Pursuant to Article 85 of the Act on the Notarial Profession, when performing a notarial act the notary is obliged to establish the identity of the persons taking part in it. This verification should be carried out on the basis of documents provided for by law. Until recently, for Polish citizens these were the plastic ID card and the passport.
Another step in the development of digitalisation
On 14 July 2023, the Act of 26 May 2023 on the mObywatel application came into force in Poland. Under its provisions, it is possible to present the mDowód (mobile ID) in the mObywatel app for acts that require proof of identity. It should be emphasised that the mDowód is not a digital/electronic version of the plastic ID card. These documents differ in their series and number, date of issue and expiry date.
Using the electronic ID as identification
Initially, the use of this application caused many problems. It was unclear where and for which acts one could identify oneself with mObywatel and the mDowód. Currently, the mObywatel app can be used at the notary’s for acts performed in the form of a notarial deed in respect of which notaries act as an obligated institution. What does this mean in practice? The notary is an obligated institution with regard to acts performed in the form of a notarial deed covering, among others:
- transfer of ownership (sale, gift, etc.),
- conclusion of an agreement on the division of an estate,
- making a non-cash contribution after the formation of a company,
- transformation or merger of companies,
- disposal of a business or of shares in a company,
as well as with regard to the acts listed in Article 79(6a) of the Act of 14 February 1991 – the Act on the Notarial Profession. The full catalogue of acts is set out in Article 2(1) of the Act of 1 March 2018 on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
mObywatel – ID verification
Importantly, when using the application, a verification process must be completed. At our notary office we use the free option of verifying the mDowód via a website. We generate a QR code, which the holder of the app then scans. As a result of this operation, the data from the ID card are shared. A unique code is generated for each person appearing before the notary, which – especially in the initial phase of this method of identification – may extend the duration of the act.
Popularity of the method
Although four months have already passed since the introduction of the possibility of identifying oneself with the mDowód and the mObywatel app, it is still not a popular phenomenon. The vast majority of the office’s clients prefer to use traditional identity documents. We can assure you, however, that both of these methods are officially permitted under Polish law. In the era of ever-increasing digitalisation, identification with the mObywatel app will no doubt continue to gain supporters.