Profil Zaufany: Poland's Trusted Profile for Expats (2026)
Short answer: Anyone aged 13 or over with a PESEL number can create a Profil Zaufany for free - instantly through participating Polish banks, or with an online application confirmed in person at one of over 2,000 points. The profile is valid for 3 years and renews online.
What the Profil Zaufany is
The Profil Zaufany (trusted profile) is Poland's free government login: an official means of electronic identification run by the Ministry of Digital Affairs. It lets you confirm your identity inside public administration systems and, when a matter requires it, sign documents electronically. The trusted signature it produces is legally as effective as a handwritten signature in dealings with public entities - which is what makes a PDF you sign at home work like a form handed in at a counter.
Two rules shape everything else. Every person may hold only one trusted profile, because it is tied to a unique PESEL number. And the profile itself costs nothing: creating, confirming and using it is free.
For foreigners living in Poland, the trusted profile is the single most useful piece of digital paperwork after the PESEL number itself, because so many offices have moved their counters online.
What you can do with it
Once you can log in with a Profil Zaufany, a long list of official errands becomes self-service, seven days a week. The government's own list includes:
- Internetowe Konto Pacjenta (IKP) - your e-prescriptions, e-referrals, and applying for the European Health Insurance Card (EKUZ),
- PUE ZUS - social insurance matters, contribution records, benefit applications,
- e-Urząd Skarbowy - the tax office portal, including filing a PIT return,
- ePUAP - applying for an ID card, obtaining birth, marriage or death records, registering a child's birth, reporting a lost ID,
- the 800+ child benefit application,
- registering a business (CEIDG),
- checking your penalty points for traffic offences,
- applying for a duplicate driving licence if yours is lost or destroyed.
The same login works across gov.pl, pacjent.gov.pl, biznes.gov.pl and the empathy (empatia) benefits portal, so one account covers central and local services alike.
Who can create one
The eligibility rules are short. You can create a trusted profile if you:
- are at least 13 years old,
- have a PESEL number,
- have full or limited legal capacity.
Foreigners meet these conditions the same way Polish citizens do - the gate is the PESEL, not citizenship. If you do not have a PESEL yet, that comes first (our guide to getting a PESEL number covers the routes).
One detail regularly trips people up: the data you enter in the application must match the PESEL register letter for letter, exactly as written in your identity document. If even one letter of your name differs from the register, the profile cannot be confirmed. People with several first names enter only the first one. If the register itself is wrong or out of date - a common expat problem after a name change - there is a government hotline for verifying PESEL data: +48 42 253 54 50, working days 7:00-18:00 Polish time.
Three ways to set it up
Through online banking - the instant route. If you bank with one of the participating institutions, you create and confirm the profile in one sitting, entirely online. The current list on the Ministry's page includes PKO BP, ING Bank Śląski, Bank Millennium, Inteligo, Bank Pekao, mBank, Santander, Alior Bank, more than 300 cooperative banks, and Poczta Polska's Envelo service.
Online application plus in-person confirmation - the route without a Polish bank account. You fill in the application form on the trusted profile service, then confirm your identity in person at one of more than 2,000 confirmation points in Poland and abroad (consulates included - the official list is searchable on the Profil Zaufany portal). The application stays valid for 30 days; if you miss the window you can simply file again by logging back into pz.gov.pl with the login and password you set during registration.
At an office, fully in person. Confirmation points can also handle the whole process on the spot - bring the identity document whose data is in the PESEL register.
Validity and renewal
A trusted profile is valid for 3 years from the day the application is confirmed. You can extend it for another 3 years at any time, without leaving home: log into your profile, open the details and choose the validity extension option. Letting it lapse simply means repeating the confirmation step.
Costs and legal basis
Everything described here is free - the profile, the confirmation, the trusted signatures. The service operates under the Act of 17 February 2005 on the computerisation of public entities and the Regulation of the Minister of Digital Affairs of 29 June 2020 on the trusted profile and trusted signature (Dz.U. 2020 poz. 1194), as of October 2026.
* Photos: Butell (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Shixart1985 (CC BY 2.0)
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner get a Profil Zaufany?
Yes. The requirements are being at least 13 years old, having a PESEL number and legal capacity - citizenship is not among them. The practical route for most expats without a Polish bank account is the online application plus in-person confirmation at one of more than 2,000 points, including consulates abroad.
Does the trusted profile work like a digital signature?
In dealings with public entities, the trusted signature it produces is legally as effective as a handwritten signature. For private-law documents, check which signature type the other party requires.
What happens if my name does not match the PESEL register?
The profile cannot be confirmed until the data matches exactly - enter your name precisely as written in your identity document, and use only your first given name if you have several. If the register itself is outdated, the government runs a PESEL data hotline on working days (+48 42 253 54 50, 7:00-18:00).
How long does a Profil Zaufany last?
Three years from confirmation, renewable for another three years at any time online, from inside the profile itself.
