PESEL and a very important change. You have to remember this because it already works

From June 1, 2024, financial institutions in Poland are obliged to check whether the customer’s PESEL number is not confidential before granting a loan or signing a loan agreement. This means that if someone withholds their PESEL number, criminals will not be able to use it to take out a loan or loan using someone else’s data.

Reserved PESEL number. It will not only be banks that will check this

Moreover, the financial institution that grants the loan will not be able to pursue claims against the crime victim. Whether the PESEL number is reserved will be checked not only by financial institutions, such as banks, but also by notaries and telecommunications operators. The Ministry of Digitization warns that data fraud is becoming more and more common. According to data, they occur on average every 40 minutes.

How to block your PESEL number?

To protect yourself against the effects of identity theft, you can use, among others, the Zastrzeż PESEL service in the mObywatel 2.0 application. This is the fastest and easiest way to do it. You can also register your PESEL at the commune office or .

We encourage everyone to reserve their PESEL number, thanks to which you can avoid risk and liability in the event that a criminal uses a citizen’s identity and takes out a loan or loan using his or her data, but also when he tries to obtain a duplicate of his SIM card. This reservation can be withdrawn at any time. The easiest way to do it is through the mObywatel application, but you can also do it on the website or directly at the commune office

– says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs, Krzysztof Gawkowski.

It is worth remembering this after blocking your PESEL number

However, it must be remembered that before submitting, for example, an application for a loan, loan or bank account, the PESEL reservation must be withdrawn. Otherwise, the bank will refuse to conclude the contract. Before making a cash withdrawal from a bank account, which individually or consecutively causes the sum of cash withdrawals made on a given day in all branches of a given bank to exceed three times the minimum wage, the bank verifies whether the account holder’s PESEL number is withheld. If so, the bank suspends cash withdrawal for 12 hours from the moment of submitting the withdrawal order. Withdrawing the restriction of the PESEL number at this time does not affect the running of the 12-hour payment suspension period.

However, a person who has reserved their PESEL number can still:

• go to see the doctor;
• fill a prescription;
• buy plane tickets;
• settle the matter at the office;
• vote in the elections.

Here’s how to use the Zastrzeż PESEL service in the mObywatel 2.0 application:

How to undo blocking your PESEL number?

You can unblock your PESEL number at any time. You can do this by choosing one of two options:

• indefinite withdrawal of the restriction – means that PESEL will no longer be protected until the restriction is renewed,
• temporary withdrawal of the restriction – in this option, the application will ask you to set the day and time when the PESEL number will be automatically reserved. This means you don’t have to remember to turn protection back on.

You can check who was “interested” in our PESEL number

In the Zastrzeż PESEL service you can check both the history of reservations and which entities and institutions checked its status. Thanks to this, you have full control over your PESEL number. Both PESEL reservation and withdrawal of this reservation are free of charge.