Information and services website for entrepreneurs

Registration of the representative office with the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs

Are you a foreign entrepreneur and do you want to have an office to promote your business in Poland? Read below to learn how to register a representative office of your company in Poland.

How to proceed

This procedure can be completed:

  • at an office
  • by post

What you should know and who can use this service

Foreign persons and Polish citizens who do business abroad and want to have a representative office in the territory of the Republic of Poland must obtain an entry in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs.

The register is maintained by the minister in charge of the economy.

Please note! The representative office is established only to promote and advertise a foreign entrepreneur. A representative office of a foreign company does not give one the right to do business in Poland. 

A representative office may also be established by foreign persons appointed by an act of the competent authority of the country in which they have their registered office. The scope of activities of such a representative office may only include the promotion and advertising of the economy of that country.

When you should complete this procedure

At any time

Where you can complete this procedure

Ministerstwo Rozwoju i Technologii
Departament Małych i Średnich Przedsiębiorstw
Justyna Filipczuk tel.: (22) 411 94 44, Dariusz Domżalski tel.: (22) 411 94 41
Pl. Trzech Krzyży 3/5, 00-507 Warszawa

What to do step by step

  1. Submit your application for registration with the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs

Send the application for entry in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs, together with the attachments and the proof of payment of the stamp duty, by mail or submit it at the building of the ministry in charge of the economy, at the General Office.

Entry in the register is made by the minister on the basis of the submitted application and in accordance with its contents.

Documents

  1. The Minister verifies the application

The Minister verifies if the applicant has correctly drafted the application and attached the necessary documents.

If the application shows formal defects, the Minister requests the applicant to supplement it. The applicant has at least 7 days to remove the defects. The set time limit for completing the application, upon a justified request of the applicant submitted before the expiration of the time limit, may be extended. If you fail to remove formal defects within the set time limit, the application will not be processed.

The Minister verifies if the applicant is an entity eligible for registration, i.e. if it is a foreign entrepreneur doing business abroad, or if it is a foreign person properly appointed to promote the country where it has its registered office.

The Minister also checks that the planned activities of the representative office in Poland do not go beyond the scope of promotion and advertising purposes.

  1. The Minister enters the representative office in the register and issues a certificate confirming the entry

If the applicant meets all the statutory requirements, the Minister enters the representative office in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs.

In addition, the Minister issues ex officio a certificate confirming the entry of the representative office in the register of representative offices. The certificate is delivered to the applicant by registered mail with return receipt.

If you want to collect the certificate in person, inform about it in the application. Collection of the certificate in person (or by an attorney) at the ministry in charge of the economy is possible only by prior arrangement with the relevant employee of the Department of Small and Medium Enterprises.

The Minister issues a decision refusing to make the entry in the register of representative offices if:

  • the establishment of the representative office might pose a risk to the security or defense of the state or the security of classified information (confidential or higher), or other important public interest
  • the application for the registration of the representative office of a foreign entrepreneur concerns the intention to do business beyond the scope of advertising and promotion of the foreign entrepreneur

If the applicant is not a foreign entrepreneur or is not a foreign person duly appointed to promote the country’s economy, the application is deemed groundless and the Minister issues a decision to discontinue the proceedings.

Documents

How much you will have to pay

  • PLN 1,000 – fee for submitting an application for entry in the register of representative offices of foreign entrepreneurs.

The fee must be paid before submitting the application for entry in the register. Pay the fee to the account of the City Council of Warsaw, Taxpayer Service Centre. Attach the original proof of payment of the stamp duty for entry in the register of representative offices to the submitted application.

  • PLN 17 – stamp duty for the power of attorney (optional) 

If you file a power of attorney with a public office, you must pay the stamp duty. However, powers of attorney granted to your husband, wife, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren or siblings are free of charge. Pay the fee to the account of the City Council of Warsaw, Taxpayer Service Centre.

Transfer the fee to the account 21 1030 1508 0000 0005 5000 0070

How long you will have to wait

Your case will be settled within one month. This period may be extended to two months, subject to notification by the official.

How can you appeal

If you receive a decision refusing to make the entry, then you can apply to the Minister of Development and Technology with an application for reconsideration of the case. You have 14 days to do so from the day you receive the decision.

If you are still not entered in the register, you can lodge a complaint with the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw. Lodge the complaint through the minister in charge of the economy. You have 30 days to do so from the day you receive the decision issued on the basis of the reconsideration application. Please note that if you do not want to exercise your right to apply for reconsideration of the case, you may withdraw from applying for reconsideration and lodge a complaint against the decision with the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw within 30 days of receiving the decision.

Lodge the complaint through the minister in charge of the economy.

Good to know

Register of representative offices

The current register of representative offices is available at Dane.gov.pl. The register contains the registration data of the foreign entrepreneur and the representative office, as well as the number of entry in the register of representative offices, the date of entry, the last day of validity of the entry and the date of removal of the representative office from the register. The data are made available for the validity period of the representative office’s entry in the register and for a period of 5 years from the date of removal of the representative office from the register.

Obligations of the entrepreneur

A foreign entrepreneur who has set up a representative office is obliged to:

  • use, to designate the representative office, the original business name of the foreign entrepreneur and the phrase “przedstawicielstwo w Polsce” (representative office in Poland);
  • keep separate books for the representative office in the Polish language in accordance with accounting regulations;
  • report within 14 days to the minister in charge of the economy:
    • any changes in the factual and legal situation with respect to the data of the foreign entrepreneur covered by the entry in the register concerning:
      • the business name, registered office, legal form of the foreign entrepreneur,
      • the objects of the foreign entrepreneur’s main business activity,
      • forename, surname of the person authorised to represent the foreign entrepreneur in the representative office,
      • address of the representative office in the territory of the Republic of Poland;
    • any information about the instigation of liquidation of the foreign entrepreneur who established the representative office or about the loss of its right to do business.

Please note! You must hold the legal title to the property that you have indicated in the register of representative offices as the registered office of the representative office.

Extension of the entry 

Entry in the register of representative offices is valid for 2 years. If the representative office is to continue its operations, the foreign entrepreneur should submit an application for an extension of the entry within the last 90 days of the entry’s validity. If the entrepreneur fails to submit an application for an extension of the entry in the register of representative offices in a timely manner, the entrepreneur will lose the right to operate its representative office in Poland and will be removed from the register of representative offices.

The extended entry will be valid for another 2 years.

Was this page useful?