Can you sign a Polish rental agreement online or by courier, and will it be valid?

Yes. An ordinary rental agreement in Poland can be signed at a distance, and the most reliable way is this: each party signs a paper copy by hand and the parties exchange the signed documents, for example by courier (art. 78 § 1 of the Civil Code). A qualified electronic signature (QES) counts as the written form too (art. 78¹). A scan or an e-mail gives only the “documentary form”: that is enough for a lease of up to a year, while a longer lease stays valid but is treated as concluded for an indefinite period (art. 660).

Najem okazjonalny, the “occasional lease”, cannot be arranged entirely remotely: it needs a notarial deed, and a notary receives clients in the office.

This article is written by allproperty, an agency that finds flats for tenants, so the last section explains our own terms. It is general information, not legal advice. We checked the provisions against the published acts on eli.gov.pl on 7 October 2026. Where the text says “the law requires”, an article number follows; “usually” and “estimate” mark practice and our own opinion.

Can I sign a rental agreement in Poland from a distance?

Yes. For an ordinary lease (najem) the law does not require the parties to meet. What depends on the method of signing is something else: whether the fixed term survives. In short:

Method	Form under the Civil Code	Lease up to 1 year	Lease longer than 1 year	Najem okazjonalny (the lease itself)
Paper copies signed by hand, exchanged by courier (art. 78 § 1)	written	valid	valid, term kept	works
Qualified electronic signature, QES (art. 78¹)	electronic, equal to written	valid	valid, term kept	works
Scan, photo, e-mail, messenger (art. 77², 77³)	documentary	valid	valid, but the term is lost: the lease becomes open-ended	does not work, the lease is void
Podpis zaufany	not a QES; art. 20ae sec. 2 of the computerisation act gives it the effect of a handwritten signature “unless separate provisions provide otherwise”, and whether art. 78¹ is such a provision is open	valid	open question: use paper or a QES (estimate)	open question: use paper or a QES (estimate)

A lease of up to one year, including exactly twelve months, need not be in writing at all: art. 660 speaks of a lease “for longer than a year”. Even so, you want a written copy, if only to prove the term and the amounts of czynsz (rent) and kaucja (deposit) later (estimate).

What form does a lease longer than one year need?

Writing. Art. 660 of the Civil Code says that a lease of premises for longer than a year should be concluded in writing. If the form is not met, the lease does not become invalid: the law treats it as concluded for an indefinite period. Lawyers call this form “ad eventum”: it is required not as proof but so that a particular result follows, here the keeping of the term.

In practice it works like this. You agree on 18 months but sign by e-mail. Legally you have an open-ended lease, and “18 months” is no longer a term. For a flat with monthly rent, art. 688 sets notice “at the latest three months before the end of a calendar month”, and if the lease has its own notice periods, those apply (art. 673 § 1). A landlord cannot end an ordinary residential lease for any reason: art. 11 sec. 1 of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights allows it only on the grounds the Act lists, in writing and with the reason stated.

Is a lease signed through a courier valid?

Yes. Art. 78 § 1 of the Civil Code lets a contract be concluded by exchanging documents, each signed by one of the parties. The signature has to be handwritten on paper, so the originals must reach the other side, not scans.

The usual routine (practice, not a legal requirement): you sign two copies and send both, the landlord signs both and returns one to you. International courier delivery takes days, not hours (estimate). Formally the exchange is enough to conclude the contract, so do not book a ticket or transfer money until you hold a copy signed by the landlord or their representative.

A signature on paper does not prove that the signatory is entitled to let the flat. How to check the landlord and when to pay is covered in our articles on paying before you arrive and on spotting a fake listing.

Is an electronic signature the same as a written one?

A qualified one is, beyond doubt. Under art. 78¹ of the Civil Code the electronic form requires an electronic document and a kwalifikowany podpis elektroniczny, and such a declaration equals a written one (§ 2). The eIDAS Regulation says the same (art. 25). A signature drawn with a finger, a code sent by SMS or a tick box in an app is not a qualified signature, even if the service is called “e-signature”.

Podpis zaufany (the signature of the Polish state login profile) is a harder case. It is not a QES. Art. 20ae sec. 2 of the Act on the computerisation of public-task entities gives data signed with it the effect of a handwritten signature “unless separate provisions provide otherwise”; whether art. 78¹ of the Civil Code is such a provision is an open question, and we found no ruling or official guidance on leases. In practice, a profil zaufany is confirmed on the basis of documents of a person holding a PESEL number (art. 20c sec. 1), so a tenant who has not yet arrived usually cannot have one (estimate). For a lease longer than a year, najem okazjonalny or an agency agreement, use paper or a QES.

A foreigner can get a QES without a PESEL: according to the provider Certum, a passport or an ID card from the EU register of authentic documents (PRADO) is enough, and identity is confirmed in person at a provider’s point or through a notary (the page dates from 2021, so confirm the terms with the provider). The free qualified signature in the mObywatel app (5 documents a month) needs a Polish ID card with an electronic layer, an active personal-signature certificate with PIN2 and an NFC phone; the Polish ID card is issued only to Polish citizens, so a foreign tenant cannot use this route. For a single lease, getting a QES is usually not worth the effort, paper is simpler (estimate).

A signature issued outside the EU, for example a Ukrainian KEP, counts as an equivalent of a QES only if the trust service is recognised under an agreement between the EU and that country (eIDAS, art. 14). As of 7 October 2026 we have not found such a decision for Ukrainian qualified signatures, so for a lease paper or a signature issued in the EU is the safer choice. A QES issued in another EU member state is recognised in Poland (eIDAS, art. 25 sec. 3).

Is a scan or an e-mail enough?

For a lease of up to a year, yes; for a longer one, no. A scan of a signed document, a photo, an e-mail and a chat message give the documentary form: a declaration in the form of a document that shows who made it is enough (art. 77²), and a document is any carrier of information (art. 77³). This is a lower form than writing: a scan is a copy, not the original with a handwritten signature that is exchanged under art. 78 § 1. That is our reading of the text of the law; we have not checked case law on scanned leases.

So: a lease for a year or less can be signed by scan. A lease longer than a year signed by scan is valid, but without a term (art. 660). For najem okazjonalny and for an agency agreement a scan will not do at all, because both need the written form on pain of nullity.

A scan is useful as a draft: agree the text by scan first, then send the originals by courier.

What cannot be done remotely with najem okazjonalny?

The notarial deed. Najem okazjonalny (art. 19a of the Act on the Protection of Tenants’ Rights) is available when the owner is a private individual who does not let flats as a business and the term is no longer than 10 years (sec. 1). The lease comes with:

• the tenant’s declaration in the form of a notarial deed, consenting to enforced eviction (sec. 2 pt 1);
• the address of another place where the tenant can live (pt 2);
• the consent of the owner of that place or of another person with legal title to it; if the landlord asks, a notary certifies the signature on it (pt 3).

The lease itself must be in writing on pain of nullity (sec. 6): paper or a QES, not a scan.

The deed is signed at a notary. A notary works in the office (art. 3 § 1 of the Notaries Act), though in special circumstances may act elsewhere (§ 2). Signatures are made in the notary’s presence (art. 88) and the deed is read out before signing (art. 94 § 1). We found no provision for a deed by video link or e-mail. Whether a representative can sign for you is a question for the notary, best asked in advance.

The notary works in Polish; at a party’s request the notary can also act in a foreign language, with a sworn translator or on the basis of the notary’s own certified knowledge of the language (art. 2 § 3). If you do not speak Polish and no translation is attached, the notary translates personally or through a translator (art. 87 § 1 pt 1). The notary’s fee for this declaration may not exceed one tenth of the minimum monthly wage (art. 19a sec. 7); ask the notary about tax and the cost of copies.

The deed is usually signed after you arrive in Poland (estimate), so it helps to book the notary in advance. More in our guide to najem okazjonalny and in the article on najem okazjonalny without a substitute address.

How is the agency agreement with us signed?

allproperty finds flats for tenants. The law requires an agreement with a real estate agent to be in written or electronic form on pain of nullity (art. 180 sec. 3 of the Real Estate Management Act). The electronic form in the Civil Code sense is a QES, so for this agreement, as for najem okazjonalny, an e-mail or a scan is not enough. So from abroad it is signed on paper (copies exchanged by courier) or with a qualified electronic signature. Ask the agent before the search starts when the agreement is signed in your case.

If you are a consumer and the agreement is concluded at a distance or outside our office, you can as a rule withdraw from it within 14 days without giving a reason (art. 27 sec. 1 of the Consumer Rights Act). The right does not apply to a service the trader has fully performed with your express prior consent, if you were told before it began that you would lose the right on full performance and you acknowledged this (art. 38 sec. 1 pt 1). If you ask for work to start before the 14 days end and then withdraw, you pay for what has been performed up to that point (art. 35). Read the withdrawal procedure and the payment terms in the agreement before you sign.

The fee is 70% of one month’s czynsz najmu, that is of the rent itself, without czynsz administracyjny and utilities: with a czynsz of 3,500 zł it is 2,450 zł. It is paid once, after the umowa najmu is signed, and invoiced as a faktura bez VAT. Help with PESEL and with the visit to the urząd is included in the 70%. We are not a notary or a law firm: we can explain the terms of the lease orally in your language, but that is not a sworn translation and not legal advice. Our agents work in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Polish, German, Italian, Turkish and Spanish. The whole process of searching from abroad is described in the article on renting a flat in Warsaw before you arrive.

Send a request: move-in date, budget, number of rooms. 70% of one month’s czynsz najmu after the umowa najmu is signed (a 3,500 zł rent means 2,450 zł), faktura bez VAT. Phone: +48 666 866 468.

Sources

Checked on 7 October 2026.

• Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 795 (legal status as of 19 May 2026): art. 77², 77³, 78 § 1, 78¹, 660, 664, 673, 682, 688.
• Act on the computerisation of the activity of entities performing public tasks (Ustawa o informatyzacji działalności podmiotów realizujących zadania publiczne), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1241: art. 20c sec. 1, art. 20ae sec. 2.
• Act on the protection of tenants’ rights, consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 725: art. 11 sec. 1, art. 19a.
• Real Estate Management Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 399: art. 180 sec. 3.
• Notaries Act (Prawo o notariacie), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 614: art. 2 § 3, art. 3, art. 87 § 1, art. 88, art. 94 § 1.
• Consumer Rights Act, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1244: art. 27 sec. 1, art. 35, art. 38 sec. 1 pt 1.
• Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), consolidated version of 18 October 2024: art. 14, art. 25 (sec. 2 and 3).
• State Labour Inspectorate (PIP), explanation of profil zaufany and the qualified signature (employment contracts, no date on the page).
• AOTMiT, signing in the mObywatel app: requirements (Polish ID card with an electronic layer, personal-signature certificate, PIN2, NFC phone) and 5 free signatures a month.
• Certum, qualified signature for a foreigner (29 June 2021): no PESEL needed, identity confirmed in person at a provider’s point or through a notary.