This page is designed to help you locate the vital record documents you need. Neither the Embassy nor Consulate can obtain documents on your behalf, and cannot provide translations of documents issued in Polish. Other records, such as birth certificates for people born in the U.S., are stored in the state of origin.

Please follow the links below for information on how to obtain:

- U.S. Birth Records
- Polish Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death Certificates
- Police Clearances and Records


POLISH BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND DEATH CERTIFICATES

A copy of the record must be obtained from the Vital Statistics Office of the appropriate locality. If the birth, marriage or death occurred in a village or other place in which no vital statistics office is maintained, the record can be obtained from the Communal Vital Statistics Office (lokalny Urzad Stanu Cywilnego) established for the community. Copies of the records can also be obtained from the district court that has jurisdiction over the area.  

Polish legislation provides for the issuance of the three types of certificates pertaining to birth, marriage and death:

a complete and true copy (odpis zupelny),

an abbreviated copy (odpis skrocony), and

an excerpt from the original records (wyciag).

The complete and true copy is generally preferable because of the meager data furnished in the abbreviated copy and excerpts.

A copy of a divorce decree may be obtained from the District Court where the decree was rendered.


OBTAINING POLISH POLICE CLEARANCES AND RECORDS IN POLAND

An application for information should be sent directly to the National Criminal Register (Krajowy Rejestr Karny) ul. Zwyciezcow 34, 03-938 Warsaw. The applicant should furnish his/her full name, any name previously used (i.e., maiden name), full names of parents, applicant's current address, profession, and period of residence in Poland. It usually takes from two to four weeks for the Ministry of Justice to process good conduct certificate requests, although someone who appears personally at the Ministry can often obtain a certificate on the same day.

OBTAINING POLISH POLICE CLEARANCES AND RECORDS IN THE U.S.

The application for information should be sent to one of the four Polish diplomatic missions in the U.S.: Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Applications may also be sent directly from overseas to the Ministry of Justice address listed above. The processed certificates will be mailed to the applicant's address in the U.S.

OBTAINING POLISH POLICE CLEARANCES AND RECORDS WHILE IN A THRID COUNTRY

The application for information should be sent to the Polish Embassy in that country, or may be mailed directly to the Ministry of Justice address listed above. Processed certificates will be mailed to the applicant’s address.