What are PKD codes, and must you switch to PKD 2025 by the end of 2026?

PKD codes are official codes that say what your business does. They sit in your public entry in CEIDG, the register of sole traders, or in the KRS, the court register of companies. The list in force since 1 January 2025 is PKD 2025, and if your entry still shows old PKD 2007 codes, you must switch by 31 December 2026.

For a sole trader the switch is free, online and takes a few minutes.

What a PKD code is

PKD stands for Polska Klasyfikacja Działalności (Polish Classification of Activities). It is the national list of business activities, prepared by GUS, the statistics office, and issued as a government regulation. Each activity has a five-character code, such as 62.10.B for most programming work. A final letter Z means the activity has no further Polish split.

How many codes you have depends on where you are registered:

• A JDG in CEIDG (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, a sole trader) gives one main code (przeważający, the activity that brings the largest share of your revenue) and any number of additional codes.
• A company in the KRS, such as a sp. z o.o. (a limited liability company), may have at most 10 codes, one of them the main one.

The government portal biznes.gov.pl asks you to list only what you really do and not to add codes “just in case”. You can add or remove codes at any time. When your activity changes, you must report the new codes within 7 days.

What a PKD code does not decide

PKD is a statistical classification. Many people believe the code sets their tax. It does not.

The code still matters, though:

• Your accountant, your bank and officials read it as a description of your work, so a wrong code invites questions.
• Some codes are reserved for farmers or for commercial companies.
• If you run a licensed or regulated activity, you must tell the office that issued the licence about any code change.
• The ZUS contribution holiday form, RWS, now asks which PKD version you use. From 1 January 2027 it accepts PKD 2025 only. More in the ZUS holiday.

What changed with PKD 2025

PKD 2025 was introduced by a Council of Ministers regulation of 18 December 2024 and follows the EU classification (NACE Rev. 2.1). It has 728 subclasses, up from 654 in PKD 2007.

Some codes kept their number, some were renamed, some were merged, and some were split into several new codes. There are also new codes for intermediaries. Watch out for reused numbers: in PKD 2025 47.91.Z means intermediation in non-specialised retail sales, while in PKD 2007 the same number meant selling by mail order or online.

Common freelance codes, from the GUS transition key:

The full IT list is in PKD codes for IT freelancers.

The deadline, and what happens if you do nothing

Two warnings about waiting:

• The deletion rule is unclear. The act (Journal of Laws, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1792, art. 12) says “the entry” is deleted. It is not clear whether that means your whole business entry or only the old codes. The official pages do not mention deletion at all and simply say codes will be converted automatically. Do not wait to find out.
• The automatic code may be wrong for you. Where one old code was split, GUS picks one new code as the default. A game developer on 62.01.Z would be moved to 62.10.B, not 62.10.A, and would then have to fix it anyway.

Watch out: biznes.gov.pl says the automatic conversion happens “on 1 January 2027”, while the law says “by 31 January 2027”. Either way, only switching yourself before 31 December 2026 guarantees the codes you want.

Any change to your CEIDG entry forces the switch

Since 1 January 2025, CEIDG accepts an application to change your entry, suspend your business or resume it only with PKD 2025 codes. It does not matter what the change is about: a new address, a new bank account or a new tax form all require the new codes in the same application. If you have additional places of business in your entry, you must update the codes for each one.

The only exceptions are an application to delete your entry (closing the business) and one saying you never started. So if you plan to suspend your JDG or change anything else, the switch happens in the same application.

How to switch in CEIDG, step by step

1. Check your current codes. Search your name or NIP (tax number) in the CEIDG search engine on biznes.gov.pl.
2. Find the new codes. In the CEIDG form, each PKD 2007 code shows the matching or closest PKD 2025 code under it. The GUS transition key (PDF and XLS) lists every pair.
3. If you are unsure, use the online help form of the GUS classification centre in Łódź (Ośrodek Klasyfikacji i Nomenklatur): describe what you do and it suggests a code. biznes.gov.pl links to it.
4. Log in to biznes.gov.pl with a trusted profile (profil zaufany), an e-ID card (e-dowód) or a qualified e-signature, and choose “Zmień dane w CEIDG” (Change CEIDG data).
5. Replace the codes and mark the main one: the activity with the largest share of your revenue.
6. Sign and send. It costs nothing. CEIDG passes the new codes to GUS, the tax office and ZUS, so there are no other forms.
7. Tell your accountant, and the licensing office if your activity needs a licence.

You can also file a change in person at a municipal office (urząd gminy) until 31 October 2028.

If you run a sp. z o.o. or another KRS company

Companies follow different rules.

• When the switch is forced. biznes.gov.pl says a company must use PKD 2025 when it files a change to its activity codes in the KRS. It describes no rule, like the CEIDG one, that pulls the switch into every other change.
• Cost. A KRS change normally costs 250 PLN in court fees. An application that only strikes out the PKD 2007 codes and enters PKD 2025 codes, filed before the end of 2026, carries no court fee (KRS Act art. 20e, added by Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1792).
• If you do nothing. The KRS converts codes automatically using the GUS key and strikes out codes it cannot convert. Only the codes are affected: the law does not delete the company. If the main code is struck out, the company must report a new one with its next change application, and within 5 years at the latest.
• The articles of association. The articles must describe what the company does, but they do not need to list PKD codes. biznes.gov.pl says you can change the codes in the KRS without amending the articles, as long as the articles already cover the activity. For a main code struck out automatically, the law says reporting the new one does not require changing the articles.

Tip: if your articles list PKD 2007 codes word for word, or a new code covers work they do not mention, ask the notary or a lawyer before filing. Amending a sp. z o.o.‘s articles needs a shareholders’ resolution recorded by a notary. A company set up online on the S24 template (the government system for registering a company online) can instead amend the template articles with an online template resolution. See what the KRS is.

What to do next

• Look up your entry in CEIDG or the KRS today and check which classification your codes use.
• Sole trader: file a free change in CEIDG before 31 December 2026, or combine it with any other change you were planning.
• Sp. z o.o.: file the fee-free KRS application before the end of 2026, and check your articles first.
• Tell your accountant which codes you chose.