In Poland, a notariusz (notary) is a public official whose deed is the legal act, not a clerk who watches you sign. Sell a flat, set up a company, sign a prenup, or grant power of attorney to buy property, and Polish law requires the document to be a notarial deed (akt notarialny). Get the form wrong and the act is not merely informal. It is void (nieważne), as if it never happened. This page explains why Polish law puts a notary in the middle of these deals, what the official actually does, which transactions genuinely require one (and which do not), and what it costs.
What a notary actually is in Poland (and why it isn’t a “notary public”)
A Polish notary is an osoba zaufania publicznego (person of public trust): a public official appointed and given a seat by the Minister of Justice, not a private service you hire to witness a signature. Poland runs a civil-law (Latin-type) notarial system, in which the notary’s job is described as preventing court disputes by guaranteeing the certainty and security of legal transactions. The akt notarialny the notary draws up carries evidentiary weight, and in some cases enforcement force: it can stand in court as proof of what was agreed, and certain notarial deeds can be enforced without first bringing a lawsuit.
The part that surprises newcomers is the sanction for getting the form wrong. Where the law requires a notarial deed, a private contract is void, nieważne, under art. 73 §2 of the Kodeks cywilny (Civil Code). A flat “sold” on a plain signed agreement has not changed owner at all.
This is a vetted office, not a counter job. A notary holds a law degree, completes a 3.5-year aplikacja notarialna (notarial traineeship), passes the notarial exam, serves an asesura (assessorship), and is then appointed. In 2024 Poland had 4,281 notaries across 3,422 offices, organised into 11 regional chambers (izby notarialne) under the National Council of Notaries (KRN). An older Polish word for the same official, rejent, still turns up.
The notary also calculates, collects, and forwards the taxes due on a transaction (such as PCC, the transaction tax, and inheritance and gift tax) along with the court fees, so the parties leave with their obligations to the state already settled.
The word “notary” is what causes the confusion, because it means something much smaller in common-law countries:
| Notary public (common-law) | Notariusz (civil-law) | |
|---|---|---|
| What they do | Witness and certify a signature | Draft the binding legal deed |
| The document | You keep the original | The original akt stays at the office; you receive a wypis (certified copy) |
| Legal weight | Confirms who signed | The deed is the act; carries evidentiary and enforcement force |
| Cost | A small flat fee | A regulated taksa scaled to the transaction |
| The office | Often a light credential | Appointed by the Minister of Justice after a law degree, traineeship, and exam |
Which transactions legally require a notary
For a defined set of acts, Polish law does not leave the choice of form to the parties: the notarial deed is the only valid form, and the catalogue runs well beyond property. The table below is the map. The sections after it cover the acts a foreigner is most likely to meet.
| Transaction | Notarial form required by | If you skip it |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer of real estate (sale, exchange) | Kodeks cywilny art. 158 | Void (KC art. 73 §2) |
| Gift of real estate | KC art. 890 §1 + art. 158 | Void |
| Perpetual usufruct, easement, life estate (dożywocie) | Civil Code (rights over land) | Void |
| Articles of association of a sp. z o.o. | Kodeks spółek handlowych art. 157 §2 | Void |
| Power of attorney to do any of the above | KC art. 99 §1 | The power of attorney is void |
| Marital property agreement (intercyza) | Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy art. 47 §1 | Void |
| Notarial will (testament notarialny) | KC art. 950 | Not required; other will forms remain valid |
| Deed of succession confirmation (akt poświadczenia dziedziczenia) | Prawo o notariacie art. 95a–95p | Not required; the court route is the alternative |
| Declaration rejecting an inheritance | KC art. 1018 §3 | Treated as acceptance of the inheritance |
| Voluntary submission to enforcement (poddanie się egzekucji) | Kodeks postępowania cywilnego art. 777 §1 | It is not an enforcement title |
| Tenant’s eviction declaration in a najem okazjonalny lease | Ustawa o ochronie praw lokatorów art. 19a | The lease loses its okazjonalny status |
| Founding act of a family foundation (fundacja rodzinna) | Ustawa z 26 stycznia 2023 o fundacji rodzinnej | Required to establish the foundation |
Buying or selling property
Transferring ownership of land or a flat is the act foreigners meet most often. Under art. 158 of the Civil Code, ownership of real estate cannot pass by a private contract. Only a notarial deed moves it, and an agreement in any other form is void. Whether you buy a flat, a house, or land in Poland, the closing happens in front of a notary.
The notary does more than record the price. They check the seller’s title and the state of the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta), and they calculate and collect the transaction tax (PCC) and the court fees on the spot. What this costs is set out in the cost section below. Non-EU buyers should also read the foreigner section, because a permit can come first.
Registering a company (a sp. z o.o.)
Setting up a company is the other reason most foreigners sit down with a notary. The articles of association of a sp. z o.o. (a limited liability company) must be a notarial deed under art. 157 §2 of the Kodeks spółek handlowych (Commercial Companies Code); without it the company is not validly formed. Transfers of shares in a sp. z o.o. need notarised signatures, and Poland’s other commercial company types (partnerska, komandytowa, komandytowo-akcyjna, akcyjna, and the prosta spółka akcyjna) are formed before a notary as well.
There is one important exception, and it applies to the most common company: a sp. z o.o. can also be registered online through the S24 system without a notary at all. That route is covered in the next section.
Power of attorney, so someone can act for you
If you cannot be in Poland to sign, someone can act for you, but the power of attorney has to match the act. Art. 99 §1 of the Civil Code sets the rule: a power of attorney takes the same form as the act it authorises. So a power of attorney to buy or sell property, or to form a company, must itself be a notarial deed. An ordinary administrative power of attorney needs only plain writing and a 17 zł stamp duty (opłata skarbowa), with immediate family exempt.
This is the single most useful fact for a buyer abroad: a notarial power of attorney lets a representative in Poland close the deal for you. A power of attorney signed outside Poland is normally apostilled and needs a sworn (przysięgły) translation into Polish. The foreigner section below has more on both.
Inheritance: the notarial deed of succession
When someone dies, the heirs need a document confirming who inherits. Poland offers two routes with the same legal force: a court order confirming acquisition of the estate (postanowienie o stwierdzeniu nabycia spadku), or a notarial deed of succession confirmation (akt poświadczenia dziedziczenia) under art. 95a–95p of the Prawo o notariacie (the Law on Notaries). The notarial route stays out of court, but it is closed to disputed estates and certain special wills, which still go before a judge.
One deadline matters here. An heir who wants to reject an inheritance, to avoid inheriting debts for example, has six months from learning of the inheritance to declare it, under art. 1015 of the Civil Code; the declaration can be made before a notary. Miss the window and the inheritance is treated as accepted. Since 17 March 2026, once the notary issues the deed of succession confirmation, the notary also files the land-register entry that transfers the inherited property, a change covered in full below.
Prenups and wills
Two more acts complete the map. A marital property agreement, an intercyza (for example setting up separate property, rozdzielność, or modifying the default shared estate), must be a notarial deed under art. 47 §1 of the Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy (Family Code), and can be signed before or during the marriage; in any other form it is void.
A will does not have to be notarial, but the notarial will (testament notarialny) under art. 950 of the Civil Code is the safest and hardest to challenge. It is kept at the office and can be entered, free and secret during the testator’s lifetime, in the Notarial Register of Wills (NORT).
When you do not need a notary
Plenty of acts that sound formal do not need a notary at all, and the supply-side pages that fill search results rarely say so. The biggest is forming a sp. z o.o. online. Under art. 157¹ of the Commercial Companies Code, the S24 system’s template articles of association are a statutory equivalent of notarial form: no notary, and a 250 zł court fee instead of the roughly 500 zł notarial route. The trade-off is rigidity. Only cash contributions are allowed and the template cannot be edited, so a tailored deal (contributions in kind, custom clauses) sends you back to the notary.
The same pattern repeats across other acts:
| Act | Notarial deed needed? | Cheaper or simpler route |
|---|---|---|
| Forming a sp. z o.o. | Not always | S24 online template (cash only; 250 zł court fee vs ~500 zł notarial) |
| Ordinary residential lease | No | A plain written contract |
| Making a will | No | A handwritten (holographic) will is valid |
| Everyday power of attorney | No | Plain writing + 17 zł stamp duty |
| Most gifts (other than real estate) | No | Valid once the gift is performed (KC art. 890 §1, second sentence) |
The lease point is worth spelling out, because it is widely misunderstood. An ordinary residential lease is just a written contract. Only the najem okazjonalny (occasional lease) regime adds a notarial element, and even then only the tenant’s declaration submitting to eviction is notarised; the lease itself is not. The landlord must still register the lease with the tax office within 14 days.
What a notary costs: the taksa notarialna
Notary fees in Poland are not a percentage of the deal that the notary sets. They are capped by a government schedule, the taksa notarialna, in the Regulation of the Minister of Justice on maximum notarial fees (consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1566). The figures below are maximums and are net, so add 23% VAT. The schedule is unchanged for 2026.
| Transaction value | Maximum taksa (net, before 23% VAT) |
|---|---|
| Up to 3,000 zł | 100 zł |
| 3,000–10,000 zł | 100 zł + 3% of the excess over 3,000 zł |
| 10,000–30,000 zł | 310 zł + 2% of the excess over 10,000 zł |
| 30,000–60,000 zł | 710 zł + 1% of the excess over 30,000 zł |
| 60,000–1,000,000 zł | 1,010 zł + 0.4% of the excess over 60,000 zł |
| 1,000,000–2,000,000 zł | 4,770 zł + 0.2% of the excess over 1,000,000 zł |
| Over 2,000,000 zł | 6,770 zł + 0.25% of the excess |
The fee never falls below 100 zł or rises above 10,000 zł (7,500 zł for transfers between close family in tax group I).
This is where English-language guides often mislead. Several state that Polish notary fees run “0.25–2%” or “2–3% of the property value.” That is wrong. The statutory scale is regressive, meaning the percentage shrinks as the value rises, and it is capped at 10,000 zł. A higher price does not produce a proportionally higher fee.
Worked example. A 500,000 zł flat falls in the 60,000–1,000,000 zł band, where the base maximum is 2,770 zł net. Property sales and gifts take the half-rate under §6, so the notary’s taksa is about 1,385 zł net, or roughly 1,704 zł gross with 23% VAT. That is the notary’s fee only, not the full cost of the purchase, which is broken down below.
Set fees apply to smaller acts: a simple will is 50 zł, a will with a bequest or disinheritance is 150 zł, rejecting an inheritance is 50 zł, certifying a signature (poświadczenie podpisu) on a document such as a power of attorney is 20 zł (or one-tenth of the value-based rate, up to 300 zł, where the document has a value), and a wypis (the certified copy you take home) costs 6 zł net per started page.
The taksa is only part of what you pay at closing. On a flat purchase the notary also collects, on the state’s behalf:
- PCC, the 2% transaction tax, on the secondary market (new-build developer prices carry 8% VAT instead, with no PCC; first-time buyers may be exempt, see below);
- court fees: 200 zł to enter the new owner, 100 zł to open a new land-and-mortgage register, and 200 zł for a mortgage entry;
- the wypisy (certified copies), roughly 100–200 zł.
Practitioner estimates put the all-in cost for a 500,000 zł flat at roughly 3,400–3,700 zł on the primary market, rising to about 14,000 zł on the secondary market when PCC is due. A sp. z o.o. formed at a notary runs about 1,000–2,000 zł all-in, against roughly 350–375 zł through S24.
Buying property or signing from abroad as a foreigner
Most of the rules above apply to everyone, but foreigners hit three extra wrinkles: a possible permit, language, and signing from a distance.
The permit. Buying real estate as a foreigner can require a permit from the Ministry of the Interior (MSWiA) under the Act of 24 March 1920 on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners. The main exemptions cover most buyers: citizens of the EU, the EEA, and Switzerland are exempt, and a standalone residential unit (a lokal mieszkalny) is generally exempt for everyone. Where a permit is needed, typically a non-EEA buyer purchasing a house or land, it is roughly a two-month process, and the notary checks that it is in order before drawing up the deed.
Language and documents. Documents and powers of attorney used before Polish authorities must be in Polish or carry a sworn (przysięgły) translation, and a power of attorney executed abroad is normally apostilled. If you cannot attend the signing, a notarial power of attorney lets someone in Poland sign for you, which is how most overseas buyers close. Expect to leave with a wypis (a certified copy), not the original deed, which stays at the office.
The first-home tax break. Since 31 August 2023, a buyer of their first residential property on the secondary market is exempt from the 2% PCC; on a 500,000 zł flat that is around 10,000 zł saved. The condition is strict: you must never have owned residential property, in Poland or abroad (an inherited share of 50% or less is allowed). A National Administrative Court ruling of 7 April 2026 (III FSK 281/25) made the exemption proportional where there are co-buyers.
What changed in 2026 (and what is only proposed)
The notary rulebook looks settled, but two things need to be kept apart: one real change that took effect in 2026, and one widely-reported reform that is still only a proposal.
In force since 17 March 2026
After a notary issues a deed of succession confirmation (akt poświadczenia dziedziczenia), or a European Certificate of Succession, the notary now files the application to update the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta) with the new owner, directly and electronically. Heirs used to take a KW-WPIS form to the district court themselves; now the notary handles it, usually needing only the wypis of the deed.
This came in through the Act of 21 November 2025 amending the Law on Notaries and the Act on Land and Mortgage Registers and on Mortgages (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1793), signed by President Karol Nawrocki on 12 December 2025 and in force from 17 March 2026. Practitioner estimates put the post-inheritance register update at the notary at roughly 500–650 zł in total; the statutory court fee for an ownership entry is 200 zł.
This power is specific to inheritance. It does not mean notaries now file every land-register entry.
Proposed, but not yet law
Two further reforms are often written about as if they already exist. They do not. One would let notaries issue a notarialny nakaz zapłaty (notarial payment order) for undisputed, document-proven claims up to 75,000 zł, which would become an enforcement title if the debtor did not object. The other would let notaries make general entries into the land and mortgage register, including mortgages, to cut the long court wait for a mortgage registration. A proposed safeguard would limit this to notaries with three years of unblemished practice.
These have been a Ministry of Justice project since around 2021 and remain in the legislative process as of mid-2026, with no effective date. Treat them as proposals, not current law: the only land-register power that has actually become law is the narrow inheritance one above.
For reference, the current consolidated text of the Law on Notaries is Dz.U. 2026 poz. 614 (a tekst jednolity, or consolidated text, reflecting the law as of 28 April 2026). A separate minor amendment in 2025 (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 479, in force 26 April 2025) adjusted the profession’s own appointment rules and does not affect any of the acts above.