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ShelfCompanies24 has been forming Polish companies for international founders since 1995. Our Warsaw team handles every step of company formation in Poland on a single fixed-price contract — from picking the right legal form through notarisation, KRS registration, NIP, REGON, VAT-EU and your first business bank account. Most clients are trading inside 2–4 weeks (faster via S24 online filing), or on day one if they choose a ready-made Sp. z o.o. instead.
No hidden fees. Single payment covers notariusz, KRS, CRBR, first-year virtual office, bank introduction and our service fee.
Company formation plus virtual office plus banking plus biuro rachunkowe — under one roof.
S24 online formation in 2–5 working days; traditional notarial formation in 2–4 weeks. Dedicated Polish-speaking case manager.
Sign via qualified electronic signature, at any Polish consulate, or delegate to our attorney under pełnomocnictwo notarialne.
We draft the umowa spółki, file in KRS, register for NIP/REGON/VAT/VAT-EU and update CRBR. You get a finished company in PDF.
Polish commercial law offers six forms, but three dominate real-world company formation in Poland: the Sp. z o.o., the P.S.A. and — for larger capital-raising projects — the S.A.
The Sp. z o.o. is the workhorse of Polish commerce, covering more than 85% of newly registered corporate entities. It is governed by the Kodeks spółek handlowych (KSH) — the Polish Commercial Companies Code — and its articles (umowa spółki) are filed publicly in the KRS.
Introduced in 2021 to compete with Estonian and British simplified company forms, the P.S.A. is aimed at founder-led technology ventures and early-stage capital structures. It offers almost total flexibility on share rights.
The Polish equivalent of Germany’s AG. Minimum share capital PLN 100,000, two-tier governance (zarząd + rada nadzorcza). Required for any company planning a Warsaw Stock Exchange listing. Relatively rare for shelf-company buyers but we form S.A. entities on request.
| Form | Min. capital | Formation time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sp. z o.o. | PLN 5,000 | 2–5 days (S24) or 3–6 weeks (notarial) | Default — SMEs, holdings, trade |
| P.S.A. | PLN 1 | 3–6 weeks | Start-ups, VC, founder equity |
| S.A. | PLN 100,000 | 6–10 weeks | Listed groups, large capital |
| Sp. k. (limited partnership) | No minimum | 3–6 weeks | Tax-optimised family holdings |
| Shelf Sp. z o.o. (ready-made) | PLN 5,000 (already paid) | 3–5 working days | Need to trade immediately |
A 30-minute consultation confirms legal form, shareholder structure, business purpose (with appropriate PKD codes — Polska Klasyfikacja Działalności), intended siedziba, kapitał zakładowy and banking preferences.
Poland operates two parallel tracks for Sp. z o.o. registration:
We advise on the right track during the strategy call. Most international clients use notarial formation because template articles rarely suit cross-border deals.
We draft the articles of association in bilingual Polish-English form, aligned with KSH requirements. For S24 the text must match the statutory template (with parameterisable fields); for notarial formation we write bespoke articles covering management, transfers, drag-along, pre-emption, deadlock and exit provisions.
The founder(s) appear before the notariusz — in person in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław or another regional capital, or via a pełnomocnik (attorney) under a notarised power of attorney. Since 1 January 2023 Polish notariusze can also conduct remote notarisations for certain share-transfer acts via the Centralna Baza Aktów Notarialnych; full company formation still requires the original deed but can be delegated.
The zarząd opens a business account with a Polish bank and deposits the full PLN 5,000 (Sp. z o.o.) or PLN 100,000 (S.A.). The bank issues a potwierdzenie wpłaty kapitału (capital-deposit confirmation) that the notariusz attaches to the KRS filing. For P.S.A. the symbolic PLN 1 suffices.
The notary or the founders file electronically with the competent sąd rejestrowy via the Portal Rejestrów Sądowych. Court fee: PLN 500 (new entry) + PLN 100 (publication in MSiG). Processing time depends on the court:
On KRS entry the company automatically receives its NIP and REGON. Within two weeks we file:
Within 14 days of KRS entry, the beneficial owners (any natural person holding > 25% of shares or voting rights) must be disclosed in the Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych. Penalties for non-compliance go up to PLN 1,000,000. We handle the filing.
The kapitał-zakładowy account is converted to a regular business account with the same or a different bank. We introduce you to a relationship manager at PKO BP, Pekao, mBank, Santander, ING Bank Śląski, Alior or Millennium — matched to your sector. SME banking typically activates within 5 working days of KRS entry.
| Scenario | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Sp. z o.o. via S24 online | 2–5 working days |
| Sp. z o.o. via notarial formation (Warsaw) | 3–4 weeks |
| Sp. z o.o. via notarial formation (smaller cities) | 2–3 weeks |
| P.S.A. | 3–6 weeks |
| S.A. | 6–10 weeks |
| Ready-made shelf Sp. z o.o. — transferred rather than formed | 3–5 working days |
Our all-in Polish Sp. z o.o. formation package is typically PLN 4,500–8,500 (≈ €1,050–2,000) depending on complexity, language of delivery and city. For comparison, the unbundled line-items would be:
| Line item | Typical cost (PLN) |
|---|---|
| Notariusz fees — single-shareholder Sp. z o.o. | PLN 1,200 – 2,000 |
| Notariusz fees — multi-shareholder, bespoke articles | PLN 2,500 – 4,500 |
| KRS court fee (new registration) | PLN 500 |
| MSiG publication fee | PLN 100 |
| CRBR filing assistance | PLN 200 – 500 |
| Certified translations (English-Polish) | PLN 200 – 800 per document |
| Apostille (for non-EU founders’ documents) | PLN 150 – 400 |
| First-year virtual office + siedziba | PLN 1,200 – 3,500 |
| Bank account opening | PLN 0 – 1,500 |
| Biuro rachunkowe (monthly accounting) — dormant or micro | PLN 300 – 900 / month |
Most of our foreign clients never travel to Poland. Options for remote company formation in Poland:
Poland combines a competitive headline CIT rate with several founder-friendly regimes:
If you need to issue a Polish invoice, sign a Polish contract or take Polish delivery this week, choose a ready-made spółka gotowa. The KRS number already exists, the kapitał zakładowy is already paid in, and you can change the name and PKD codes post-transfer.
If you can wait 2–4 weeks, have non-standard shareholder structures, want specific PKD codes from day one, or prefer a clean formation story, proceed with new company formation in Poland. Both routes deliver the same Sp. z o.o.; the difference is purely the formation date.
Via S24 online formation, a single-shareholder Sp. z o.o. is KRS-registered within 2–5 working days. Traditional notarial formation runs 2–4 weeks, with the Warsaw courts slowest. If speed is critical, a ready-made shelf Sp. z o.o. transfers in 3–5 working days with the same final legal outcome.
PLN 5,000 (approximately €1,170) — fully paid in cash at formation. Each shareholder’s contribution must be at least PLN 50 (the statutory minimum share nominal value). Polish law is stricter than German law in requiring full payment rather than the German half-up-front rule.
No. Neither shareholders (wspólnicy) nor management-board members (zarząd) need Polish or EU residency, Polish nationality, or a Polish business visa. Every incoming director needs a PESEL (Polish personal identification) or a foreign-identification NIP — we obtain both during onboarding.
S24 is fast and cheap (PLN 350 in court fees versus PLN 500+ for traditional route, plus notary fee savings) but uses a template umowa spółki. If you have foreign investors, non-standard share classes, tag-along / drag-along rights or a pre-agreed shareholder agreement, you must use notarial formation — S24 does not permit these. For simple single-shareholder founding, S24 is the right choice.
Polska Klasyfikacja Działalności codes are Poland’s version of the NACE activity classification. Every company must declare at least one primary PKD and may declare up to nine secondary codes. The wrong PKD can trigger sector-specific licensing requirements (e.g., FinTech, insurance, payment services, alcohol retail). We map the correct PKD codes during onboarding. Changing PKD later is straightforward — an akt notarialny amendment to the articles.
For a small-taxpayer Sp. z o.o. (revenue < €2M): 9% CIT. For a larger Sp. z o.o.: 19% CIT. VAT is 23% standard. If the company uses the Estonian CIT regime, no tax is payable until profits are distributed (then 10% / 20%). Effective combined rates vary widely; we run a tax-route simulation during onboarding.
Yes, but with care. Polish law follows the place-of-effective-management test — if the zarząd operates entirely from another country and all decisions are taken there, the company may be tax-resident outside Poland under a double-tax-treaty tie-breaker. Most clients resolve this by appointing a Polish-resident zarząd member for operational presence and running a bilingual board. We discuss the right setup during the strategy call.
NIP-8 filing for full tax registration, VAT-R filing for VAT/VAT-EU registration, CRBR filing within 14 days, bank account activation, accounting engagement with a biuro rachunkowe. Most clients are fully operational — capable of invoicing, paying suppliers and hiring — within 3–4 weeks of KRS entry.
Yes. ShelfCompanies24 operates exactly that service: we act as your Polish company formation agent without requiring you to live, visit or hold residency in Poland. Every step — notarisation, KRS, NIP, REGON, VAT-EU, bank account, CRBR — is handled by our Warsaw team on your behalf.
Ready to register your Polish company? Contact our Polish desk for a fixed-price proposal covering notariusz, KRS, CRBR and banking. Most projects start within 48 hours of payment.