Information and services website for entrepreneurs.

Official certificates useful for running a business

When running a business, you may need official confirmation of information concerning your business. Most often, companies want to obtain a certificate from the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG) or the National Court Register (KRS), a clearance certificate that they are not in arrears with taxes, with contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) or to the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS), a VAT certificate or a certificate from the National Criminal Register (KRK). Read how to obtain them.

Printouts from registers as certificates

You can obtain the most important business-related certificates online.

You will electronically obtain a confirmation of your entry in CEIDG, a simplified extract from the entry in KRS, as well as social security (ZUS) and tax clearance certificates. Remember that some printouts of online documents are treated as official documents. This means that you can print such a document, and you do not need any additional certification.

Such documents are mainly printouts from CEIDG, KRS and social security clearance certificates obtained online.

If you are in doubt, make sure that the institution where you are submitting documents accepts printouts from IT systems.

Important! The authorities should not ask you for information that they are aware of, that they have in their records or that they can obtain by contacting other authorities. If, nevertheless, a public administration authority requests a certificate or statement from you to confirm a fact or legal status, it is obliged to indicate the specific legal provision that requires such confirmation.

If you request a paper certificate from the authority, the authority has seven days from the time you submit your request to issue the certificate. You should be notified of the authority’s inability to issue the certificate within this time limit.

Certificate of entry in the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG)

Certificates of entry of your business in CEIDG may be required primarily by banks, for example when you apply for a loan for your business, and sometimes also when you open a business account.

Public administration authorities may not demand that certificates of entry in CEIDG be shown, handed over or attached to applications and other official letters filed with them.

The certificate of entry in CEIDG is:

  • a printout from your Entrepreneur’s Account on the biznes.gov.pl website: log into your Account; on the right-hand side, in the My Business section, you will find the link “Download certificate” (Pobierz zaświadczenie).
  • a printout from the CEIDG website: find your entry in the CEIDG database of entrepreneurs.

A printout from the CEIDG website or from the Entrepreneur’s Account is a document that you can use in your dealings with other entrepreneurs; it does not require a signature or stamp.

The certificate is free of charge.

Go to Entrepreneur’s Account to download the certificate. If you would like to print a confirmation of entry, you need to log into your Entrepreneur’s Account with your trusted profile or e-ID.

Certificate of entry in the Central Registration and Information on Business (CEIDG) for the purposes of foreign trade

If your foreign partner needs confirmation that you are entered in the register of entrepreneurs, please request the Minister of Economic Developmentand Technology to certify the printout of the entry from the CEIDG website.

To receive such a confirmation, send the given name, surname and NIP number of the entrepreneur for whom you wish to receive a certified printout of the entry to sekretariatDGC@mrit.gov.pl.

If the certified printout is intended for legal circulation in a country that is party to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (HCCH 1961 Apostille Convention), an apostille certificate issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs may be required for the document.

The apostille is an official government-issued certificate added to a document for authentication.

If you have an official document with an apostille, you can use it in other countries; it will be treated as an official document there.

The apostille certifies: the authenticity of the signature on the document, the role of the person signing the document, as well as the identity of the seal or stamp on the document.

Check an updated list of Contracting Parties to the HCCH 1961 Apostille Convention.

You may submit an application (PL) for an apostille in person when you visit the Legalisation Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If a third party not appearing in the application as the applicant submits the application or collects the certified documents, a written authorisation is required.

Documents for legalisation/apostille can also be submitted by traditional post to the Legalisation Section from abroad.

Postal address of the office:
Legalisation Section
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
al. Szucha 21, 00-580 Warszawa

The fee for issuing an apostille is PLN 60 for each document to be certified.

Read how to obtain an apostille certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Certificate of entry in the National Court Register (KRS)

If you need a KRS entry certificate, you can print it out at any time using the search engine on the eMS (Ministry of Justice) website (PL).

After entering the KRS number, a page with the company’s basic data will be displayed. Click the “Download printout” (Pobierz wydruk) button at the bottom of the page. The printout is a certificate of entry in the National Court Register (KRS).

Important! The printout from the KRS (eMS) website is a document that you can use in your dealings with other entrepreneurs; it does not require a signature or stamp. Neither does it require certification of conformity with the original. Remember, though, that the printout from the KRS website must show the website information and the printout identifier.

The certificate is free of charge.

Tax Identification Number (NIP) Certificate

The NIP certificate may be required whenever your company participates in a tender or applies for a loan. Your business partner may also request that you produce your NIP certificate to check that the tax identification number (NIP) that you are using has been assigned to you (or your business).

You apply for a NIP certificate at the tax office competent for your place of residence or the registered office of your business. If you have a net revenue of at least PLN 3 million, you will receive the certificate at one of the specialised tax offices operating at the voivodeship level, and if you have a net revenue exceeding EUR 50 million, at the First Mazovian Tax Office in Warsaw.

You can also obtain the NIP certificate electronically.

The application for a NIP certificate is subject to a fee of PLN 21.

Read how to obtain a Tax Identification Number (NIP) Certificate.

Tax clearance certificate

One of the most commonly used certificates when running a business is a document proving that your tax affairs are in order. The certificate may be requested by a bank, for example, when you apply for a loan or lease for your business.

You can easily and quickly obtain the certificates electronically.

Tax and fee clearance certificate

If you wish to obtain an income tax clearance certificate for: personal income tax (PIT), corporate income tax (CIT), value added tax (VAT) or excise duty or a certificate stating tax arrears, you can submit your application in writing, with the tax office competent for your place of residence or registered office of your business, or electronically, via the e-Tax Office portal.

The e-Tax Office does not charge stamp duty on the submitted application.

If you need a certificate concerning the taxes and fees that you pay at an office other than the tax office:

  • for real property tax or tax on means of transport – file the application with the city/town council or municipal authority (urząd gminy) competent for the address of the real property to which the certificate relates
  • environmental fees – file the application with the marshal’s office (urząd marszałkowski) competent for your place of residence or registered office.

Read how to obtain a tax clearance certificate or a certificate stating tax arrears.

Certificate confirming the VAT payer’s status

If you want to check your VAT status or your business partner’s, you can use the List of VAT payers, i.e. the list of entities not registered, deleted or re-registered as VAT payers. The List contains full information about the entity, that is, for example, about deletion and re-registration.

If you wish to confirm/verify your EU VAT number, use the search engine on the European Commission website.

If you wish to obtain a certificate confirming the VAT payer’s status on paper, please file an application with the tax office. The application must be filed with the tax office competent for the entity whose status is to be confirmed. You will pay PLN 21 for the issue of the certificate.

Read how to obtain a certificate confirming that you are or your business partner is a VAT payer (PL).

Social security clearance certificate

ZUS clearance certificate

Every entrepreneur registered with ZUS as a payer of social security contributions is listed in Comprehensive IT System for ZUS, KSI ZUS.

If, as a payer of social security contributions, you need a social security clearance certificate, you can obtain one:

  • at a ZUS branch
  • via the PUE ZUS website
  • electronically, on the biznes.gov.pl website; you can sign the electronic application either with the trusted profile or qualified signature.

The certificate is free of charge.

Read how to obtain a social security clearance certificate.

Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS) clearance certificate

If you are insured with the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS) and you need a clearance certificate, you can:

The certificate is free of charge.

Certificate from the National Criminal Register (KRK)

You may need a certificate of no criminal record from the National Criminal Register (KRK):

  • to join a tender
  • where the legislation requires that members of a company’s bodies have a clean criminal record, for example to obtain a licence
  • if you want to work in a position where a clean criminal record is required by law
  • if you intend to hire an employee for whom there is a statutory requirement of a clean criminal record.

Every natural person and collective entity has the right to obtain information on whether data have been collected about them in KRK. You can apply for a certificate at the office, by traditional post or electronically on the platform: e-Platform National Criminal Register (Krajowy Rejestr Karny).

In order to apply for a certificate from KRK electronically, you must have an electronic signature, a trusted profile or you must affix a personal signature.

You will pay for the certificate:

  • PLN 30 – if you apply in person or by traditional post
  • PLN 20 – if you apply via the e-KRK system.

Read how to obtain a certificate of no criminal record (PL).

The portal is supervised by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology. Project partners: Łukasiewicz - Poznań Institute of Technology, Polish Chamber of Commerce. The project is co-financed from the Digital Poland Programme by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund and is a continuation of the project \"Central Register and Information on Economic Activity\" financed from the Innovative Economy Programme and the project \"Simplification and digitization of procedures\" financed from the Human Capital Programme.

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