RPWDL Registration for Physiotherapists

If you want to run your own physiotherapy practice in Poland, the first formal step after obtaining the right to practise and a CEIDG business entry is registration in the RPWDL, the Register of Entities Performing Medical Activity. It is not a formality for show: medical activity may be started only after the entry is made. Below we describe who must register, what data the application contains, what the entry costs in 2026, how long the decision takes and what happens without an entry. This is one of the guides in the practice registration category, and the whole path to opening is covered in how to open a physiotherapy practice.

Short answer

The entry for a physiotherapist's professional practice is made by the National Council of Physiotherapists. The fee is 2% of the average monthly salary in the enterprise sector excluding profit-share bonuses for the previous year, rounded up to a full zloty: PLN 179 for an application filed in 2026. The authority has 30 days to make the entry. The application is filed electronically with a qualified electronic signature or a trusted signature (podpis zaufany).

What the RPWDL is and what the Act says

The basis is the Act of 15 April 2011 on Medical Activity (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026 item 156), in particular Articles 100-110. Physiotherapists may practise within medical activity after being entered in the register (Article 5(1)), and medical activity may be started after the entry is obtained (Article 103). The register is public (Article 106(1a)) and kept in an ICT system (Article 106(2)). Practising a profession within a professional practice is not running a medical entity (Article 5(3)), so a physiotherapy practice and a medical entity (for example a limited liability company) are two different registration routes.

Who registers and in what form

A physiotherapist's professional practice may take one of these forms (Article 5(2)(3)):

• an individual physiotherapy practice, run as a sole proprietorship (also exclusively at the patient's location, or exclusively inside a medical facility under a contract with the entity running it),
• a group physiotherapy practice, run as a civil-law partnership, general partnership or professional partnership; only physiotherapists who are partners provide services in it (Article 19a(4)).

If you want to employ physiotherapists to provide services, or operate in another form (for example a limited liability company), you register as a medical entity. The voivode handles the application of a medical entity (Article 106(1)(1)) and the fee is 10% of the same salary, that is PLN 894 in 2026 (Article 105(1)(2)). Choosing the form is covered in legal form of a physiotherapy practice.

[SP] Example -- Solo practice: Magda holds the right to practise, runs a sole proprietorship entered in CEIDG and rents a treatment room. She files an application for an individual physiotherapy practice.

[GR] Example -- Group practice: Artur and Karolina, two physiotherapists, form a civil-law partnership and provide services together. They file one application for a group physiotherapy practice listing the physiotherapist-partners and the person authorized to represent the partnership (Article 102a(2)).

Conditions before the entry

For an individual physiotherapy practice Article 19a(1) of the Act lists the conditions: the right to practise; no suspension, restriction or ban on practising; premises that meet the requirements of Article 22; an entry in CEIDG; a civil liability insurance contract. In the application you declare that you know and meet the conditions for carrying on medical activity (Article 100(2)(2)), and a declaration inconsistent with the facts is a ground for striking the entry off the register (Article 108(2)(1)).

• Right to practise. It is confirmed on application by the National Council of Physiotherapists (Article 21(1) of the Act on the Physiotherapist Profession), and you give the document number in the application.
• Premises. The requirements are covered in premises requirements for a physiotherapy practice.
• Liability insurance. The obligation to insure arises no later than the day before medical activity starts (Article 25(2)). The minimum guaranteed sum for an individual or group physiotherapy practice is EUR 30,000 per event and EUR 150,000 for all events in an insurance period not longer than 12 months (Minister of Finance regulation of 29 April 2019, § 3(1)(7) and (8)). Details: liability insurance for physiotherapists. An application to change the entry that only presents an insurance document is free of charge (Article 105(2a)).
• Organizational rules. Article 24 of the Act describes the organizational rules of an entity performing medical activity, and its paragraph 3 refers directly to professional practices and excludes some points for them. The rules cover, among other things, the type of activity, the place of services and the fee for providing records (paragraph 1). See organizational rules for a physiotherapy practice.

PKD code for a physiotherapist

Since 2025 the Polish Classification of Activities PKD 2025 applies (Council of Ministers regulation of 18 December 2024, Journal of Laws 2024 item 1936). Physiotherapy has its own subclass there: 86.95.Z "Physiotherapy activities", covering individual and group physiotherapy including physical therapy, kinesitherapy and therapeutic massage, and physioprophylaxis. The classification excludes osteopathy and chiropractic (86.96.Z), shiatsu, Thai massage and similar (86.99.D) and spa salons (96.23.Z). PKD 2007 may be used in parallel for activity classified under it before the regulation took effect, no longer than until 31 December 2026 (§ 2(1)). The code in CEIDG does not replace RPWDL registration: they are two separate registers with separate applications.

The application step by step

Step 1: data and signature

The application is filed electronically, using a qualified electronic signature or a trusted signature (§ 16(1) of the Minister of Health regulation of 29 March 2019 on the scope of data in the register). The authority checks that the application is complete, and before the entry is made you can submit a correction (§ 16(2) and (3)). The address and form of the register system are provided by the unit subordinate to the Minister of Health that runs the system (Article 106(2)); we do not describe portal screens here because they change more often than the law.

Step 2: what the application contains

For a physiotherapy practice the application contains, among other things (§ 15(1) of the regulation; Article 102a(1) of the Act):

• the physiotherapist's name and professional title, the number of the right-to-practise document, the tax ID (NIP),
• a correspondence address, phone number, e-mail address and, if the practice has one, a website address,
• the start date of medical activity,
• the code for the type of professional practice and the scope of health services,
• the phone number and address of the place where services are provided (for a practice exclusively at the patient's location: the place where calls are received and records are kept),
• the physiotherapist's signature.

With the application you file the declaration from Article 100(2) (applied through Article 102a(3)) that the data are complete and true and that you know and meet the conditions for carrying on medical activity, under criminal liability for a false declaration. The provisions we checked do not list attachments to an application for a physiotherapy practice; if the system asks for a document, comply.

Step 3: the fee

The entry is subject to a fee of 2% of the average monthly salary in the enterprise sector excluding profit-share bonuses for the previous year, announced by the President of Statistics Poland in the Monitor Polski and in force on the filing date, rounded up to a full zloty (Article 105(1)(1)). A change of entry costs 50% of that fee (paragraph 2). The fee is revenue of the National Chamber of Physiotherapists (paragraph 3(4)).

Year of filing	Average salary (Statistics Poland notice)	Entry fee (2%)	Change of entry (50%)
2024	PLN 7,443.28 (for 2023, M.P. 2024 item 75)	PLN 149	PLN 74.50
2025	PLN 8,264.85 (for 2024, M.P. 2025 item 81)	PLN 166	PLN 83
2026	PLN 8,933.84 (for 2025, M.P. 2026 item 118)	PLN 179	PLN 89.50

The amount changes every year after the January notice. The full set of costs is in the cost of opening a physiotherapy practice.

Step 4: decision and certificate

The register authority makes the entry within 30 days of receiving the application with the declaration (Article 104(1)). If the entry has not been made and 40 days have passed since the application was received, the applicant may start activity after giving the authority prior written notice; this does not apply where the authority called for the application to be completed no later than 7 days after receiving it, in which case the period runs from the completion (paragraph 2). The authority issues the certificate of entry ex officio (paragraph 3), electronically, and information about it goes to the e-mail address given in the application (§ 17-18 of the regulation). The entry is also struck off if within 3 months of the entry you have not started activity and the deadline for starting set by the authority (not longer than 3 months) passes without result (Article 108(2)(6)).

The FUNDAMENT package contains a guide to RPWDL registration, organizational rules with instructions, and checklists for premises requirements and insurance cover. See the FUNDAMENT package or compare packages.

Common mistakes in the application

1. Seeing patients before the entry. Article 103 allows starting after the entry is obtained (except for the case described in Article 104(2)).
2. An incomplete or inconsistent address of the place of services. The application needs a full address (town, street, building and unit number, postal code) and a phone number.
3. Wrong form of practice. An individual practice is a sole proprietorship; a group practice needs a civil-law, general or professional partnership with physiotherapists as partners.
4. No insurance contract on the day before starting. The obligation arises no later than the day before medical activity begins (Article 25(2)).
5. A mistake in the right-to-practise number, NIP or e-mail address. The e-mail address is used to deliver information about the certificate.

Changes to your data after the entry

An entity entered in the register must report any change of data covered by the register to the authority within 14 days of the change arising (Article 107(1)). For not reporting a change on time the authority may impose a financial penalty by administrative decision of up to ten times the minimum monthly wage; for physiotherapists' professional practices the resolution on the penalty is adopted by the National Council of Physiotherapists, and the higher-level authority is the Minister of Health (Article 107(2), (4a) and (6)). A change of entry costs 50% of the entry fee, PLN 89.50 in 2026 (Article 105(2)). A physiotherapist entered in the National Register of Physiotherapists must also notify the Council of changes to their own data within 14 days (Article 32 of the Act on the Physiotherapist Profession).

What happens without an entry

• Petty offence. Whoever performs medical activity without the required entry in the register is liable to detention, restriction of liberty or a fine (Article 147a(1) of the Code of Petty Offences). A fine is set between PLN 20 and PLN 5,000 unless an act provides otherwise (Article 24(1)).
• Striking off and a ban on re-registration. Striking off on the grounds of Article 108(2)(1), (3) or (4) (among others a false declaration, gross breach of the conditions for carrying on activity, failure to follow post-inspection recommendations) means a new entry is possible no earlier than after 3 years (Article 108(4)). The same period applies to an entity that carried on activity without an entry, except in the situation in Article 104(2) (Article 108(5)).

FAQ

How much does an RPWDL entry cost in 2026?

For a physiotherapy practice PLN 179 (2% of PLN 8,933.84, rounded up), and a change of entry PLN 89.50. For a medical entity the fee is 10% of that salary, PLN 894. The amount follows from the notice of the President of Statistics Poland of 22 January 2026.

How long does RPWDL registration take?

The authority has 30 days from receiving the application with the declaration (Article 104(1)). After 40 days without an entry you can start activity after giving written notice to the authority, unless the authority called for completion of the application within 7 days of receiving it.

Can I register a group practice if I am the only physiotherapist?

No. A group physiotherapy practice is a civil-law, general or professional partnership in which only physiotherapist-partners provide services (Article 5(2)(3)(b) and Article 19a(4)). If you work alone, you register an individual practice.

Can I change the practice address without changing the RPWDL entry?

No. A change of data covered by the register is reported within 14 days of arising (Article 107(1)), and delay can lead to a financial penalty (Article 107(2)).

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Legal status as of: 28 October 2026

Legal basis: Act of 15 April 2011 on Medical Activity (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026 item 156), Articles 5, 19a, 24, 25 and 100-108; Minister of Health regulation of 29 March 2019 on the scope of data covered by the register (Journal of Laws 2019 item 605, as amended by item 2062 of 2023), § 15-18; Statistics Poland notices (M.P. 2024 item 75, M.P. 2025 item 81, M.P. 2026 item 118); Minister of Finance regulation of 29 April 2019 (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2025 item 272), § 3(1)(7)-(8); Code of Petty Offences (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026 item 1372), Articles 24 and 147a; Council of Ministers regulation of 18 December 2024 on PKD (Journal of Laws 2024 item 1936); Act on the Physiotherapist Profession (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026 item 584), Articles 21 and 32. We did not check: how the register portal works, tax rules (including VAT), rules on CEIDG and the National Court Register, or the scope of insurance included in the chamber membership fee.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026

Related articles:
- How to open a physiotherapy practice 2026 -- guide
- Professional practice or medical entity -- which to choose
- Liability insurance for physiotherapists
- The cost of opening a physiotherapy practice
- PKD for physiotherapists: which code?