Registering as a sole trader in Poland: CEIDG step by step
Short answer: To register a sole-trader business in Poland you file a free CEIDG-1 application on Biznes.gov.pl, in the mObywatel app or through a bank; the entry appears by the next working day and the same form can register you for NIP, REGON, ZUS and VAT.
Opening a one-person business (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, often just "JDG") in Poland means one filing: entry into CEIDG, the Central Registration and Information on Business. The filing is free, one form covers your tax and social-security registrations, and your entry appears by the next working day. There is also a date worth knowing: from 1 November 2026 CEIDG applications move online-only. The details below come from the official Biznes.gov.pl registration guide and ZUS, checked on 15 October 2026.
What CEIDG is and who it is for
CEIDG (Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej) is the national register of sole traders. It holds entries for people running a one-person business and for partners in civil-law partnerships of natural persons. Companies (spółka z o.o. and similar) register elsewhere, in the KRS court register - this guide does not apply to them.
The 1 November 2026 change: online only
From 1 November 2026 you file a CEIDG registration application exclusively electronically. The single exception is the application of a minor entrepreneur, which can only be filed at a city or gmina office or sent by post. The same date brings a new identification rule for foreigners: a foreign person filing a CEIDG application must have a PESEL number, and if no PESEL has been assigned, a unique identifier assigned by an EU member state for cross-border identification. Until 1 November 2026 the office and postal routes described below still work; after that date, plan on doing everything online.
What you need before you start
The Biznes.gov.pl guide lists the data the CEIDG-1 application asks for. Have these ready:
- Your full name, parents' first names, date and place of birth.
- The type, series and number of your identity document - an ID card, a passport or the mDowód mobile document.
- Your PESEL, if you are a Polish citizen or one has been assigned to you (if you have none, you tick "I do not have a PESEL number").
- All citizenships you hold.
- Your NIP and REGON numbers, if they were ever assigned to you. If you do not have them, the same form doubles as the application for both, and they are added to your entry automatically.
- Your home address and any other addresses linked to the business.
- Contact details: e-mail if you have one, phone number and website if you want them published. CEIDG publishes contact data only with your consent.
- Data needed to create your e-Doręczenia (electronic delivery) address, or an e-Doręczenia address you already have with a qualified provider.
- The business name, which must contain your first and last name, plus an optional short name.
- PKD activity codes that match what you will do, with one code marked as dominant.
- The number of employees you plan to hire and your start date.
- Information about your insurance in ZUS, KRUS (farmers) or abroad.
- The tax office competent for your place of residence.
With the application you also declare that no full ban on conducting business activity applies to you and that you have a legal title to the properties whose addresses you enter.
One form, many registrations
The CEIDG-1 is deliberately a multi-purpose filing. In the same application you can:
- Declare your form of income taxation and attach a VAT registration (VAT-R) or update.
- Register yourself with ZUS (or KRUS) for social and health insurance, and register your family members and employees.
- Report the bank accounts linked to the business - you are required to report every business account opening and closing.
- Publish information about an attorney (pełnomocnik) or commercial proxy, which counts as granting them a written power of attorney - though such a CEIDG power of attorney does not cover tax matters.
How to file
Online through Biznes.gov.pl. Log in through Login.gov.pl, choose the business registration service and go through the guided wizard. It prepares the CEIDG entry plus the ZUS/KRUS contribution-payer registration, the REGON application to GUS and the NIP application to the tax office. You sign with a trusted profile (profil zaufany), a qualified signature or a personal signature. One limitation: when filing online you cannot use an attorney.
In the mObywatel app. Under the "Firma" service you can file and sign with a trusted profile. The app route has limits: use Biznes.gov.pl instead if you need more than one fixed place of business, want to indicate foreign social insurance or a foreign correspondence address, or want to register for VAT or ZUS insurance in the same filing.
Through a bank or accounting office. PKO BP, Bank Pekao, mBank, ING, Santander, Millennium, Credit Agricole, Alior, VeloBank, inFakt and ING Usługi dla Biznesu accept CEIDG registrations. This route registers the business only; ZUS and VAT registrations you do separately, in an office or online through eZUS or the tax portal.
At an office (until 1 November 2026). Any city or gmina office accepts the application; in Warsaw the district offices do. The clerk confirms receipt and enters your data into CEIDG by the next day at the latest. Bring your ID - you must confirm your identity. You can prepare the application in the online wizard without an electronic signature, get an e-mail code, and sign in the office within 7 days; you can also fill in a form on the spot or bring a printed, hand-signed one. An attorney appointed under general rules can file in the office for you.
By post (until 1 November 2026). Send the completed form by registered mail; your handwritten signature must be notarised.
If a paper application is defective, the office will call on you to correct it within 7 working days of the notice. Online filings are flagged by the system itself.
Cost and timing
Filing the CEIDG application is free. Your entry appears no later than the next working day after the application reaches CEIDG, and you may legally start your business on the day you file. CEIDG forwards your data to the tax office, which assigns your NIP, and informs GUS and ZUS (or KRUS) about the entry.
After the entry: the ZUS deadline
Registering in CEIDG makes you a contribution payer. If you did not register for insurance with the CEIDG-1 form, you have 7 days from your start date to file insurance applications with ZUS. If you did include insurance in the CEIDG filing, ZUS confirms it registers you from the day you started the business, with no extra documents needed - you only need to register employees and their family members, within 7 days of hiring them.
* Photo: Stefan Fadinger, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Next steps: read our guides to choosing a JDG tax form in 2026, ZUS contributions for business owners and setting up a trusted profile.
Frequently asked questions
How much does CEIDG registration cost?
Nothing. Filing the application for entry into CEIDG, and later changes to the entry, are free of charge.
How fast is my business registered?
Your entry appears no later than the next working day after the application reaches CEIDG, and you can start your business on the day you file.
Can a foreigner register a sole-trader business in CEIDG?
CEIDG registration is open to people who have the right to run a business in Poland. From 1 November 2026 a foreign applicant must have a PESEL number or, if none was assigned, a unique cross-border identifier issued by an EU member state.
Do I need a separate NIP and REGON application?
No. If you never had a NIP or REGON, the CEIDG-1 form doubles as the application for both, and the numbers are added to your entry automatically after registration.
What changes on 1 November 2026?
From that date CEIDG registration applications are filed electronically only. The exception is the application of a minor entrepreneur, which is still filed at a city or gmina office or by post.
How do I sign the online application?
With a trusted profile (profil zaufany), a qualified electronic signature or a personal signature. In the mObywatel app you sign with a trusted profile.
