Poznań completed the first transcription of a foreign same-sex marriage certificate under Poland’s newly introduced administrative rules, just one working day after they came into force.
The city’s Civil Registry Office (Urząd Stanu Cywilnego) completed the transcription on Monday, 24 August, after the new regulations came into effect on Sunday, 23 August. The marriage certificate has now been sent to the couple concerned.
The change provides Polish civil registry offices with new document templates designed to enable the transcription of foreign same-sex marriage certificates. The Ministry of Digital Affairs says the new system is intended to give civil registry offices a clear basis for handling such applications across Poland.
Poznań Mayor Jacek Jaśkowiak confirmed the development, highlighting the speed with which the city’s civil registry began applying the new rules:
Yesterday, new regulations issued by the Minister of Digital Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior and Administration came into force, making it easier to transcribe foreign marriage certificates for same-sex couples,
Mayor Jaśkowiak said.
Under the new regulations, the Civil Registry Office in Poznań is already carrying out these transcriptions in accordance with the law in force. Each application will, of course, be considered individually, taking into account the factual and legal circumstances of the particular case.
The first transcription was not an isolated case; two further applications have already been submitted to the Civil Registry Office.
A change following years of legal uncertainty
The new administrative arrangements follow a series of court rulings concerning the treatment of foreign same-sex marriages in Poland.
In March 2026, the Supreme Administrative Court, or NSA, ordered the transcription of a same-sex marriage certificate issued in Germany. The court found that the previous approach to the transcription of such marriages needed to be reconsidered, including their compliance in light of European Union law and principles concerning free movement and non-discrimination.
In May, the NSA also ruled in three cases that the assessment of a foreign same-sex marriage could not simply rely on the traditional interpretation of Polish marriage law. The court said that Poland's international human rights obligations, including the European Convention on Human Rights, must also be taken into account.
The government subsequently introduced new marriage certificate templates. The Ministry of Digital Affairs said the changes would allow foreign same-sex marriages to be transcribed without requiring information about the spouses to be recorded in a way that conflicts with their sex.
The new regulations therefore address a practical administrative problem that had left couples facing different procedures and uncertainty depending on the civil registry office handling their case.
What the change means for couples in Poznań
Transcription does not mean that Poland has introduced same-sex marriage as a domestic institution. Rather, it provides a way to enter a foreign marriage into Poland's civil registration system and recognise its legal effects. The Supreme Administrative Court has explicitly distinguished transcription from introducing same-sex marriage into Polish domestic law.
Having a Polish marriage certificate can nevertheless be significant in everyday dealings with public institutions.
Couples who have completed transcription are able to include their spouses in health insurance through the National Health Fund. Officials at ZUS have also received guidance that same-sex couples holding a Polish marriage certificate should be treated on the same basis as other married couples in relevant matters.
The wider implementation of these changes remains an area to keep an eye on, particularly as different public institutions may need to adjust their procedures.
For the city's international community, the development is particularly relevant. It creates a clearer route through the civil registry system than existed previously, as Poznań is home to residents who have married abroad and who may need Polish civil registration documents for administrative, family, employment or social security matters.
See more: Who Is Making a Difference in Poznań? Nominations Open for Poznanianki 2026
Sources: poznan.pl, Stowarzyszenie Miłość Nie Wyklucza, Mayor of Poznań Jacek Jaśkowiak (Official FB Page)
Image credit: Ladsgroup, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
