What is a Trusted Profile?
Polish Trusted Profile (ePUAP) is a service with which you can confirm your identity to various Polish institutions. In fact, it is a kind of electronic signature – you can use it for signing electronic documents with a trusted signature, emphasizing its utility in the digital submission and authentication of electronic documents. This functionality effectively replaces the need for a handwritten signature in official matters, streamlining interactions with the Electronic Platform of Public Administration Services. Nonetheless, you must remember that it is not a qualified electronic signature, it will not be recognized as your own signature. As a result, it cannot be used in private business, but only to deal with official authorities like the Tax Office etc.
How Trusted Profile can be used?
Polish Trusted Profile can be used for various activities, such as:
register for permanent residence while being a foreigner,
set up, suspend and resume a one-man business activity (individual business activity),
sign the financial statements of a limited liability company (as a member of its Management Board),
sign Articles of Association for creating a Limited Liability Company in Poland,
obtain a copy of civil status documents,
register for an appointment with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS),
apply for a European Health Insurance Card.
The above-mentioned are just examples, as the entire spectrum of possibilities of using the Trusted Profile is very broad. It streamlines handling official matters and accessing a wide range of online services provided by the Polish public administration. In conclusion it can become very handy in running your business.
How to set up a Polish Trusted Profile?
Most importantly it is free – you do not have to pay anything to obtain Trusted Profile. Nonetheless, to create a trusted profile, you must obtain a PESEL number and use electronic banking for authentication on the ePUAP platform, which is essential for accessing various public services online. Without it, you will not be able to complete the whole procedure.
After you will get your PESEL number you will have to:
register an account on Polish Governmental Website,
prove your identity.
And that’s it – you can use your Trusted Profile. While registering an account on a government website should not be a problem, the most difficulties come with confirming your identity – below you will find all the possible ways to do so.
Passport or ID Card
The most common method of proving identity is by using a document – either a passport or identity card. The only way to do this is visiting in person a specified government office and meet with the civil servant.
When registering an account, as the method of verifying your identity you should choose to visit an office:
You then need to complete your details on the registration form. Once you have set up your account, you must go to the office of your choice within 14 days and confirm your identity with you document.
List of places where you identity can be confirmed can be found here – List of Confirmation Points. It can be done in every city in Poland and in other countries (in embassies and diplomatic posts).
Bank account in Polish bank
Another popular method is using your bank account to verify your identity online. Unfortunately, it can only be an account set up in a Polish bank.
Firstly, you must choose this method to confirm your identity online through your bank account:
Afterwards, you must choose your bank, log in to your account, provide all the necessary authorizations, and the Trusted Profile will be created. In the future, every time you use the Trusted Profile, you will need to log in to your electronic banking. Below is a list of banks that allow you to set up a Trusted Profile (as of 18.02.2024):
Qualified electronic signature
Another method of confirming identity is the use of a qualified e-signature. Firstly you will have to download governmental application called ‘Podpis Kwalifikowany’ (Qualified Signature).
The general process is very similar to confirming your identity with documents, except that you can choose to confirm your identity with an e-signature instead of at a branch. This qualified electronic signature serves the same legal purpose as a handwritten signature, emphasizing the transition from traditional to digital verification methods.
After the registration is done, and the motion for obtaining Trusted Profile has been generated you can sign it with your e-signature using governmental app.
