How do you set upa company in Poland.
You register a spolka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia with the National Court Register, appoint a management board, then register it for tax and social insurance. Teamed does all of it and runs the company afterwards.
Poland at a glance
The facts most people need first
Poland has two genuinely different routes to a company, and choosing between them is the first real decision rather than a formality. One is a state online system that can register you in a day. The other involves a notary and takes longer, but lets you write your own rules.
- Usual company type
- Spolka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, a sp. z o.o.
- Registry
- Krajowy Rejestr Sadowy, the National Court Register
- Fast route
- S24, using the system's template articles
- S24 turnaround
- The registrar decides within 1 day of receipt
- Corporate tax, standard
- 19%
- Corporate tax, small taxpayers
- 9% on non-capital income
The first real decision
S24 or a notary, and it is not only about speed
S24 is the state's own online system. You accept its template articles of association, sign electronically, and the registrar considers the application within one day of receiving it. It is fast and it is cheap, and for a straightforward single-shareholder company it is usually the right answer.
The constraint is the template. S24 gives you the articles it gives you. If you need anything unusual in how shares transfer, how the board decides, or how profits are distributed, the template will not carry it and you need the notarial route instead.
Choosing S24 to save a week and then amending the articles afterwards is the expensive version of this decision. Amendments are themselves notarial acts, so you pay for the notary anyway and have spent the week twice.
Two routes to the same register
Both end with a company in the KRS. They differ in what you can put in the articles and how long it takes to get there.
The system's template articles, electronic signatures, and a decision within a day of receipt. Cheapest and fastest, but the articles are not negotiable.
A deed before a notary, with articles you draft. Slower and more expensive, and the only option if your structure is not standard.
One thing worth checking on any older guide: the 100 zloty charge for publication in the Court and Economic Monitor was removed at the end of November 2025. Anything still quoting it is out of date.
Before you file
What you need to have ready
The filing is quick. The credentials behind it are what set your real start date, particularly for people outside Poland.
S24 needs electronic signatures that Polish systems accept, which means a qualified electronic signature or a trusted profile. Obtaining one from abroad is the single most common delay, and it is worth starting before anything else.
You need a company name, at least one shareholder, and a management board of at least one person who is named publicly and carries real duties. You need a Polish registered address, and you need to state your share capital and how it is divided.
After registration the company is identified for tax and statistical purposes and has to register as a payer of social insurance contributions before anybody is paid. That sequence is what decides your first payroll date rather than the registration itself.
How it runs
How long does it take to register a Polish company
The registry itself is fast on the S24 route, with the registrar deciding within a day of receiving a complete application. What stretches the timeline is everything before and after it.
Electronic signatures obtained
A qualified electronic signature or trusted profile for everyone who has to sign. From abroad this is the long pole.
Route chosen and articles settled
S24's template, or a notarial deed if your structure needs it. Decide once and properly.
Filed with the court register
On the S24 route the registrar considers the application within one day of receipt.
Tax and social insurance registration
The company is identified for tax, then registered as a contributions payer. Payroll cannot run before this.
Bank account and capital
The least predictable step, and worth starting the week the company exists rather than the week you need it.
Setting up your own entity takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the country's registry and how fast you can open a local bank account. Poland's registry is among the fastest in Europe; the signatures and the bank are what set your real date.
What it costs
How much does it cost to set up a Polish company
S24 is the cheap route and the notarial route is not. The gap between them is large enough that it is worth being honest about whether you really need bespoke articles before paying for them.
Market estimate
1,200 to 4,000 złWhat the market charges to form the company and handle the tax and social insurance registrations, S24 at the low end and a notarial deed at the high end. Not a Teamed price.
The tax position is more favourable than the headline suggests for most new companies. The standard corporate rate is 19%, but a 9% rate applies to non-capital income for small taxpayers, meaning prior-year revenue at or below the equivalent of two million euro, and for companies in their first year. A new subsidiary will usually qualify.
Before you commit
Sometimes an employer of record is the better fit
Poland's registry is fast enough to make incorporating look like a small decision. The company that follows is not small: social insurance registration, monthly filings and a management board with real duties all outlive the day you registered.
If the team here is small, still changing shape, or you are testing whether the market works, an employer of record can be the better answer, and it is a fair one rather than a lesser one.
Teamed's employer of record in Poland is a flat €560 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency pairing and one invoice at the end of it. Contractors, employer of record and your own entity all run on one platform, so moving between them later does not mean changing provider or re-onboarding anybody. Real HR and legal experts handle the work, not a ticket queue.
Talk to a member of the team and we will tell you plainly which one suits where you are. If you would rather look at the numbers yourself first, the crossover calculator models it for Poland.
Who carries it
Your own entity, when it's time. We set it up, migrate you in, and hand it back intact.
Global Entity and Employment Operations, which we call GEMO, is how Teamed forms your company, registers it for corporation tax and payroll, runs it month to month and keeps its filings current, across 100+ countries. You stay the employer. We do the work behind it.
In Poland that matters a little more than elsewhere, because Teamed employs through its own local entity rather than a partner. The people who would run your company are the people already running ours.
They set up our EU entity and moved hires across without missing a payroll.
Questions
Questions people ask before they register
What is S24?
The state's online company registration system. You accept its template articles, sign electronically, and the registrar considers the application within one day of receipt.
When do we need a notary instead?
When the template articles will not carry your structure, for example unusual share transfer rules or profit distribution. Amending S24 articles later is itself a notarial act, so choosing wrongly costs the notary fee anyway.
What is the corporate tax rate?
19% standard, but 9% on non-capital income for small taxpayers, meaning prior-year revenue at or below the equivalent of two million euro, and for companies in their first year. Most new subsidiaries qualify for 9%.
Can a non resident register a Polish company?
Yes. The practical obstacle is the electronic signature that Polish systems accept, which takes time to obtain from abroad and is usually the longest step.
Is there still a Court Monitor publication fee?
No. The 100 zloty charge was removed at the end of November 2025, so any guide still quoting it is out of date.
Sources
- Biznes.gov.pl, registering a company through S24
- Ministerstwo Finansow, CIT rates and limits
- Krajowy Rejestr Sadowy, company registration
The rest of the Poland guides
Looking for a job in Entity Setup yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
