How to set up a sole trader business (JDG) in 2026 – step by step

Setting up a sole trader business (JDG) in 2026 takes, in practice, one day, as long as you have the basic decisions prepared: the codes of the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD), the form of taxation and the start date. The whole registration is done online – you submit the application to the Central Register and Information on Business Activity (CEIDG-1) through the biznes.gov.pl portal with a Trusted Profile or a qualified signature.

This guide takes you from the moment you decide to set up a company to issuing your first invoice in KSeF (the national e-invoicing system). We assume you have had no previous contact with business bureaucracy – we describe every step and point out the traps new entrepreneurs most often fall into.

Step 1 – decisions before registration

Before you sit down to the CEIDG-1 form, answer five questions:

1. What will I do? – your industry determines the PKD codes (details in the article How to choose PKD codes)
2. What form of taxation? – the scale, the flat tax or the lump-sum tax; read Which form of taxation to choose
3. VAT straight away, or do I use the exemption? – the exemption limit is PLN 240,000 of annual sales
4. Am I entitled to the Start-up Relief (ulga na start) and preferential ZUS (Polish social insurance) contributions? – see the article on the Start-up Relief and preferential ZUS contributions
5. Will I hire anyone in the first year? – this changes the reporting obligations

The sooner you answer these questions, the smoother the registration will be. At Profais we always encourage a short consultation before CEIDG.

Step 2 – the CEIDG-1 application

You submit the application online at biznes.gov.pl – you log in with a Trusted Profile (from your bank) or a qualified signature. In one form:

• you register the business in the CEIDG register
• you are given a NIP and a REGON (tax identification and statistical business numbers), if you do not have them from other grounds
• you register with the tax office as a PIT taxpayer
• you register with ZUS (Polish social insurance) as a contribution payer
• you choose the form of taxation (scale / flat tax / lump-sum tax)

After an official approves the application (usually 1 working day, often the same day) you have an active entry in CEIDG. The public data is visible straight away in the CEIDG search – customers and banks can verify you.

Step 3 – a business account and the white list

The first thing after registration is to open a bank account for the company. You declare the business account in the CEIDG-1 application; if you are registered for VAT, the account will appear in the list of VAT payers (on the white list).

The white list is a public list of the bank accounts of active VAT payers. Since 2020 every B2B transaction over PLN 15,000 must go to an account from this list. If you pay to an account outside the list, you may lose the right to count the expense as a cost, and for VAT you may be jointly and severally liable with the supplier. The details are in the article The VAT white list – how to check your suppliers.

Step 4 – registration with ZUS

In CEIDG-1 you tick the insurance title (business activity). ZUS accepts the registration and sends the ZUS ZUA form (insurance) or ZUS ZZA (health insurance only – if you use the Start-up Relief) to your profile on the ZUS Electronic Services Platform (PUE ZUS).

In the first 24 months you will most often use:

• The Start-up Relief (ulga na start) – 6 months without social insurance contributions to ZUS, health insurance only
• Preferential ZUS contributions – the next 24 months, with a base of 30% of the minimum wage (in 2026 that is PLN 1,441.80 – one amount for the whole year)

The details and conditions are in the article on the Start-up Relief, preferential ZUS contributions and Mały ZUS Plus.

Step 5 – VAT registration (optional)

If you choose to be an active VAT payer straight away (instead of using the exemption for small taxpayers), you file a VAT-R – a separate application, usually together with CEIDG-1 or before the day of the first taxable transaction (Article 96(1) of the VAT Act). After registration you get an EU VAT number (if you plan to sell to the EU) and you must start issuing invoices in KSeF.

Step 6 – e-Delivery

From 1 October 2026 every entrepreneur entered in CEIDG must have an electronic delivery address entered in the database of electronic addresses. For a sole trader, registration is free through biznes.gov.pl. Correspondence from ZUS, the tax office and other authorities goes from then on to this address. The details are in e-Delivery – how to set it up.

Step 7 – the first invoice

After all the formalities you can start selling. An invoice issued in KSeF receives an identifying number (the KSeF number) from the Ministry of Finance’s system. It does not replace the invoice number you gave it – the invoice has both. The whole procedure is described in the article on how to issue your first invoice in KSeF.

Checklist – what you must have

• ☐ A Trusted Profile (from your bank) or a qualified signature
• ☐ A decision on the form of taxation (scale / flat tax / lump-sum tax)
• ☐ A list of PKD codes
• ☐ A business address (it can be your home address)
• ☐ A business bank account (opened after registration)
• ☐ A decision on VAT-R registration (or using the exemption up to PLN 240,000)
• ☐ An account on PUE ZUS (automatically after CEIDG-1)
• ☐ An e-Delivery address

What next

If you have never run a company before, after the first 2–3 months the need for a bookkeeper most often appears – so that you do not get lost in JPK_V7 (the monthly VAT return file), ZUS contributions and PIT advances. Profais looks after one-person businesses in the variant of the revenue and expense ledger (KPiR) or recorded lump-sum tax, from PLN 270 a month net (plus 23% VAT), and when you sign a contract with us, we guide you through setting up the company, registration and KSeF access free of charge. Get in touch with us – we prepare a profitability analysis in 2 working days.

Sources: biznes.gov.pl, ceidg.gov.pl, ksef.mf.gov.pl.