In most matters you will not notice a difference: the doctor, offices, work, travel and existing contracts work as before. The reservation only gets in the way of a new loan, a bank account, a notarial deed on a property, a duplicate SIM card or a large cash withdrawal at a branch. Then you lift it in mObywatel, the official government app, also for a set time.
What the reservation does not change
A doctor’s visit, a prescription, a wedding, registering your address, getting a document, travel, matters at work and collecting registered mail look the same as before. The trusted profile (profil zaufany, the free government e-ID) works too. The reservation concerns concluding new contracts, so your payment card, transfers and a loan you have been repaying for years are not blocked.
When you need to lift it
The register of PESEL (the Polish national identification number) reservations is checked by institutions that have been required to do so since 1 June 2024:
- a bank before opening a personal or savings account, before a credit, loan or leasing agreement and before raising a limit,
- a lending company before a loan, also when buying in instalments,
- a notary before a deed of purchase, sale or encumbrance of a property and before a power of attorney for such a transaction,
- a mobile operator before issuing a duplicate SIM card or eSIM.
A separate case is a cash withdrawal at a bank branch that exceeds three times the minimum wage on a given day. With a reserved number, the bank will hold it for 12 hours, even if you lift the reservation in the meantime. So plan a larger amount in advance.
How to lift it for a while
In mObywatel or on gov.pl you choose to lift the reservation and indicate when the number should be reserved again, for example after your visit to the bank. The change takes effect immediately and costs nothing. At the municipal office (urząd gminy) lifting is possible, but only indefinitely, so afterwards you have to remember to reserve the number again.
After a lost ID card is reported, PESEL is reserved automatically and stays so after the new document is collected.
When someone ignores the reservation
A bank that grants a loan on a reserved number cannot demand repayment or sell the debt to a collection agency, and the agreement does not go to BIK, the Polish credit bureau. You can also check free of charge who verified the reservation of your number and when.
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