Company formation in Poland

The work a Polish formation provider takes on

A formation package in Poland usually covers some or all of the following. Ask which of these are included, and which are extra.

• Choosing the form. For many foreign founders this is an sp. z o.o.; a provider should explain when a simple joint-stock company (PSA), a joint-stock company, a branch or a representative office fits better.
• Choosing the route. Online through the S24 system with the government template, or through a Polish notary with articles drafted to your terms.
• Drafting and signing. Articles of association, management board appointments, the shareholders’ list and any resolutions, with sworn translations of your foreign documents.
• Filing. The KRS application, signed electronically by the board or by a Polish lawyer the board appoints.
• Registered address. Many providers offer a virtual office if you have no premises yet.
• After the entry. The NIP-8 supplementary data, the beneficial owner filing with the CRBR, VAT registration and, where agreed, help with the bank account.

The right provider is the one that covers the steps you can’t do yourself. A founder with a Polish electronic signature and a Polish-speaking partner needs much less than a non-resident who has never visited.

Which type of firm suits you: accountant, lawyer or services provider

Three kinds of firm offer company formation in Poland, and each suits a different founder. Of the 252 firms on Accountanty that offer it, 210 are accounting firms, 24 are corporate services providers and 18 are law firms.

By size, 199 of the 252 are small firms, 43 medium-sized and 10 part of a large network.

Accounting firms suit founders who want one team for the formation and the books that follow. Expect a practical, standard sp. z o.o., often on S24, and a bookkeeping contract from the first month.

Law firms suit founders who need bespoke articles: share transfer limits, investor rights, a supervisory board, non-cash contributions or a joint venture. They work with notaries routinely and handle disputes and later changes to the articles.

Corporate services providers suit founders who want a package: formation, address, bank introduction and sometimes a ready-made company. Check carefully what the package does and does not include.

New company or ready-made company

Some providers sell ready-made (shelf) companies: an sp. z o.o. that is already registered and can be transferred to you. Of the formation firms listed here, 17 say they offer shelf companies.

A shelf company can save the waiting time for registration, but you take over an existing legal person with its own history. Before you buy one, ask for the current KRS extract, the CRBR entry, confirmation that it has never traded or a full record of what it did, and the cost of changing its name, board and activity codes. With a court review of 1 day on S24, a new company is often the simpler choice.

What the provider needs from you

Your documents set the pace. A provider can only move as fast as the slowest item on this list.

• Passport copies for every shareholder and board member, and for a corporate shareholder an extract from its home register, its articles and a board resolution, with sworn translations into Polish.
• The business plan in a few lines: activities, the countries you’ll trade with, expected turnover and whether you’ll hire.
• The share capital and who pays it in. The minimum for an sp. z o.o. is PLN 5,000.
• The signing route. Whether each signer has a qualified electronic signature, a trusted profile or a Polish e-ID, or will sign a power of attorney.
• Beneficial owner details for the CRBR filing, including anyone who controls the company indirectly.

Working with a provider from abroad

Many formation questions from non-residents come down to one point: who signs, and how.

On the S24 route, documents are signed with a qualified signature, a trusted profile or a personal e-ID signature. A trusted profile needs a PESEL number, which a foreigner can apply for with company registration as the legal basis. If no signer has one of these, the provider will usually propose the notarial route, with you signing a power of attorney abroad for someone in Poland. Ask early what form the power of attorney must take, because legalisation or an apostille can take longer than the registration.

Two steps often still need you personally. The bank will run its own checks on the board members and beneficial owners. And the CRBR filing can only be made by a person authorised to represent the company, not by a proxy, so at least one board member needs a working electronic signature, or the provider needs a plan for it.

Reading a Polish formation quote line by line

Compare quotes line by line. The official charges are the same whoever files; what differs is the provider’s work and what it leaves out.

Item	What to check
Court fee for the KRS entry	250 zł on S24 or PLN 500 on the notarial route
Gazette announcement	100 zł on S24
Tax on civil law transactions (PCC)	0.5% on the company agreement
Notary fee	Only on the notarial route; ask for it as a separate line
Translations and apostilles	Per document, for foreign passports and corporate papers
Registered address	Monthly or yearly, and the notice period
Provider’s fee	What it covers: drafting, filing, NIP-8, CRBR, VAT-R, bank help
First-year accounting	Monthly fee, what volume it covers, and the annual statements

A quote that shows only one total makes it hard to tell where the money goes. Ask too what happens if the court asks for corrections, and whether that work is included.

How to check a formation firm

You can check a Polish company yourself in the public KRS search; a firm that sells formation should be easy to find there, with its board and address. Beyond that:

• Credentials. Ask who on the team holds a professional qualification, such as a tax adviser licence, and check the name in the relevant official register. Ask whether the firm holds professional liability insurance.
• Languages. Of the formation firms listed here, 126 offer English, 50 Russian, 42 Ukrainian and 15 German. Make sure the person who will handle your file speaks your language, not just the sales contact.
• Foreign clients. 91 of the 252 say they focus on foreign clients. Ask how many non-resident formations they handled recently and which banks they used.
• Scope after registration. A formation firm that does not keep books will hand you to someone else in month one. Decide whether that suits you.

Services after incorporation

The company’s obligations start the day it is entered in the KRS, so the formation firm’s follow-up work matters as much as the filing.

• NIP-8 with the supplementary data, within 21 days of registration.
• CRBR beneficial owner filing, no later than 14 days from the entry.
• VAT-R before the first VAT-taxable sale, and KSeF e-invoicing set up from the start. Mandatory KSeF issuing started on 1 April 2026 for all businesses not already covered from 1 February 2026.
• Full accounting books, which a company must keep from the start, and annual financial statements filed with the KRS.

Many firms that form companies also keep their books. Among the 252, 239 offer accounting, 243 tax compliance, 210 VAT and 220 payroll. Fewer cover the specialist items: 75 offer corporate secretarial work such as board changes and annual resolutions, 48 bank account assistance and 47 residency and visa applications.

Red flags when choosing a provider

• Promises about your tax bill. A provider can explain the 19% and 9% CIT rates; no one can promise what your company will pay before it trades.
• A promised bank account. The bank decides, not the provider.
• No written scope. If the engagement letter doesn’t list the CRBR and NIP-8 filings, assume they’re not included.
• A residence promise. Registering a company and getting a residence permit are separate procedures with separate conditions.
• Pressure to buy a shelf company without the KRS extract and the company’s records.

Finding a provider by city

Much of the formation work can be done remotely, but a firm in the city where you’ll have your office can also handle the address, meetings with the bank and later visits to the tax office. On Accountanty, 110 firms in Warsaw offer company formation, 69 in Wroclaw and 67 in Krakow. If you need help in a specific language, the accountants for foreign clients page lists the firms with a foreign-client focus.

Getting started with company formation in Poland

Decide first what you need help with: the signature, the articles, the bank or the books. Then compare two or three firms on the same written scope. For company formation in Poland, browse the firms on this page, or send one free quote request through Accountanty and we’ll forward it to suitable firms.