E-Delivery (E-Doręczenia)
E-Delivery (e-Doręczenia) is the electronic equivalent of a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and it has legal force equivalent to that of a traditional registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Its introduction and the obligation for certain entities to use it result from the amendment to the Act of 18 November 2020 on Electronic Delivery (consolidated text, Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1045, as amended) (the "Act", the "Electronic Delivery Act"), which entered into force on 1 January 2025.
The Electronic Delivery Act comprehensively governs the rules on electronic delivery between public entities, entrepreneurs and natural persons. The provisions of the Act respond to the need to speed up the flow of documents, provide greater security and simplify legal and administrative procedures. Legal services for businesses can help in this process.
Schedule for Introducing the E-Delivery Obligation
Ultimately, all public entities, entrepreneurs and professions of public trust will be obliged to have an electronic delivery address and to conduct correspondence through e-Delivery. The obligation to use e-Delivery will gradually cover all public entities and entrepreneurs registered in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG) or the National Court Register (KRS), in accordance with the following schedule for introducing the obligation to use the National Electronic Delivery System:
| PUBLIC ENTITIES | |
|---|---|
| Government administration bodies and the budgetary units serving those bodies (Article 155(1) of the Act). | from 1 January 2025 |
| Other public authorities, including state audit and law protection bodies and the budgetary units serving those bodies (Article 155(2) of the Act). | |
| The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the funds it manages, and the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS) and the funds managed by the president of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (Article 155(3) of the Act). | |
| The National Health Fund (Article 155(4) of the Act). | |
| Executive agencies, budgetary economy institutions, state special-purpose funds, independent public healthcare institutions, public universities, the Polish Academy of Sciences and the organisational units it creates, state and local government cultural institutions, and other state or local government legal persons established under separate acts to perform public tasks (Article 155(5) of the Act). | |
| Local government units and their associations, metropolitan associations and local government budgetary establishments, as regards the public registered electronic delivery service (Article 155(6) of the Act). | |
| Other public entities (Article 155(9) of the Act). | from 1 January 2025 |
| Local government units and their associations, metropolitan associations and local government budgetary establishments, as regards the public hybrid service (Article 155(6) of the Act). | from 1 October 2029 |
| Courts, tribunals, court enforcement officers, the public prosecutor's office, law enforcement authorities and the Prison Service (Article 155(7) of the Act). | |
| NON-PUBLIC ENTITIES | |
|---|---|
| Persons practising professions of public trust: advocate (adwokat), attorney-at-law (radca prawny), tax adviser, restructuring adviser, patent attorney, notary. | from 1 January 2025 |
| Non-public entities registering in the National Court Register (KRS) from 1 January 2025 (Article 9(1)(1)-(8), Article 155(10) and Article 166(5) of the Act). | |
| Non-public entities registered in the KRS before 1 January 2025 (Article 151(1) of the Act). | from 1 April 2025 |
| Non-public entities filing an application for entry in the CEIDG (Article 152(1) of the Act). | from 1 January 2025 |
| Non-public entities registered in the CEIDG by 31 December 2024, where changes to the entry are made after 30 June 2025 (Article 152(2) of the Act). | from 1 July 2025 |
| Non-public entities registered in the CEIDG by 31 December 2024 (Article 152(3) of the Act). | from 1 October 2026 |
From 1 January 2025, the use of e-Delivery has therefore become mandatory for public entities and persons practising professions of public trust. At a later stage, the obligation to use e-Delivery will also apply to entrepreneurs registered in the KRS and the CEIDG. Natural persons may also use e-Delivery (in their case the Act creates a right, not an obligation).
Setting Up an E-Delivery Address
To use the e-Delivery service, you must set up an e-Delivery address (to do so, complete the application: https://www.gov.pl/web/gov/uzyskaj-adres-do-e-doreczen-u-publicznego-dostawcy-uslugi-e-doreczen and sign it electronically, with a Trusted Profile, an e-ID card or a qualified signature).
E-Delivery for Entrepreneurs
For entrepreneurs, the e-Delivery obligation means having to hold an electronic delivery address. Entrepreneurs, both those running a sole proprietorship and companies entered in the KRS, will have to register an e-Delivery address in the register of electronic addresses, available through the Biznes.gov.pl platform (https://www.gov.pl/web/gov/uzyskaj-adres-do-e-doreczen-u-publicznego-dostawcy-uslugi-e-doreczen). As a result, all official documents will be delivered electronically to the indicated e-Delivery address.
Before the obligation to have an e-Delivery address takes effect, a hybrid service combining electronic and paper form will be available to entrepreneurs. Under this service, the office sends an electronic document to the post office, where it is printed and then sent to the addressee.
See also: Commercial Law (in Polish)
Correspondence Between Natural Persons and Courts and Public Offices
Natural persons are not obliged to use the e-Delivery system, but they may use it voluntarily. Once e-Delivery is activated, official correspondence, including court documents, will be delivered to the natural person's electronic address.
For natural persons using e-Delivery, the system allows correspondence from courts and public offices to be received securely, while meeting the requirements for acknowledgement of receipt and observance of the delivery date.
For natural persons without an e-Delivery address, a hybrid electronic and paper service is available. The office sends an electronic document to the post office, where it is then printed and sent to the addressee.
Flow of Correspondence Between an Advocates' Office and Courts and Public Offices
Under the new provisions, a law firm of attorneys-at-law is obliged to have an electronic delivery address. All court documents, notices and decisions of courts and public administration bodies will be sent electronically to the law firm's registered e-Delivery address. The law firm will likewise send documents electronically through this system.
Summary
The gradual implementation of the obligation to use e-Delivery will cover public entities, entrepreneurs and persons practising professions of public trust, with natural persons able to use it voluntarily.
The new rules guarantee legal equivalence with traditional letter correspondence, while eliminating delays resulting from the previous methods of delivery.
The e-Delivery system provides full security of the flow of documents and confirmation of both the sending and the receipt of correspondence. Procedural time limits will be counted from the moment the document is received in the system, which will eliminate problems connected with delays in traditional post.
