e-Doręczenia for sole proprietors (JDG): the deadline has passed. What now?

If you run a one-person business (a JDG, short for jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, a sole proprietorship) and still don’t have an address for e-Doręczenia (e-Delivery, Poland’s electronic registered mail), it’s time to catch up. The statutory deadline passed on 30 September 2026, and from 1 October the address is mandatory. The good news: you can usually file the application in one evening, and this article walks you through it step by step.

I’m writing as of 17 October 2026. This is not legal advice, just a practical overview of the rules. I rely on the ustawa o doręczeniach elektronicznych (Act on Electronic Delivery) and on what Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs (Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji) publishes at gov.pl/e-doreczenia. Look there too before you go ahead, because the details of the procedures can change. Where I’m not sure, I say so plainly.

What changed on 1 October and who is affected

E-Doręczenia is the electronic equivalent of registered mail (list polecony). A public office or another public institution (courts have until 1 October 2029) sends a letter to your address in a dedicated system, and you collect it after logging in. Such a letter has the same legal effect as registered mail.

The obligation was phased in. According to the Act on Electronic Delivery and the schedule on gov.pl, it looks like this:

If your business has been operating for years, you are most likely in the second row, which means the deadline has just passed. The basis is Articles 151 and 152 of the Act on Electronic Delivery (consolidated text: Journal of Laws, Dz.U. 2026, item 3). Anyone who has filed an application to amend their CEIDG entry since 1 July 2025 already had to provide the data for creating the address at that time.

Step 1: check whether you already have an address

Before you set up a new one, make sure you don’t already have one. The address may have been created earlier, for example when the CEIDG entry was amended, or your accountant may have set it up.

1. Ask your accountant or accounting firm whether they set up an address on your behalf.
2. Search your email (including spam) for a message confirming that an e-Doręczenia mailbox was created.
3. Log in to the e-Doręczenia mailbox on gov.pl: if the business already has an address, you will see it there. A private address, set up for example in the mObywatel app, doesn’t count, because the business needs a separate one.

If you find no trace of one, assume you don’t have an address and move on to the next step.

Step 2: set up your e-Doręczenia address

For a JDG, the ministry points to an application through an e-service on Biznes.gov.pl (it can also be filed together with the application to amend the CEIDG entry). Getting an address from a public provider is free. This is how I would go about it:

1. Get your signature ready. The application is signed with a Trusted Profile (profil zaufany), a qualified signature or a personal signature (e-dowód, the electronic ID card).
2. Go to Biznes.gov.pl (the link is also on gov.pl/e-doreczenia) and choose the application for an electronic delivery address for a business. Don’t look for shortcuts on intermediary sites, because it’s easy to land on a paid offer you don’t need.
3. Choose a service provider. You can pick the free public service or a qualified commercial provider. For an ordinary JDG that receives a few letters a year, the public service is enough.
4. Give an email for notifications. This is a very important step, because that is where the information about a new letter will arrive. Use an address you read every day.
5. Activate the mailbox following the instructions in the email you receive after the application is processed. Save your e-Doręczenia address (it looks something like AE:PL-…) and take a screenshot of the confirmation.

The application itself usually takes 10 to 20 minutes, as long as you have your login details at hand. You will have to wait for the activation email. If you get stuck, call the helpline listed on gov.pl or ask your accountant for help.

How delivery works and why 14 days matters

This is the most important part, because this is where the real risk lies. A letter sent to your address works like registered mail. If you don’t collect it, it is deemed delivered on the day after 14 days have passed since it arrived in your mailbox (Art. 42(2) of the Act on Electronic Delivery). From that moment deadlines start to run, for example for a reply or an appeal.

That means you don’t have to open a letter for it to take effect against you. Check the exact method of counting deadlines in the Act, because the details matter.

Example from a small business

This is an illustration, not a real case. Mr. Marek has run a one-person plumbing business since 2016. His accountant set up his e-Doręczenia address but gave an old email address that nobody reads as the one for notifications.

• On 20 October an office sends a request for clarification to the e-Doręczenia address.
• Mr. Marek doesn’t log in to the mailbox, because he doesn’t know it exists.
• The 14 days end on 3 November, so the letter is deemed delivered the next day, 4 November.
• Suppose the office gives 14 days to reply, counted from delivery. The last day is 18 November, and Mr. Marek learns about everything after the fact.

Had the notifications gone to a working email address, he would have seen the message on 20 October, collected the letter right away and had a full 14 days to reply calmly, until 3 November. The whole difference is one working email address and the habit of checking the mailbox.

Does not having an address carry a penalty?

The Act on Electronic Delivery does not provide for a fine for simply not setting up an address, and the ministry’s questions and answers on gov.pl don’t mention one either. Don’t believe figures circulating on forums if nobody cites an article of the Act.

When a business has no address, the office sends the letter through the hybrid service: the document is printed and delivered by a postal operator, so it takes longer. The real risk begins when the address already exists and nobody checks the mailbox: a missed letter, a missed deadline and a case settled without your involvement. So don’t put off the obligation just because “nobody is punishing it yet”, and set up working notifications right away.

Checklist for today

Print it or copy it into your notes:

• [ ] Checked whether the business already has an e-Doręczenia address (accountant, email, mailbox on gov.pl).
• [ ] If not: application filed through Biznes.gov.pl, mailbox activated.
• [ ] E-Doręczenia address and login details saved in a safe place.
• [ ] Notification email given, and someone reads it every day.
• [ ] Test message sent to that email and it doesn’t end up in spam.
• [ ] Calendar reminder set: log in to the mailbox once a week.
• [ ] Accountant knows the address works, and it is agreed who collects the letters.
• [ ] Extra login protection switched on, if the provider offers it.

If someone in the company is to cover for you while you’re on vacation, agree right away who logs in to the mailbox and how.

Business email and domain: what to take care of while you’re at it

Notifications from the system arrive as ordinary email. If you use an address on your company domain, make sure the mail works and that messages from the system don’t land in spam. Many businesses have their SPF, DKIM and DMARC records set up wrongly, which makes messages disappear. I described how to fix this in the guide Business emails landing in spam? SPF, DKIM and DMARC step by step.

You can check for free whether your domain and email are in order with the Check your website tool: the “Domain and email” area shows SPF and DMARC. If you don’t have your own domain or email on your company domain, you can set them up as part of the domain and hosting service. Just remember that the e-Doręczenia address is a separate mailbox and won’t replace regular business email.

Summary

The obligation has applied since 1 October, and the worst thing you can do is keep waiting. Set up the address, give a working email for notifications and check the mailbox once a week. It will take you one evening and will spare you the situation from Mr. Marek’s example.

If you want me to check the email on your domain or take care of regular technical checks of your website and email, write to me. I can also cover your business with technical maintenance. I reply within 24 hours.