Skip to content
ScaFix

Regulations

Taking a scaffold job in Poland: posting duties, permits and the 2003 regulation

A foreign firm on a Polish site answers to two regimes: the posting act, which starts on the first day of the service, and the construction safety regulations, which decide how the scaffold is built and who may build it. This guide gives the Polish terms and the paragraph behind each duty.

By Ole Emil Frikstad Urstad · How the numbers are computed ·

Plettac SL 70/100 scaffolding around a house of 11.4 × 5.3 m with a gabled roof (eaves 4.5 m, ridge 6 m), drawn by the ScaFix 3D model
ScaFix model of a Plettac SL facade scaffold on the 11.4 × 5.3 m example house

What are the scaffolding regulations in Poland?

Poland regulates scaffolds through the 2003 construction safety regulation (Dz.U. 2003 No. 47 item 401): a top rail at 1.1 m (1 m on system scaffolds) with a 0.15 m toe board, fall protection from 1 m, and formal acceptance before use. Erectors need a Polish permit, and a foreign employer must file a posting statement with PIP.

Which Polish terms will you meet?

PolishEnglishWhere it comes from
rusztowanie systemowesystem scaffold with fixed grid dimensions2003 regulation, definitions
kierownik budowysite managerBuilding Law, art. 22
odbiór rusztowaniaformal acceptance before use2003 regulation, § 110
dziennik budowythe site log bookBuilding Law
plan BIOZsite health and safety planBuilding Law, art. 21a
książka operatoraoperator's record card proving a permit2001 regulation, § 26
DTR / instrukcja producentamanufacturer's technical and operating documentation2001 and 2003 regulations
balustrada, poręcz, krawężnikguardrail system, top rail, toe board2003 regulation, § 15
strefa niebezpiecznaexclusion zone below the work2003 regulation, §§ 20–21
PIPNational Labour Inspectorate

What must a foreign employer file before the crew starts?

The posting act of 10 June 2016 (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 1682) sets three duties for an employer posting workers to Poland:

  • A statement to the PIP, the National Labour Inspectorate, no later than the day the service starts (art. 24(3)). It lists the employer, the expected number of posted workers with names, dates of birth and nationality, the start and end dates, the work addresses, the nature of the service, the contact person and where the documents are kept. It may be filed in Polish or English (art. 24(6)), and changes to the employer, contact person or document location must be notified within 7 working days (art. 24(5)).
  • A contact person in Poland for the whole posting, who deals with the PIP and sends and receives documents (art. 24(1)).
  • Documents kept in Poland on paper or electronically: the employment contract, records of working time and the pay documents (art. 25(1)). On a PIP request they must be produced with a Polish translation within 5 working days (art. 25(2)), and for 2 years after the posting ends within 15 working days (art. 25(3)).

None of this replaces the site rules below.

ROTAX Plus scaffolding around a house of 11.4 × 5.3 m with a gabled roof (eaves 4.5 m, ridge 6 m), drawn by the ScaFix 3D model
The same example house in Altrad Rotax Plus with guardrails on every lift

Which laws apply to scaffolds in Poland?

  • The regulation on health and safety during construction work of 6 February 2003 (Dz.U. 2003 No. 47 item 401). Chapter 8, §§ 108 to 132, covers scaffolds and mobile work platforms. The Sejm database lists it as in force.
  • The regulation of 20 September 2001 on health and safety when operating machinery and equipment for earthworks, construction and road works (Dz.U. 2001 No. 118 item 1263). It is still in force, amended in 2017, 2020 and 2023, and it is where the scaffolder permit lives.
  • The Building Law of 7 July 1994, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 524, for the site manager and the BIOZ plan.
  • The Polish versions of the European standards, and the manufacturer's documentation or an individual design.

What does the 2003 regulation require on site?

The rules a planner meets first:

TopicRuleParagraph
Order of protectionCollective protection (guardrails, safety nets) first; harnesses only where that is not possible§ 6
Height thresholdWorkplaces at 1 m or more above floor or ground are protected against falls, including walkways and access§ 133
GuardrailToe board 0.15 m, top rail at 1.1 m, gap between them filled; system scaffolds may have the top rail at 1 m§ 15(2) and (3)
DocumentsBuilt to the manufacturer's documentation or an individual design§ 108
Public roadsApproval of the road authority and measures from the traffic plan; fans and netting next to streets, nets do not replace guardrails§§ 118–119
Exclusion zoneFenced before erection and dismantling; at least 1/10 of the height objects can fall from, and not less than 6 m§ 120(2), § 21(2)
ErectorsUse fall protection devices while erecting and dismantling§ 120(1)
Power linesWork only outside the danger zone, otherwise the line is switched off§ 122
Lifting armsHoist on a bracket fixed to the scaffold: capacity no more than 1.5 kN§ 116
DismantlingNo throwing components down§ 125
Mobile towersLevel, firm, drained route with no more than 1% slope; secured at two points at least; never moved with people on§§ 130–132

The 2001 regulation adds a weather rule in § 22(2): no erection or dismantling in poor visibility without lighting, in rain or snow, on black ice, or in storms and wind above 10 m/s. Acceptance (odbiór), the seven items of the acceptance record and the monthly checks are covered in our scaffold inspection checklist.

The same thresholds in eight other countries are compared in scaffolding regulations by country.

Who may erect scaffolding in Poland?

§ 109 of the 2003 regulation says only that people erecting and dismantling scaffolds must hold "the required permits". The 2001 regulation fills that in. Its Annex 1 lists "metal construction and assembly scaffolds" with the scope "erection", without classes. Under § 23, as worded since 1 January 2023, such equipment may only be handled by people who completed training and passed a test before a commission appointed by the Łukasiewicz Research Network – Warsaw Institute of Technology. Before that date the commission came from the Institute of Construction Mechanisation and Rock Mining (IMBiGS). Training has a theory part and a practical part (§ 24), and a pass gives a certificate and an entry in the operator's book (§ 26).

The amending regulation of 8 February 2023 also replaced the operator's book with a plastic ID-1 card, and it keeps permits obtained earlier valid. The regulation names only the Łukasiewicz – WIT commission; a foreign certificate is not listed as an equivalent. A foreign erector should therefore plan for the Polish training and test before the job.

The language point is practical rather than written: § 2 of the 2003 regulation makes the contractor prepare a safe work instruction before work starts and acquaint the workers with it, and it names no language, so agree with the main contractor which language the instruction and the site briefings will use.

What a Polish scaffolder permit is not: a UDT (technical inspection office) licence. Scaffolds are absent from the 2012 list of technical equipment under technical supervision, which does include mobile work platforms.

What do the site manager and the client have to do?

Article 21a of the Building Law requires the site manager to prepare a BIOZ plan before work starts if any high-risk work from its paragraph 2 takes place, or if the work lasts more than 30 working days with at least 20 workers at once, or exceeds 500 person-days. The BIOZ regulation (§ 6) names work with a fall risk from more than 5.0 m, a height many facade scaffolds reach. Article 22 makes the site manager coordinate safety measures and stop work where a hazard may arise. Separately, § 3 of the 2003 regulation makes the investor notify the labour inspector 7 days before construction starts on sites above the same 30-day / 20-person / 500-person-day thresholds.

Which standards apply?

The Polish editions are PN-EN 12810-1:2010 and PN-EN 12811-1:2007, both in the certification scope of Łukasiewicz – WIT. Load and width classes are explained in scaffold load classes.

What does the labour inspectorate find?

In 2022 the PIP carried out 2,311 inspections on small construction sites at 2,150 firms, and 91% of the irregularities it found concerned work involving scaffolds. The recurring defects were missing or faulty guardrails, missing, incomplete or improvised decks, missing access towers, missing or weak ties, and scaffolds standing on soft ground, boards, bricks or aerated concrete blocks.

How ScaFix fits in

ScaFix places the § 15 rails and toe boards and the access bays on every lift of a Polish job in many scaffold systems, but the § 110 acceptance stays with the site manager (methodology).

Planning information based on the Polish regulations published in the Journal of Laws (ISAP/ELI) and the posting act, not legal advice or a structural approval. The manufacturer's documentation or an individual design and the Polish text decide how a scaffold is built, and the site manager or an authorised person must accept it under § 110 before anyone uses it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to notify PIP when posting scaffolders to Poland?

Yes. The posting act requires a statement to the National Labour Inspectorate no later than the day the service starts, in Polish or English, naming the workers, the sites and a contact person in Poland.

Do I need a permit to erect scaffolding in Poland?

Yes, for metal construction scaffolds. The 2001 regulation requires training and a passed test before a commission of the Łukasiewicz – Warsaw Institute of Technology; a foreign certificate is not listed as an equivalent.

What guardrail height does Poland require?

A top rail at 1.1 m with a 0.15 m toe board and the space between filled in (§ 15(2)). On system scaffolds the top rail may sit at 1 m (§ 15(3)).

Is a scaffold subject to UDT inspection in Poland?

No. Scaffolds are not on the list of equipment under technical supervision; mobile work platforms are.

Who accepts a scaffold before use in Poland?

The site manager (kierownik budowy) or an authorised person, recorded in the site log book or a technical acceptance record under § 110 of the 2003 regulation.

How large is the exclusion zone around scaffold erection?

At least one tenth of the height from which objects can fall and never less than 6 m, fenced before erection or dismantling starts.

Sources

Primary sources used for this article, with the date each was read.