limited liability company<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nRisk:<\/strong> if you do not use a notarial deed where one is required, the contract is invalid. No exceptions.<\/p>\nWritten form with signatures certified by a notary<\/h2>\n
In this form, the notary does not draft the contract. The notary\u2019s role is limited to confirming that the person signing is who they claim to be. You must appear before the notary in person.<\/p>\n
Hierarchy of formality<\/h3>\n
Using a higher form satisfies the requirements of a lower form. The hierarchy is:<\/p>\n
\n- Notarial deed<\/strong>, the highest level<\/li>\n
- Written form with signatures certified by a notary<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Written form or electronic form with a qualified signature<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Documentary form<\/strong>, the lowest level<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Example: a contract concluded as a notarial deed automatically satisfies the written-form requirement.<\/p>\n
Written form with a date certain<\/h2>\n
Instead of a notary, a public official is present and confirms that the legal act took place on a specified date. This form is very rarely used in transactions between businesses.<\/p>\n
Checklist: what to do before signing a contract<\/h2>\n
Check whether the contract includes or meets the following:<\/p>\n
\n- Check whether the law requires a particular form<\/strong> for this type of contract.<\/li>\n
- Identify the counterparty<\/strong>: collect the PESEL or NIP number and address, and verify the signatory\u2019s authority.<\/li>\n
- Choose the right form<\/strong>. If in doubt, use a higher form, such as written rather than documentary form.<\/li>\n
- Do not send scans instead of originals<\/strong>. A scan cannot replace written form when that form is required.<\/li>\n
- Consider a qualified electronic signature<\/strong>. It speeds up document circulation and is equivalent to a handwritten signature.<\/li>\n
- Make sure signatures appear below the contract text<\/strong>, not above it or on a separate page without a link to the text.<\/li>\n
- Exchange original copies<\/strong>. A contract signed by only one party and not delivered to the counterparty is not concluded.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Rule:<\/strong> if you are unsure which form is required, seek advice before signing. The cost of advice is far lower than the cost of a dispute over invalidity.<\/p>\nFrequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
What is the difference between written, documentary and electronic form of a contract?<\/strong> Written form requires handwritten signatures from both parties below the contract text and exchange of original copies. Documentary form is a lower level of formality and includes, for example, exchanging scans by email, but does not satisfy a written-form requirement. Electronic form means both parties sign an electronic document with qualified electronic signatures; only then is it equivalent to written form.<\/p>\nIs a scan of a signed contract sent by email enough to satisfy written form?<\/strong> No. A scan of a signed document sent by email is documentary form, not written form. If a provision requires written form, for example for transferring economic copyright, a scan cannot replace it and the contract may be invalid. If written form is required, exchange original copies signed by hand or use qualified electronic signatures.<\/p>\nWhen is a qualified electronic signature equivalent to a handwritten signature?<\/strong> A qualified electronic signature is equivalent to a handwritten signature whenever you use one. If a statute or contract requires written form, signing the document with a qualified electronic signature satisfies that requirement. In practice, this means you can sign remotely without printing or exchanging paper copies while preserving legal effect.<\/p>\nWhen can using the wrong form make a contract invalid?<\/strong> Invalidity may result where a provision requires a particular form on pain of invalidity. For example, transferring ownership of real estate and forming a limited liability company, limited partnership, professional partnership or limited joint-stock partnership require a notarial deed, while transferring economic copyright requires written form. If you use a lower form than required, such as sending a scan instead of an original or omitting the notary, the contract is invalid, with no exceptions.<\/p>\nWhat should I check before signing a contract with a counterparty to avoid later problems?<\/strong> Check whether the law requires a particular form for that type of contract, and use a higher form than the minimum if in doubt. Identify the counterparty: collect a PESEL or NIP number and address, and for a company verify that the signatory is authorized to represent it, for example through a KRS entry or power of attorney. Make sure signatures are below the contract text and that original copies have been exchanged. A contract signed by only one party and not delivered to the other party is not concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A guide to written, documentary and electronic contracts in Poland, plus notarial deeds, notarized signatures and the date-certain form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","sip_alt_url":"","sip_en_pl_url":"","sip_pair_uuid":"","sip_pair_state":""},"categories":[1584],"tags":[1530,1557,1550],"specialization":[1214],"practice_area":[],"class_list":["post-3961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contract-law","tag-b2b-agreement","tag-contract","tag-contract-law","specialization-contract-law"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4102,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3961\/revisions\/4102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3961"},{"taxonomy":"specialization","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialization?post=3961"},{"taxonomy":"practice_area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sawaryn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/practice_area?post=3961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}