Abstract Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) rely on the use of functional materials with suitable energy levels and mobilities for selective charge carrier injection and transport of one species only at the respective electrode. Until recently, however, the dipolar nature of many organic semiconductors has been largely ignored in this context. In particular, electron transports layers (ETLs) often exhibit spontaneous orientation polarization leading to interfacial charges that modify the electrical potential landscape inside a hetero-layer device. Here we demonstrate that the effect of polar ETLs can be simulated using the well-established Poisson and drift-diffusion formalism, if these interfacial charges are taken into account. Impedance spectroscopy is used in order to validate our approach and to characterize the polarity of the material. Finally, simulations allow to quantify the impact of polar ETLs on device performance.