Polish Identity Card

Polish Identity Card

Every Polish citizen over 18 who is resident in Poland must have an Identity Card (Dowód osobisty) issued by the local administration. Polish citizens living permanently abroad are entitled to have a card but it is not compulsory for them to have one. Identity Cards are issued for the period of 10 years (5 years if owner is under 18 at the date of issuing).

On the front there is a photo of the owner, given name, surname, date of birth, parents' names, sex and owner's signature.

On the right side there is the coat of arms of the Republic of Poland, a security hologram, date of expiry and card number.

On the back there is address, place of birth, height, eye colour, date of issue, issuing authority and personal number (PESEL - Powszechny Elektroniczny Spis Ewidencji Ludności - Universal Electronic Population Database) in the form of hologram. Below the PESEL is the card number and the data in machine-readable form.

As of January 2015 identity cards in Poland will have an electronic chip which will function as an electronic signature, which can be used as identification over the Internet. For example, a Polish citizen will be able to pay taxes (in Polish PIT - Personal Income Tax) this way.

Polish identity card is a travel document inside the European Union and, additionally, non-EU-member countries that are within the Schengen area - Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Vatican City, San Marino and Monaco. Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Northern Cyprus allow travel on the card too.