It does, though it will not replace the original. A scan gives you the details of a document when you no longer have the original: the series and number of your ID card, your PESEL number, a policy number. With it you can block a lost ID and order a new one faster. For a formal act, though, an office, a court or a notary may ask for the original, an odpis (official copy) or a certified copy.
What a scan gives you
A scan is above all the data you have at hand when the original is gone. If your wallet is stolen, blocking your ID card at a bank and reporting the loss both require the series and number of the document, and few people remember them. You can read them off a scan in a minute, just like a policy number when you report a claim, or the repertorium number of a notarial deed when you order a wypis (an official copy issued by the notary office).
What a scan will not replace
A scan, a photo and a photocopy are only reproductions of a document. They do not confirm that the content has not been altered, so formal acts at an office, a court, a notary or a bank often require the original, an odpis from the institution that keeps the document, or a copy certified as true to the original. A scan printed at home does not become such a copy.
Who should not get a scan of your ID
A scan of a Polish ID card (dowód osobisty) shows your first name and surname, PESEL number, the series and number of the document and your photo. The Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) treats its disclosure as high risk, because in a fraudster’s hands it can be used for identity theft or to take out a loan in your name.
According to UODO, showing the ID card for inspection is usually enough. A bank or another financial institution may make a copy only when the measures under the anti-money laundering act require it, and it has to assess that first. In 2025 UODO fined ING Bank Śląski more than 18 million złoty for scanning customers’ ID cards without such an assessment. When someone asks for a scan, ask what it is for and on what legal basis.
Where to keep scans
A scan left in an email attachment or in your phone’s photo gallery can be read by anyone who takes over that account. A safer option is one encrypted place that only you and the people you choose can access.
Topics
Put your most important documents in one secure place
Sejf Życia is an encrypted space for documents, access details and instructions for loved ones. Only you decide who gets access, and when.