null Transferring a foreign civil status document to the civil status register - transcription

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A foreign civil status document that constitutes proof of marriage, birth, or death and the registration of either, may be transferred to a civil status register in Poland. Transcribing a foreign document consists of a faithful transcription of its content, taking into account only the data provided for by Polish law. 
Here you will find out what you need to do to transfer a foreign civil status record to the Polish civil status register.

Step by step

  1. Come to the Civil Registrar's Office of the Capital City of Warsaw, at ul. T. Chałubińskiego 8.
  2. Complete the application form and sign it.
  3. Submit the application as well as other required documents at the office.
  4. Pay the stamp duty for the transcription.
  5. After processing your application, we will issue a full copy of the document after transcribing  the foreign document or a decision to refuse transcription.

Required documents

  1. Request for transcribing a foreign civil status document.
  2. An original civil status document that is subject to transcription, issued by the foreign authority that produced it. 
    [!] The documents must be translated into Polish by a sworn translator or a Polish consul.
  3. Proof of performing payment for the stamp duty.
  4. The applicant's identity document - identity card, passport - for inspection.
  5. If you wish to handle the matter through an attorney, prepare an appropriate power of attorney. If you wish to submit a copy of such power of attorney it must be certified as a true copy by:
    • a notary or
    • an attorney or legal adviser who is an agent in the case or
    • an authorised official in charge of the case. In such a case, you must also present the original document.

If you wish to verify what rights you have in relation to the processing of your personal data in this case, please read our Information Clause.

Fees

PLN 50 - stamp duty for issuing a full copy after a foreign civil status document has been transferred to the civil status register.
You can perform the transcription fee:

  • at any cash desk of the City of Warsaw,
  • at a stamp duty machine at any of the Civil Registrar’s Offices of Warsaw - if available.
  • by transfer to the office's bank account:

The City of Warsaw
Centre for Taxpayer’s Service
21 1030 1508 0000 0005 5000 0070
In the title of the transfer please enter what the fee is for, e.g. Stamp duty for transcribing the civil status document of XXX XXXXX [insert the name of the person concerned here].
Possible additional charges
PLN 17 - stamp duty for submitting a document that confirms granting a power of attorney. A power of attorney that you grant to a spouse, ascendant (parent, grandparent), descendant (child, grandchild, great-grandchild), or sibling is exempt from the fee.

Application and collection point

Civil Registrar's Office of the Capital City of Warsaw - Movement of Foreigners, ul. T.Chałubińskiego 8.

Unit in charge

Civil Registrar's Office of the Capital City of Warsaw.

Deadline for reply

We will handle your application promptly, in accordance with the order of incoming applications.

Appeal procedure

If the head of the CRO refuses to transcribe the document, an administrative decision will be issued to you. You have 14 days to appeal against it to the Mazovian Governor. Bring or send your appeal to the head of the CRO who issued the decision.

Notes

  1. A civil status document prepared abroad may be transferred to the civil status register at the request of the person to whom it relates or of a person who demonstrates a legal or factual interest in the case of registering a death.
  2. It is impossible to transcribe a foreign civil status document that gives rise to doubts as to its authenticity. The authenticity of the document can be confirmed by:
    • legalization by the Polish consul or 
    • providing it with an apostille clause.

[!] Apostille is an official certificate. It confirms the authenticity of the signature and the capacity in which the person who signed the document acted, as well as the identity of the seal on the document. The Apostille is issued by the authority of the country from which the document comes. The rules for using the apostille are regulated by the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 - the apostille can be used if a given country is a party to this Convention.

  1. You cannot transcribe the same document twice.
  2. A transcription can be performed regardless of whether the person to whom the record relates is a Polish citizen or a foreigner. A foreign civil status document may be entered in the civil status register regardless of its date of issue and the date of the event to which the record relates. 
  3. A foreign civil status document that does not contain all the data required by Polish law has a reduced probative value. Such a document may be complemented or corrected at the request of the person concerned, that person's legal representative, or ex officio.
  4. If you are applying for a transcription of a document confirming marriage in which the spouses can declare the surname they will bear after the marriage and the surname for the children born of that marriage (unless the foreign document contains these details), this application must be signed by both spouses.

Legal basis