Documents needed to start as a courier in Poland: ID or passport, a phone, a bank account, transport, and the right to work. A diploma, CV, and your own company are not required.
This is about food delivery on Glovo, Uber Eats, Bolt Food, Wolt, and Pyszne, not parcel couriers. As of 23 September 2026. This is a description of common practice and general rules, not personal legal advice. Confirm your situation with a partner before you sign.
What to bring
- Age 18 — the usual threshold at partners and in the apps.
- A passport or a Polish dowód osobisty.
- An Android or iOS phone with internet.
- A bank account for payouts.
- A thermal bag: buy one or take one from the partner.
- Transport: a bicycle, e-bike, kick scooter, motor scooter, motorbike, or car — yours or rented from the partner.
- The right to work. The partner files the labour-office form, not you.
- A PESEL for a fleet contract: it is needed for ZUS and the PIT-11.
Fluent Polish is usually not the bar: basic Polish or English is enough for orders. Still read the contract before you sign. The path from zero to shift one: how to start as a courier.
Bicycle, kick scooter, motor scooter, and car
A bicycle and a typical pedal-assist e-bike do not need a driving licence, registration document, or OC insurance. An electric kick scooter is not a motor scooter: check with the partner whether your city accepts it before you select it in the app.
For a motor scooter, moped, motorbike, or car, prepare:
- A driving licence of the right category, for example AM for a moped or B for a car.
- The registration document (dowód rejestracyjny).
- OC insurance.
Umowa zlecenie and a fleet partner
The usual start is an umowa zlecenie through a fleet partner. Some platforms also let you open an account yourself. You do not need your own company (JDG) for the first shift. A partner cannot create a legal stay if you do not have a title.
Compare offers: fleet partners for couriers in Poland and the partner directory. Examples, not a ranking: Eternis, Natviol, Evelstar.
Stay and the right to work
A legal stay and the right to work are different. A tourist visa or visa-free entry alone usually does not replace a basis for taking up work. A fleet activates the account when the title allows work, or when a notification, a statement, or a work permit can be attached to it.
Ukraine
A Ukrainian citizen with temporary protection does not need a separate work permit or a statement. The partner files a powiadomienie o powierzeniu pracy cudzoziemcowi on praca.gov.pl within 7 days of the start. Since 5 March 2026 this covers every person with temporary protection, not only Ukrainian citizens. For 3 years from that date the same notification can also be filed for a Ukrainian citizen without temporary protection who is staying legally on another basis. Notifications filed before 5 March 2026 stay valid. Overview: Zielona Linia.
UKR status after 31 August 2026. The duty applied to people whose PESEL with UKR status was issued without showing a passport. Anyone in that group who did not show a travel document at a gmina office by 31 August 2026 lost UKR status on 1 September 2026 (the register shows NUE) and temporary protection ended. People who showed a passport when the PESEL was issued were not covered by that deadline. Losing UKR does not by itself create another stay. Source: gov.pl. People who kept the status are, according to the National Labour Inspectorate, covered by temporary protection until 4 March 2027.
Belarus, Armenia, Moldova
The simplified route is an oświadczenie o powierzeniu pracy cudzoziemcowi, for up to 24 months. Ukraine is on the same list as a fallback when there is no temporary protection but another stay title that allows work. Work may start after the statement is entered in the register, not on the day it is filed. Labour offices describe entry within 7 working days, longer if they need clarifications. From 1 December 2025 the fee is 400 PLN per statement, paid by the entity entrusting the work — the partner, under an umowa zlecenie. Ask before you sign whether the fleet settles that amount in your contract. Conditions: biznes.gov.pl. Fee: Zielona Linia.
Georgia
From 1 December 2025 labour offices do not enter new statements for Georgian citizens. A new courier usually needs a zezwolenie na pracę: 200 PLN for up to 3 months or 400 PLN for longer. A statement entered before that date stays valid until it expires. Source: Poland in Georgia, gov.pl.
EU, EEA, and Switzerland
Citizens of the European Union, the EEA, and Switzerland do not need a work permit. A partner will still ask for ID, often a PESEL and a bank account. That is contract administration, not a permit.
Other countries
Citizens of countries outside the statement list, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, India, or Turkey, usually need a work permit or a title that already opens the labour market, such as a residence card with labour-market access or a Karta Polaka. Not every residence card does that. Without one or the other, a partner usually will not activate the account.
Checklist before you register
- I am 18 and I have a passport or a Polish ID.
- I know whether my stay allows me to work.
- I have a PESEL, or I know where to get one before the contract.
- I have a phone, a bank account, transport, and a thermal bag.
- For a motor scooter, motorbike, or car: licence, registration, OC.
- I know whether the partner files a notification (start, then 7 days), a statement (I wait for the register), or a work permit (I wait for the decision).
On this site we give 2–7 days as an orientative registration time. The real timing depends on the city, the documents, and the office.