Entrepreneur's registration with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) after the registration of the company

After registering your company, you should register with the insurance institution within 7 days.

Entrepreneur as payer and insured

When dealing with the Social Insurance Institution you should know what is the difference between the payer and the insured.

The person responsible for the calculation of contributions in the correct amount and their payment to the Social Insurance Institution is the payer of insurance contributions, e.g. the employer is the payer of contributions for the employee.

The Insured is a person covered by at least one of the social security systems.

As an entrepreneur you usually play a dual role:

• as the payer of contributions (for own insurance, employees and co-workers)
• as the insured

That is why you need to register both as a payer and as an insured person. The first step (payer registration) usually takes place automatically when registering a company - information from the CEIDG -1 registration application is sent to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), which registers your company as a payer. The second step, i.e. applying for insurance, can also be done at the time of company registration or by submitting relevant documents to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS).

Application for insurance - sole trader

When you register your company, you are registered with the Social Insurance Institution as a payer (i.e. the one who calculates and pays contributions). The Social Insurance Institution will create a payer's account. You do not have to fill in and submit to ZUS forms (ZUS ZFA, ZUS ZBA), which are required when registering a payer. ZUS will prepare all the documents for you.

The next step is to register yourself for insurance.

You also register your family members for health insurance, but only if they do not have any other insurance titles (e.g. do not work as an employee).

If you register your company with CEIDG, you can attach the application documents to the registration form, both for yourself (ZUS ZUA or ZUS ZZA) and for the members of your family (ZUS ZCNA).

If the business is your only insurance title (i.e. you do not have  or are not a pensioner), then it is for insurance purposes:

• retirement, disability and accident pensions - you must apply obligatorily
• health - you must apply obligatorily
• sickness - you can apply voluntarily

What forms are submitted when registering for insurance?

You submit forms to ZUS:

• ZUS ZUA - if you apply for social and health insurance (and voluntarily - sickness insurance)
  • how to complete the form
• ZUS ZZA - if you apply only for health insurance, e.g. with a relief for starting a business
  • how to complete the form
• ZUS ZCNA - if you apply for health insurance of a family member.
  • how to complete the form

If you only run a business (i.e. you do not have a full-time job or are not a pensioner) and

• you want to take advantage of the relief for starting a business, i.e. you do not pay social security contributions for 6 months (you pay only health insurance contribution) and you meet the conditions to take advantage of this allowance, you submit the ZUS ZZA form (enter the code of insurance title 05 40)
• you want to take advantage of preferential contributions (reduced contributions for 24 months, i.e. the so-called small ZUS) and you meet the conditions to take advantage of this allowance, you submit the ZUS ZUA form (enter the code of insurance title 05 70 xx)
• you will pay standard contributions (you do not meet the conditions to take advantage of the above allowances) you submit the ZUS ZUA form (you enter the code of insurance title 05 10 xx)

The last two digits of the insurance title code refer to the right to an old-age or disability pension (5th character) and the degree of disability (6th character). If you are not entitled to these benefits and you have a disability certificate, enter 00.

Notification for several insurance titles

If you have other titles to insurance (e.g. you work as an employee and want to start a business or you are a pensioner), then the application forms for insurance will depend on what contributions you will pay. For example, if you are starting a business and you are already employed (and earn more than the minimum wage), you can only pay a health insurance contribution. Then you submit the ZUS ZZA form. However, if you earn less than the minimum wage or want to (despite the contributions paid by your employer) pay contributions for your activity as well, you submit a ZUS ZUA form.

Note: If you are self-employed, registered as a payer and insured and pay contributions only for yourself (you do not pay for employees, for example), you do not have to submit an application form for another business activity (e.g. if you become a partner in a registered partnership). You are already registered with the Social Insurance Institution on account of your previous activity. However, you must pay a health contribution for each activity you conduct.

When do I need to apply for insurance?

You submit your application documents within 7 days from the date of commencement of business activity.

How do I apply to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)?

By CEIDG

The easiest way is to submit application forms for insurance during the registration of a company (applies to a sole trader company). Entrepreneurs who register their company with CEIDG may attach to the registration application CEIDG-1 also the application documents for insurance on their own behalf and for the members of their family. You can do this if you register your company in a municipality or on the Internet.

In this way you can apply for social and health insurance (on ZUS ZUA or ZUS ZZA forms) and apply for health insurance for your family members (ZUS ZCNA form).

You can register an employee by CEIDG.

Find out:

• how to register a payer subject to an entry in the CEIDG (sole trader)

Notification to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)

You can also deliver the documents to the Social Insurance Institution in electronic form (via the Płatnik or e-Płatnik program) or in paper form (at the Social Insurance Institution or via post or courier). Important! Paper documents can be submitted to the Social Insurance Institution only if you pay contributions for a maximum of 5 people. If you pay contributions for more than 5 people, all documents must be sent electronically.

Find out:

• how to register the insured with the Social Insurance Institution

Notification to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) of a civil law partnership

Registration of the partnership with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)

If you intend to run a company in the form of a partnership and you will hire employees or contractors, you should register it as a payer of contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (within 7 days from the date of the insurance obligation). You submit the ZUS ZPA form with a copy of: the decision of the tax office to grant the Tax Identification Number (NIP), the certificate of the statistical office to grant REGON.

In addition, a ZUS ZBA form is required (if the partnership has bank accounts other than the one specified in ZUS ZPA) and a ZUS ZAA form (with business addresses if different from the registered office).

Registration of civil law partnership partners to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)

If you are registered with CEIDG and become a partner in a civil law partnership, you do not have to file an application with the Social Insurance Institution. You have already been registered as an insured and payer. You will have to pay a health contribution for each activity.

Partners who apply separately to the company as payers of contributions cannot use the NIP or REGON ID assigned to the company - they should use their numbers.

Remember!

If the company does not employ employees/contractors, it does not have to be reported to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) as a payer of contributions.

Each partner prepares, submits insurance documents and pays contributions for his own insurance.

A partner who runs a business and pays contributions only for his own insurance, settles the contributions by preparing and submitting to the Social Insurance Institution only a settlement declaration (ZUS DRA) for himself.

Notification of companies registered in the National Court Register

Payer's registration with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)

You do not need to submit documents which will register the company as a payer of contributions. ZUS automatically receives data from the National Court Register and the tax office (which you submit on the NIP-8 form - these are the so-called supplementary data, among others: the payer's abbreviated name - cannot exceed 31 characters, the date when the obligation to pay contributions arose, a list of bank accounts, the business address). On the basis of data from the National Court Register and supplementary data (from NIP-8), the Social Insurance Institution will prepare application documents for you:

• ZUS ZPA - Reporting / changing the data of a contribution payer - a legal person or an organizational unit without legal personality
• ZUS ZAA - Business addresses of the payer of contributions
• ZUS ZBA - information on bank account numbers of the contribution payer

ZUS will also create an account for you as a payer.

Company applies to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) for health insurance of its employees and their family members. The employee has 7 days from the date of employment to do so.

Notification of the partners to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)

Shareholders in companies with share capital (multi-person limited liability companies, joint stock companies) are not subject to compulsory insurance. They do not have to apply for insurance. This also applies to members of the Management Board - unless they perform their functions on the basis of employment contracts or civil law contracts.

Partners in partnerships (limited partnership, registered partnership and professional partnership) or a single member limited liability company are subject to insurance and pay contributions for their own insurance. They must register themselves with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) both as a payer of contributions and as an insured person (at least for health insurance).  They have 7 days to do it after registering the company in the National Court Register.

The shareholders are to provide the following documents:

• application for a payer of ZUS ZFA contributions, in which they provide their own identification data, i.e. PESEL and NIP or NIP number, REGON and PESEL (if the partner also runs a separate business activity, other than conducted in the form of a partnership)
• reporting yourself to the insurance company as an insured person:
  • ZUS ZUA (social security and health insurance notification) or
  • ZUS ZZA (health insurance only).

If you are a partner in a limited liability company with one member and a partner in a registered partnership, a limited partnership or a professional partnership, enter code 05 43 xx in the application documents.

The documents can be delivered to the Social Insurance Institution in: electronic (through Płatnik or e-Płatnik program) or paper form (directly at the Social Insurance Institution or via post or courier).

See below:

• how to report to the Social Insurance Institution companies registered in the National Court Register
• how to report a payer subject to entry in the National Court Register

 If you do not know how to fill in the application form for a contribution payer, please refer to the Social Insurance Institution's (ZUS) guides:

• Notification/change of data of contribution payer - natural person
• Information on the bank account numbers of the payer of contributions
• Business addresses of contributors
• Notification to insurance/notification of change of data of the insured person

Insurance codes

You should include the relevant insurance code in your insurance application documents. See what the codes are for people running an activity

XX - 5th and 6th digit of the code refer to the right to an old-age or disability pension and to the degree of disability. If you do not have the right to these benefits or a disability certificate you enter 00.

However, if you are entitled to an old-age or disability pension or have a disability certificate, you will enter the correct code, as instructed below.

Determined or not determined right to a pension (fifth digit of the ZUS code)

You should type in:
0 - if you do not have a fixed right to an old-age or disability pension
1 - if you have an established right to an old-age pension
2 - if you are entitled to a disability pension

Degree of disability (sixth digit of ZUS code)

You should type in:
0 - if you do not have a disability certificate
1 - if you have a slight degree of disability certificate
2 - if you have a moderate level of disability certificate
3 - if you have a severe disability certificate

Find out:

• principles for the completion of insurance documents

Please note: If in doubt, contact the Social Insurance Institution. You can do this by phone - 22 560 16 00 (the cost of a call according to the agreement with the telecommunications operator) or by using the contact form.