Poland's E-Court (EPU): Filing an Online Payment Claim

Legal notice: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. It describes Polish civil procedure; every case is different, so take advice from a qualified Polish advocate or legal counsel before acting.

A Polish business partner hasn't paid an invoice, and you're based in the UK with no way to chase the matter through the courts back home? The fastest and cheapest route to recovering an undisputed debt is often Poland's e-court and an online payment claim through the electronic payment order procedure (in Polish: elektroniczne postępowanie upominawcze, EPU). It's a fully online procedure — you file the claim through a website, you never need to travel to Poland, and the court fee is four times lower than in ordinary proceedings. For Poles living abroad, this is a genuinely practical tool: the whole matter can be run remotely, on the strength of a power of attorney given to a Polish advocate or legal counsel.

This article walks through how EPU works, what it costs, what a payment order is, what happens if the debtor objects, and how to run the case from England, Scotland or Wales.

What is the electronic payment order procedure (EPU)

The electronic payment order procedure is a simplified route for pursuing monetary claims, set out in Articles 505(28)–505(39) of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (Kodeks postępowania cywilnego). The entire case runs online through the IT system at e-sad.gov.pl.

Every EPU claim is heard by a single court in Poland — the District Court for Lublin-Zachód in Lublin, 6th Civil Division (known as the "e-court"). Regardless of where the debtor lives, the claim always goes there.

EPU is designed above all for undisputed, well-documented claims — typically unpaid invoices in B2B trade. A distinctive feature of this procedure is that, at the claim stage, you do not attach evidence (invoices, contracts) as exhibits — the claimant simply lists and describes them. Evidence is only produced later, if the case moves to an ordinary court following the debtor's objection.

How to file an online payment claim, step by step

A claim in EPU can only be filed electronically. In practice the process looks like this:

1. Set up an account on e-sad.gov.pl and verify your identity (for example via Poland's Profil Zaufany trusted profile, a qualified electronic signature, or a certificate issued by the e-court itself).
2. Complete the claim form — claimant and defendant details, the amount claimed (the principal debt), the interest sought, and recovery of costs.
3. List the evidence — you describe the invoices, contracts and demand letters (number, date, amount), but you do not attach scans at this stage.
4. Pay the court fee — paid electronically within the system.
5. Submit the claim and wait for the payment order to be issued.

The whole procedure is paperless, and court documents are served on the claimant electronically — a real advantage when you live outside Poland.

How much an EPU claim costs — the reduced fee

This is one of the main reasons to consider the e-court route. Under Poland's Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases (ustawa o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych), the court fee for a claim in the electronic payment order procedure is 1.25% of the value of the claim (i.e. the amount sought), with a minimum of 30 PLN.

By comparison, in "ordinary" proceedings the proportional fee is generally 5% of the value of the claim. EPU is therefore four times cheaper to bring.

Illustrative example: for an unpaid invoice of 20,000 PLN, the EPU fee would come to roughly 250 PLN, against around 1,000 PLN under the ordinary procedure. (These figures are for illustration only — the system calculates the exact fee automatically.)

Importantly: if the case succeeds (the payment order becomes final), the costs of the proceedings, including the court fee, are awarded against the debtor. If, however, the defendant lodges a valid objection and the case is transferred to an ordinary court, the claimant will need to top up the fee to the full 5% rate.

The payment order in EPU — what happens next

If the e-court finds the claim raises no doubts, it issues a payment order (nakaz zapłaty) under the electronic procedure. This order:

• is served on the defendant (at the address given in the claim), together with formal notice of their rights,
• gives the defendant 14 days to pay voluntarily or lodge an objection,
• and, if nobody challenges it, becomes final and binding.

Once final, the order is given an enforcement clause (in EPU this exists only in electronic form) and becomes an enforceable title. With this document, the case can be passed to a court bailiff (komornik) to enforce recovery against the debtor's assets — bank accounts, wages, property.

This is the fastest route available: where the debtor doesn't respond, the journey from filing the claim to an enforceable title typically takes a few weeks to a couple of months.

The debtor's objection and transfer to the competent court

The single most important thing to understand about EPU: it is very easy for a defendant to object. The defendant has 14 days from being served the order to do so, does not need to give reasons or produce any evidence, and lodging the objection itself is free of charge.

The effect of a valid objection is clear-cut: the payment order is set aside in its entirety, and the e-court transfers the case to the competent court under the general rules — usually the court for the defendant's place of residence or registered office (or the place where the contract was performed).

What does this mean in practice?

• EPU works best for undisputed claims, where you're banking on the debtor simply not responding.
• If the debtor actively disputes the debt, the case ends up in ordinary proceedings anyway — at which point you must produce evidence, and the claimant tops up the outstanding part of the fee.
• Once the case is transferred, the court will call on the claimant to supplement the claim (including filing evidence) within a set deadline — this deadline must not be missed, as failing to meet it risks the case being struck out.

For this reason, EPU is often treated as a cheap first test: if the debtor stays silent, you get a quick enforceable title; if they contest it, you move into the ordinary procedure with full supporting documents.

Running the case remotely from the UK — power of attorney

You live in England, Scotland or Wales, while the debtor and the case are in Poland? That is not an obstacle. EPU is designed from the ground up as a remote procedure:

• the claim is filed online, with no need to attend in person,
• documents are served electronically,
• and the whole matter can be entrusted to an advocate or legal counsel in Poland on the strength of a power of attorney for the proceedings (pełnomocnictwo procesowe).

The power of attorney simply needs to be signed and sent — usually as a scan first, with the original following by post. Your representative opens the account in the e-court system, files the claim, receives correspondence, and — if the defendant objects — takes the case forward in the ordinary court. You receive reports and make the key decisions without leaving the UK.

Two things are worth getting right: the debtor's current address (on which the effectiveness of serving the payment order depends), and a complete set of documentation (invoices, contracts, demand letters, correspondence), which will matter if the defendant objects.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file an EPU claim while living permanently in the UK? Yes. The procedure is fully electronic and does not require you to be present in Poland. The most practical approach is to act through a representative — an advocate or legal counsel — who files the claim and runs the case remotely under a power of attorney.

How much time do I have to respond if the defendant objects? Once the case is transferred to the competent court, the court calls on the claimant to supplement the claim and file evidence within a set deadline (usually a matter of weeks). This deadline must be met without fail, or the proceedings may be discontinued.

Can I claim interest for late payment in EPU? Yes. In the claim you state both the principal debt and the interest sought — in B2B commercial transactions this will usually be statutory interest for late payment in commercial transactions. We cover the details in a separate article on interest.

What if I don't know the debtor's current address? EPU depends on the payment order being served on the defendant, so an incorrect address can stall the case. In that situation it is often better to consider ordinary proceedings, where the court has additional tools for establishing an address (for example, appointing a curator for service of documents).

Does an EPU payment order let me start bailiff enforcement straight away? Yes, but only once it has become final and been given an enforcement clause. At that point, the final payment order from EPU is an enforceable title and can be taken to a court bailiff (komornik).

Related articles

• Interest on late payment in commercial transactions (in Polish) — how to calculate the interest to add to your payment claim.
• Limitation periods for claims between businesses (in Polish) — check whether your claim is already time-barred before you file.

Sources and legal basis

• Code of Civil Procedure — Art. 505(28) et seq. (EPU), ISAP
• EPU system — Electronic Payment Order Procedure (e-sad.gov.pl)