Tax number

Steps

1. Register your address with the municipality (zameldowanie, see factsheet PL-SEJOUR-TOUS-001). If you register for a stay of more than 30 days, the PESEL number is assigned to you automatically (z urzędu), without a separate application.
2. If you cannot register an address but need a PESEL, file an application for assignment (wniosek o nadanie numeru PESEL) at any urząd gminy (town or municipal office). The form can be downloaded from gov.pl or picked up on site; it is signed by hand. The official registers your application immediately and gives you a notification of assignment if the conditions are met. If you are neither a citizen of the EU, EFTA or Switzerland, nor a British citizen covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (or a family member of one of these citizens), you must file this application in person.
3. Use your PESEL as your tax identifier. For an individual who carries on no business activity and is not VAT-liable, the tax identifier is the PESEL; you do not have to make an identification declaration to the tax office. Give it to your employer for your income tax return.
4. Apply for a NIP only if you need one:
   • You set up a sole proprietorship: your application for registration in the business register (CEIDG-1) counts as an identification declaration with the tax office; the NIP is assigned on the working day following the tax office's receipt of the correct application forwarded by the CEIDG. From 1 November 2026, the application is filed online only, and a foreign person must have a PESEL (or, failing that, a unique identifier issued by another EU State for cross-border identification).
   • The municipality refused you the PESEL (case of a foreign employee, according to the Ministry of Finance): you can file the NIP-7 form (identification declaration of an individual) with the head of the tax office (naczelnik urzędu skarbowego). The confirmation is issued within 3 days after a correct filing. Note: the law provides that the tax office refuses a NIP to an individual with no business activity or VAT whose identifier is the PESEL; the outcome therefore depends on the office, so ask it.
5. Create your profil zaufany (free digital identity for online procedures, valid for 3 years and renewable) once you have your PESEL: you need a PESEL number. If you are a foreigner, you confirm it remotely through a bank on the official list (limited list) or in person at a confirmation point, including abroad (identity card, passport or residence card accepted). The e-dowód (Polish chip identity card) and the video call with an official require a Polish identity document or passport.

Documents

• For a PESEL application: the completed and signed application form, and a document proving your identity and the data entered (passport or identity card). The authorities that require your PESEL (ZUS, tax office) must tell you on what legal basis.
• For the NIP-7: the NIP-7 form, available on podatki.gov.pl (e-Deklaracje section, registration).
• For the profil zaufany: your PESEL number, and a way to confirm your identity: a bank on the official list, or a visit to a confirmation point with an identity card, a passport or a residence card.

Costs and timelines

• PESEL: free, automatically when you register your address, or on request processed immediately at the town or municipal office.
• NIP: the ministry gives no fee. Assignment the following working day for entrepreneurs registered with the CEIDG; confirmation within 3 days for a NIP-7 filing.
• Profil zaufany: free, valid for 3 years from confirmation, extendable by 3 years.

Common pitfalls

• Looking for a "tax number" at all costs. Unlike Portugal, an employee or a retiree in Poland generally does not need a NIP: their PESEL is enough. The tax office reminds us that a foreign employee living in Poland must have the PESEL as their tax identifier.
• Believing the wojewoda's certificate gives you the PESEL. It is the address registration with the municipality (zameldowanie) that triggers the automatic assignment, not the registration of the stay at the voivodeship office.
• Getting stuck without a PESEL. Without a PESEL, no profil zaufany, so no online procedures (online address registration, IKP patient account, etc.). Get it as soon as possible.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: for address registration, a passport or identity card is enough, and the procedure can be done online if you already have a profil zaufany or a qualified electronic signature. The separate PESEL application is also open.
• British citizens (Scots included): to register your address, you need, in addition to your passport, a document that establishes your stay (residence card or permit, or visa for temporary residence); online registration is not open to non-EU/EFTA nationals, and for a third-country national the registration deadline falls on the 4th day of residence (not the 30th); gov.pl does not say whether British citizens covered by the Withdrawal Agreement keep the 30-day deadline: ask your town or municipal office. If you are registered at an address for more than 30 days, the PESEL is assigned automatically; otherwise, the application is filed at any town or municipal office with an identity document, stating the legal basis that justifies your need for a PESEL (gov.pl); third-country nationals must file it in person, whereas British citizens covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (and their family members) are exempt. The PESEL is then obtained in the same way.
• Currency: Poland uses the złoty (zł, PLN), not the euro.