PESEL

 

PESEL (Polish: Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludności, Universal Electronic System for Registration of the Population) is the national identification number in Poland. It consists of 11 digits that are unique to every registered person. The format is as follows:

YYMMDDPPPPK

  • YY – Last two digits of the year of birth
  • MM – Month of birth
  • DD – Day of birth
  • PPPP – A random number, where the last digit indicates the person's gender (odd for males, even for females)
  • K – A randomly generated check digit

 

Every foreigner in Poland is required to register their address at the district office corresponding to where they reside. This registration process automatically includes assigning a unique PESEL number. Therefore, technically, every international student and worker in Poland should have a PESEL.

This is particularly important if you are an employee. Until 2018, employers hiring international workers could use a Tax Identification Number (NIP) to settle taxes, but now this applies only to individuals engaged in their own business activities. As a result, having a PESEL number is the only way for regular employees to fulfill their tax obligations.

While it is recommended to register your address, you can obtain a PESEL number without doing so. To do this, you need to fill in an application form (in Polish) and submit it to:

  • The office of the district where you live (if you have already registered your address)

  • The office of the district where your employer’s headquarters are located

The addresses of the offices can be found here.