The Ministry of Interior and Administration (MSWiA) has prepared a draft amendment to the rules on identity cards: collecting the document in any commune and a 15-year validity period for people over 70. Although a date of 1 December 2026 is circulating online, the draft has not yet become law.
The changes are contained in a draft act “amending certain acts in order to optimise some processes in civic affairs”, listed in the government’s work register under number UD329. As stated on the project card on the Chancellery of the Prime Minister (KPRM) website, the amendment covers four acts: on Polish citizenship, on identity cards, the Act on civil status records, and on passport documents. The Government Legislation Centre (RCL) published the draft in February.
What is set to change for ID cards
The most important change for ordinary users: when applying, it will be possible to indicate any commune office in the country where you will collect the finished document. The card will still be issued by the office that received the application. Today the document is collected in the commune where the application was submitted.
The second element is longer validity for older people. According to the draft, a card issued to a person who has turned 70 is to be valid for 15 years instead of 10. However, the electronic certificates on the e-ID card (personal signature, identification and authentication) would still be valid for 10 years. For people who use online services, this may mean replacing the document earlier. According to descriptions of the changes, the draft contains no transitional provision, so cards issued before the act enters into force will keep their current validity period.
The third change concerns office errors: if a card is invalidated by mistake, it should be possible to technically restore its validity without a new application. Communes are also to inform the holder about invalidation of the document after a change of data, and parents will be able to report the loss or damage of a child’s card online. Voivodes will get broader access to registers of identity cards and passports.
Where the 1 December date comes from and where the work stands
Originally, the new rules were planned for 1 July 2026. After consultations, the date of 1 December 2026 appeared in the draft. The key caveat: it is still a draft. Analyses describing its card in the RCL show that the last step in the consultations was recorded on 14 July, and the draft has not been adopted by the Council of Ministers or sent to the Sejm. According to these descriptions, some provisions (including collection in another commune, longer validity for people 70+ and restoring the validity of a card) are to enter into force on the day announced in a notice in the Monitor Polski, not automatically on 1 December. Both the content and the timetable may still change.
The draft should not be confused with another act that the Sejm passed in October. It concerns data from the PESEL register shared with life insurers and, according to descriptions, is to apply from 12 January 2027. It does not change the rules for issuing identity cards.
What it means
For now, nothing changes. An ID card for adults is valid for 10 years, obtaining one is free, and the document can take up to 30 days. In 2026 the replacement concerns, among others, people with cards issued in 2016, according to Interia about 2.8 million people. If your card is expiring, do not wait for the reform, as its entry into force in December is uncertain. Seniors who submit an application before the rules change will receive a document valid for 10 years.
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