Since 1 July 2011, it has been possible to register business activities in Poland through the Internet, provided that the entrepreneur has a trusted profile or electronic signature.

The Central Register and Information on Business Activity (Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej - CEIDG, in Polish), which is run by the Ministry of Economy (Ministerstwo Gospodarki, in Polish), has introduced the CEIDG-1 form to replace the EDG-1 form. The new form is available from the ceidg.gov.pl and firma.gov.pl websites.

The CEIDG-1 form facilitates the registration of business activities, and significantly enhances processes related to the application, suspension, resumption or closing of a business. It enables the matter to be settled within a day on account of the automatic flow of data between the respective records offices.

The new service requires the use of an electronic signature, verified with an eligible certificate or with a trusted profile (profil zaufany, in Polish), a service available free of charge on the electronic Platform of Public Administration Services (ePUAP). In order to obtain a trusted profile the entrepreneur needs to log in to the ePUAP website, fill out the request for the establishment of the trusted profile, and then certify the profile to confirm their identity. They will have to go once in person to the relevant authority in order to have electronic access to the services of the public authorities without the need for the costly possession of an electronic signature.

Source: Centrum Projektów Informatycznych