Legal address and “virtual office” for a company in Poland

In order to open a company in Poland, a business owner shall take care of its registration location. And here there are two key questions:

1. Which city in Poland should be chosen for registration?
2. How to choose a registration address and in what format to organize an official place of business: hire a physical office or just a correspondence address, use the services of a “virtual office” or register a company at the place of residence in Poland.

First of all, it should be noted that in Polish law there are two different concepts regarding the place of registration of a company, namely: “siedziba spółki”, which can be translated as “company office”, and “adres spółki”, which is the actual address of the company itself.

“Company office” (siedziba spółki) is a city or town in Poland, where the company is registered, for example Rzeszow, Wroclaw, Warsaw or Lublin. Information about the city of registration is a mandatory clause of the founding agreement of a Polish company (articles of association).

The company address (adres spółki) is the specific address at which the company is registered, including the city, street, house, office or apartment number. The address is not included in the articles of association, but is determined by the board within the territory of the “company office” and is indicated in the register of legal entities.

The choice of a locality for registration (siedzibaspółki) depends on the specifics of the business itself. For some, it is determined by the location area: for example, in the capital (for better positioning), or near the border or the sea (for reasons of optimal logistics). For some, the area is not of particular importance, but the cost of real estate or labor is important. For others, this is not important either, but the key role is played by the specifics of the work of government agencies (tax office, customs or labour office). When choosing a city for registration, determine what is a priority for you and consult with a specialist about possible reservations.

Next, we determine the company’s address. This shall be done before registering the company, since these addresses are submitted to the register court along with all other documents at the initial stage of creating a company.

When choosing an address, there are two things to consider:

1. The importance of postal correspondence in Poland

In this country, the exchange of letters is still very important, since this is how government agencies most often communicate with businesses. Therefore, when choosing a registration address, you shall make sure that letters from government agencies will reach you and will reach you on time.

2. The need for a lease (sublease) agreement for premises

After registering a company, at the stage of opening a bank account and obtaining VAT payer status, you shall provide the bank and the tax office with an agreement confirming the legality of the company’s use of the registration address.

Our experience shows that the best option in this context is to draw up a lease agreement for the premises (or part of the premises). With other forms of agreements (such as an address use agreement), there is a high risk of refusal to open an account and grant you the status of a VAT payer.

Based on this, you should understand how it would be best for you to organize the official place of business of the company in Poland. There are three such ways:

1. Set up a real office

There is an opinion that the best solution to the address issue is to register a company in its own or rented office. It is believed that in the eyes of government agencies , a company with a real office is treated best.

However, this option can be considered successful only if there is a representative of your company in the office who will be able to receive incoming correspondence and promptly inform you about it. This is not always the case. On the other hand, a significant disadvantage of a real office is the costs of its maintenance (rent, purchase of equipment, payment to employees, etc.).

2. Use your home address in Poland to register a company

Sometimes business owners consider registering a company at their address of residence in Poland. This option generally cannot be considered successful.

Firstly, as noted, to open a bank account and obtain VAT payer status, you shall sign a lease agreement or documents of title to the premises. If you rent housing, you shall obtain the owner’s consent to use its property for business purposes (even if this is only an address for registering a company). Practice shows that homeowners, as a rule, have a negative attitude towards such initiatives.

Secondly, when changing your home, you shall change the company’s address in the register, which in the case of an enterprise is not a very simple procedure.

Thirdly, in the event of an inspection, a representative of the regulatory authority will be forced to come directly to your home, and this is not suitable for everyone.

Fourthly, registration at a home address may be inappropriate for some types of business. For example, if you are engaged in wholesale trade, construction work or transportation, then registering a company at home may complicate communication with the tax authorities in Poland.

You can consider your home address as the place of registration of your company when:

• you are registering an individual entrepreneur, not a company;
• you are working in the IT field as a freelancer.

Under these conditions, you will be able to quickly change your registration address if necessary, and your home-based business activity will be treated by regulatory authorities as a normal and acceptable option for work.

3. Register a company for a “virtual office”

The most common way to organize a company’s official place of business in Poland, and therefore its registration address, is a “virtual office”. This is a service of specialized companies that ensure the functioning of your company’s legal address in Poland, accept correspondence on its behalf and notify you of this.

The virtuality of such an office is conditional. In essence, it is a real office space with a real address, in which, in addition to your company, other enterprises are also registered. Managers work in the office on a permanent basis, whose main task is to process the correspondence of client companies.

When working with a “virtual office” you get:

• legal address for company registration in Poland;
• lease agreement for part of the premises required by the bank and regulatory authorities;
• services of a manager for receiving your company’s correspondence, scanning letters and forwarding copies to you.

Of course, there are many different offers of “virtual office” on the Polish market, but it is worth choosing those companies that provide these key options.

If you need a registered address for a Polish company and “virtual office” services – contact us!

We will be able to offer you optimal solutions!

Call me: +48 728 386 766!

I will tell you about all this in more detail!

Dominika Czastka 

Partner of Romaniuk & Partners Law Firm,

legal adviser in Poland