Polish e-Delivery 2026 — what foreign companies must do by January 1
From January 1, 2026, every company registered in the Polish KRS — including branches and representative offices of foreign businesses — must have an e-Delivery address. Public authorities stop sending registered mail. Companies without an active ADE receive official correspondence only through legal fiction.
What is e-Delivery
e-Delivery (officially: public registered electronic delivery service) is the Polish electronic equivalent of registered mail. A message delivered via e-Delivery has identical legal force as a registered letter with proof of receipt.
The service operates under the Act of November 18, 2020 on Electronic Deliveries (Dz.U. 2020 poz. 2320) and complies with the eIDAS Regulation for the Electronic Registered Delivery Service (ERDS).
What changes on January 1, 2026
From this date, the obligation to have an Electronic Delivery Address (ADE) registered in the BAE (Electronic Address Database) covers:
- All entities registered in KRS (capital and partnership companies)
- Branches of foreign businesses operating in Poland
- Foreign representative offices
- Companies with foreign capital participation
- Associations and foundations registered in KRS
After this date, state authorities (tax office, social security, KRS, courts, municipal offices) send correspondence exclusively to the ADE address, without physical registered mail.
Consequences of not having ADE after January 1, 2026
If a company doesn't have an active ADE in BAE, the authority:
- Sends the document to the ADE address listed in KRS — if none, to the postal address
- After two notices (paper) or 14 days from posting in BAE — applies the legal fiction of delivery
- Deadlines (responses, appeals, payments) start running from the fictional delivery date
Result: a company may lose a court case, receive a fine for an unanswered tax decision, or miss an appeal deadline without ever knowing the document existed.
How to set up ADE
ADE must be tied to the company (its NIP/KRS), not to an individual. Process:
- Choose a qualified service provider (Certum, ePUAP, Poczta Polska)
- Submit an address application — requires a qualified electronic seal (QSeal) of the company or a qualified signature (QES) of an authorised board member
- Verification — for new clients, video verification of the company representative (15-30 minutes)
- Activation in 1-3 business days — ADE appears in BAE
- Notification setup — email/SMS when a new message arrives
Cost
ADE with a qualified provider (Certum): from PLN 599 per year per company. Included: activation, BAE integration, archival, notifications, Polish-language support.
A cheaper alternative is ePUAP (free) — but requires manual handling by a board member and doesn't integrate with the ERP/eDoc systems used by most foreign companies.
Next steps
Setting up an ADE through our shop takes 3 days from order. If your company doesn't have an address yet — set it up now. After January 1, 2026, every day without ADE means risking missed deadlines in official correspondence.