Table of contest:
- Features and functionality of the service
- Terms of use and implementation process
- Step-by-step guide to signing
- Application: private life versus professional life
- The role of suppliers
Poland’s implementation of eIDAS 2.0 is a year ahead of the EU timetable. The amended regulation requires Member States to provide natural persons with a free qualified digital signature for private use.
In Poland, a pilot scheme that is unique in Europe has now been running for six months. Since 23 October 2025, Poland has been the first country in the European Union to provide its citizens with a free qualified digital signature via the government’s mObywatel mobile app. This service allows adult users to sign up to five documents per month for private matters, providing them with a tool that has the same legal force as a handwritten signature and is recognised throughout the EU.
In the first week alone since the pilot scheme began, around 4,000 people had already used the qualified digital signature service in mObywatel, and by the end of 2025, nearly 60,000 signed documents had been recorded. This implementation is a key element of preparations for the full roll-out of the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) in accordance with the eIDAS 2.0 Regulation. The solution was developed as part of a public-private partnership involving the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Central IT Centre and five qualified trust service providers.
The pilot in mObywatel allows for the collection of user feedback and the verification of technological assumptions prior to the final transformation of the application into a fully-fledged European Digital Identity Wallet – mObywatel Europa.
Features and functionality of the service
The new service significantly lowers the barriers to entry into the field of digital documentation, eliminating the previous costs associated with obtaining a qualified digital signature for personal use.
Key technical parameters and limits
- Quantity limit: Users maysubmit 5 free signatures per calendar month.
- File format: The service supports PDF documents only.
- Document size: The maximum size of a file to be signed is 5 MB.
- Availability beyond the limit: Once the 5 free signatures have been used, further services are available for a fee in accordance with the providers’ commercial price lists.
- Platforms:The service is available directly via themObywatel app and via the website podpis.mObywatel.gov.pl.
Legal validity and security
A qualified digital signature is based on a certificate confirming the authenticity and integrity of a document. It satisfies the requirements for written form as defined in the Civil Code and is presumed to be valid following verification. It is widely recognised by businesses and institutions throughout the European Union.
Terms of use and implementation process
To use the service, users must meet a number of technical and formal requirements that guarantee the highest level of identification security (LoA High).
User requirements
- Age of majority:This service is available only to persons aged 18 or over.
- Digital identity:You must have an active mID in the mCitizen app (version 4.69.0 or later).
- Physical document:You must hold a valid e-ID card (a plastic ID card with an electronic chip issued after 4 March 2019).
- Equipment:A smartphone equipped with an NFC module (for reading the e-ID card).
Step-by-step guide to signing
The process has been designed as an intuitive step-by-step guide. In the mObywatel app, the steps are as follows:
- Select the ‘Qualified Signature’ service under the ‘Official Matters’ category in the app.
- Select one of the available trust service providers (redirect to the provider’s website).
- Select the file to be signed.
- Initial identity verification via themObywatel app.
- Verify the e-ID by entering the CAN number and holding the document against the phone’s NFC antenna.
- Confirmation of the data transferred to the provider from theeID.
- Approval of the signature (often via a push notification) and downloading of the signed file.
When signing via the podpis.mObywatel.gov.pl website, After logging in (e.g. via the mObywatel app) and being redirected to the signature provider’s dedicated page, you must scan a special QR code generated by the selected provider (this is done using a special function called ‘Scan QR code for qualified signature’, located in the QR code section of the mObywatel app).
Important! An undeniable advantage of this solution is that, in both procedures described above, knowledge of the eID PIN codes is not required to provide a signature. The signing mechanism uses the so-called ‘presence certificate’ built into every eID. The presence certificate in the eID is an automatic, free component of the electronic layer of every new ID card (since 4 March 2019), which enables the holder’s presence to be confirmed at a specific place and time (e.g. at a government office or a notary’s office) without the use of a PIN code. It operates contactlessly and is active by default.
Application: private life versus professional life
The free signature service in mObywatel is subject to the condition that it is used exclusively for non-professional purposes, in accordance with the accepted definition of non-professional use. In accordance with the regulations, the free signature is intended for use by a natural person to express their will on their own behalf in private matters. It may not be used in the course of business or professional activities, nor to represent third parties (e.g. companies or administrative bodies).
The role of suppliers
The launch of the service is the result of extensive cooperation between the public sector and qualified trust service providers (QTSPs).
Users can choose from five accredited providers:
- SimplySign (Asseco Data Systems).
- Cencert (Enigma Systemy Ochrony Informacji).
- mSzafir (KIR).
- SIGILLUM (Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych).
- doPodpisu (EuroCert).
Publication date: 23.04.2026