Rules
Bailiff seizure of a bank account in Poland: how much must be left and what to do if more was taken
When a bailiff seizes a bank account in Poland, article 54 of the Polish Banking Law leaves the holder 75% of the minimum wage in every calendar month of the seizure — 3,604.50 zł in 2026. The limit is one per person regardless of how many accounts they have, so a second account does not double it, and on a joint account it does not grow with the number of holders. A business account is not among the accounts the article names. Here: the exact rule, which payments are fully protected, what about 800+, and how to tell a seizure from three other reasons money on an account stops being available.
Checked against Poland: residence, property and daily life for people already living there
Jurisdictions Poland
Contents
- Seizure, block or closure: which of four cases applies to your account
- The amount protected from a bailiff in 2026: 3,604.50 zł every month
- How much a bailiff can take from an account: everything above the protected amount
- Limits of the protected amount: business accounts and payments protected in full
- What to do if a bailiff took more from your account than allowed
- Common mistakes when a bailiff seizes a bank account
- How to check this yourself
- Frequently asked questions about a bailiff seizing a bank account in Poland
- When a bailiff seizure is not a simple case
When a bailiff seizes a bank account in Poland, part of the money has to stay on it. That is article 54 of the Banking Law (*Prawo bankowe*): one person's funds are free from seizure in every calendar month in which the seizure applies, up to 75% of the minimum wage for a full-time worker.
With the 2026 minimum wage at 4,806 zł, that is 3,604.50 zł a month — our calculation, not a figure written in the act. The act gives a rule, not a number, and the number moves with the minimum wage.
In Polish a seizure of an account is *zajęcie komornicze rachunku bankowego*, the bailiff is the *komornik*, and the amount that cannot be taken is the *kwota wolna od zajęcia*. Those are the words you will see in letters from the bailiff and the bank.
Seizure, block or closure: which of four cases applies to your account
Money on an account stops being available for four different reasons, and from the outside they look the same. Work out which one you are facing first: the deadlines, the authorities and the remedies differ in each.
| What you see | What it most likely is | Where to read about it |
|---|---|---|
| Money is taken off the account, a letter comes from a bailiff or an authority, the balance drops to a certain level and stops | Seizure (*zajęcie egzekucyjne*) | this page |
| The account works, but one transfer does not go through; the bank mentions a review and gives no reason | Block by the bank or by the General Inspector of Financial Information | bank blocked my account |
| The whole company account is blocked, the bank is silent, nothing arrived | Tax block under the STIR regime | tax authority blocked the account |
| The bank terminated the agreement and asks you to collect the funds | Closure — neither a block nor a seizure | — |
A seizure is recognised by money being taken, not merely frozen, and by a letter about it. In a block the bank is usually silent.
Not sure which case it is and you need the money now — describe your situation.
The amount protected from a bailiff in 2026: 3,604.50 zł every month
The rule reads: funds held in savings accounts, savings-and-settlement accounts (in Poland, the ordinary personal current account, *ROR*) and term deposit accounts of one person, regardless of the number of agreements concluded, are free from seizure on the basis of a court or administrative enforcement title, in every calendar month in which the seizure applies, up to 75% of the minimum wage.
Four things follow directly, and each is often read the wrong way round.
It is a monthly limit, not a one-off. It renews in every calendar month the seizure lasts. It is not one amount for the whole enforcement.
It is a limit per person, not per account. The words "one person, regardless of the number of agreements" mean a second account at another bank does not double the protected amount. It is shared across all of that person's accounts.
On a joint account it does not multiply. Paragraph 2 of the same article: funds on an account held by several individuals are protected up to the same limit, regardless of the number of holders. Adding a second person changes nothing.
It also covers administrative enforcement. The article speaks of a court or administrative enforcement title, so it covers not only the court bailiff but enforcement run by an administrative authority — for instance over social security contributions or tax arrears.
How much a bailiff can take from an account: everything above the protected amount
Anything above 3,604.50 zł in a given month can be seized and goes towards the debt. The limit protects an amount, not its source: for article 54 it makes no difference whether the money was salary, a transfer from family or a tax refund.
A consequence people do not expect: if twice the usual amount comes in during one month, the same amount is still protected. A double payment does not raise the limit.
Limits of the protected amount: business accounts and payments protected in full
A business account is not named in this article. It lists three kinds of account: savings, savings-and-settlement and term deposit. An account kept for a business is not among them. If a business account has been seized, the protected amount under article 54 is not something you can rely on.
Some payments are protected from seizure in full, above the 75% limit, and that rule is in the Banking Law itself — in article 54a. It does not name the payments; it points to where they are listed: article 833 § 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure (*KPC*) and article 10 § 4 of the act of 17 June 1966 on administrative enforcement proceedings. Article 54a then adds by name payments under the act of 9 June 2011 on family support and foster care (art. 31(1), 80(1), 81, 83(1) and (4), 84 points 2 and 3, 140(1) point 1, plus housing-maintenance funds under art. 83(2) and 84 point 1), the supplementary benefit for people unable to live independently, the additional annual payments to pensioners — the so-called thirteenth and fourteenth pensions — and the cash payment under article 13(1) of the act of 12 March 2022 on assistance to citizens of Ukraine. The protection is complete: these funds are free from seizure with no limit at all.
What about 800+. The 800+ child benefit is not named in article 54a — the act it is paid under is not on the list. If it is protected from seizure, that runs through the list in article 833 § 6 KPC. We have not read that list at source, so we state neither yes nor no. Check it before you file an application.
What we have not checked at source: the content of article 833 § 6 KPC and of article 10 § 4 of the administrative enforcement act, and article 13 of the Ukraine assistance act itself — that is, what that payment is. The KPC list is usually said to include maintenance and family benefits, but we know that from practice, not from the text, so we do not copy the list here.
The practical consequence is the same whatever the list: the bailiff does not know where the money on the account came from. The bank passes on a balance, not a history of payments. If protected funds were seized, proving it is up to you.
What to do if a bailiff took more from your account than allowed
- Ask the bank from which day the seizure applies and what the balance was. Get a statement for that period — without it you cannot work out what was taken.
- Check whether 3,604.50 zł was left to you in that calendar month in total across all your accounts, not on each one separately.
- If protected payments were taken, gather proof of where they came from: a statement showing the sender and the payment reference, the decision granting the benefit, a certificate from ZUS or your employer.
- File an application to limit the enforcement and release the account from seizure (*wniosek o ograniczenie egzekucji*, *wniosek o zwolnienie rachunku spod zajęcia*) with the authority running the enforcement: the bailiff in court enforcement, the administrative authority in administrative enforcement. Without proof of where the money came from, such an application usually achieves nothing, because the authority has no way of knowing.
- Do not wait for the end of the month. The limit renews monthly, but money already passed to the creditor is harder to get back than money still on the account.
Payments that should have been protected were taken — describe your situation today.
Common mistakes when a bailiff seizes a bank account
| Mistake | Why it hurts |
|---|---|
| Opening a second account "to get a second protected amount" | The limit is one per person regardless of the number of agreements — the new account will be seized too |
| Adding a joint holder | Paragraph 2 says it outright: the amount does not grow with the number of holders |
| Taking salary into a business account | Article 54 does not name a business account |
| Waiting for the bailiff to "notice" that it is maintenance or 800+ | The bailiff sees a balance, not a source; without an application and proof nothing changes |
| Confusing a seizure with a block | Different authorities, deadlines and remedies — see the table at the top |
How to check this yourself
- Act of 29 August 1997 — Banking Law, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 38 (announcement of the Marshal of the Sejm of 10 December 2025), art. 54(1) and (2) — the protected amount and joint accounts, and art. 54a — payments protected in full.
- The act of 10 October 2002 on the minimum wage sets the mechanism the 75% is calculated from. The 2026 amount itself is set by the Council of Ministers regulation of 11 September 2025, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1242: 4,806 zł from 1 January 2026.
- Code of Civil Procedure, art. 833 § 6, and the act of 17 June 1966 on administrative enforcement proceedings, art. 10 § 4 — the lists article 54a points to. We have not read these two provisions at source.
- The procedure for an application to release the account and the moment a seizure takes effect are set by the Code of Civil Procedure. We have not read it at source either — the steps above describe practice, not a quoted rule.
- Act of 12 March 2022 on assistance to citizens of Ukraine, art. 13(1) — which payment is protected. Not read.
Frequently asked questions about a bailiff seizing a bank account in Poland
How much money must be left on the account when a bailiff seizes it in 2026?
75% of the minimum wage in every calendar month in which the seizure applies. With the minimum wage at 4,806 zł that is 3,604.50 zł — a calculation, because the act gives a rule rather than an amount.
How much can a bailiff take from an account?
Everything above the protected amount in a given month. The limit protects an amount, not a source, so it does not matter whether the money was salary or a transfer from someone close.
Does the protected amount renew every month?
Yes. Article 54 refers to every calendar month in which the seizure applies. It is not one amount for the whole proceedings.
Does a second account at another bank double the protected amount?
No. The rule speaks of one person's funds regardless of the number of agreements, so the limit is shared across all their accounts.
Is the protected amount larger on a joint account?
No. Paragraph 2 says funds on an account held by several individuals are protected up to the same limit, regardless of the number of holders.
Does the protected amount cover a business account?
Article 54 names savings, savings-and-settlement and term deposit accounts. A business account is not among them.
Is the 800+ child benefit protected from a bailiff?
The Banking Law's article 54a does not name 800+. If it is protected, that runs through the list in article 833 § 6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which we have not read at source. So we say neither yes nor no — check it before you file an application.
What to do if a bailiff took maintenance or a social benefit?
File an application to limit the enforcement and release the account from seizure, with proof of where the payments came from. The bailiff sees a balance, not where the money came from, so without an application it will not be taken into account. The payments protected in full are listed in article 54a of the Banking Law — with no limit, but only once their origin is shown.
How is a seizure different from a block on an account?
In a seizure the money is taken for the creditor and a letter about it arrives. In a block the money is only frozen, the bank is usually silent, and the deadlines run in hours, not months.
When a bailiff seizure is not a simple case
You can handle it yourself when the seizure is justified and it is only a matter of keeping the protected amount. It is different when:
- a business account was seized and payments to employees have stopped;
- protected payments were taken and the authority does not grant the application;
- there are several seizures by different authorities and it is unclear which one is eating the protected amount;
- the enforcement title concerns a debt you only learned about from the seizure;
- you hold the account jointly and the debtor is the other person;
- the bank also blocked the account at the same time — two separate matters at once.
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