employer force someone to take a polygraph test?

No. The Labour Code does not provide for the polygraph, so a test is possible only with the employee’s written consent. The exceptions are certain state bodies where the law expressly requires testing.

Can someone be dismissed for refusing a polygraph test?

In a private company — no: Article 40 of the Labour Code lists the grounds for dismissal exhaustively, and refusing a polygraph test is not among them. In certain state bodies (for example, the SBI or the State Protection Department), a candidate’s refusal may be a ground for not admitting them to service.

Is an examiner’s conclusion evidence in court?

Not on its own. The Ministry of Justice treats a polygraph interview as a source of orienting information, and the court weighs an expert opinion together with other evidence. In case No. 589/4601/21 the Supreme Court found such a conclusion insufficient to refute a receipt.

Is it legal to test a husband, wife or partner on a polygraph?

Yes, if the person agrees and signs a consent form. Nobody can be forced to take the test.

Must a polygraph comply with DSTU standards?

For private tests, the standards are voluntary. They become mandatory where a regulation expressly says so — for example, for tests in the SBI.

This article reflects the rules as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. In complex situations we recommend consulting a lawyer.

About the author: Andriy Maryniak — polygraph examiner in Lviv
Prices for tests and forensic examinations: polygraph prices

Article by polygraph examiner Andriy Maryniak, in practice since 2012.