Agnieszka Szemiel

The family foundation has become one of the most important tools for succession planning in Polish family businesses. Interest in this area is very high. By early 2026, there were already approximately 3,000 registered family foundations.

Is something new on the horizon? Registering a family foundation with a notary

In January 2026, a legislative initiative was introduced to streamline the registration process. A parliamentary inquiry was submitted to the Minister of Justice, proposing that notaries be authorized to register family foundations.

The author of the interpellation pointed out that centralizing the registry in a single court prolongs the waiting time for registration, which, given the large number of applications, is becoming an increasingly significant organizational challenge.

At the time of writing this post, the interpellation remains a parliamentary question addressed to the Ministry of Justice—the formal legislative process to amend the law has not yet begun.

Should notaries register family foundations?

From the perspective of commercial law practice, the idea is not without merit. The founding deed of a family foundation is drawn up in the form of a notarial deed anyway. In theory, therefore, entry into the register could occur almost simultaneously with the foundation’s establishment.

In our opinion, a realistic scenario is a hybrid model:

• the notary would draw up the notarial deed and verify the formal correctness of the documents,
• while the central registry would remain within the court system, to which the notary would have access.

Such a solution could shorten the registration procedure without compromising the security of transactions.

In the discussion regarding the potential delegation of certain registration powers to notaries, it is emphasized that the notarial community already possesses experience in maintaining specialized business registers. An example is the register of shareholders of ordinary joint-stock companies, which operates within the Notarial Registers system.

From this perspective, some experts point out that entrusting notaries with certain formal tasks—particularly those of a non-contentious nature—could relieve the courts and expedite registration procedures. Notaries are, after all, professional participants in legal transactions who routinely draft the founding documents of family foundations and verify their compliance with the law.

Planned changes regarding the family foundation registry

At the end of 2025, we also reported that the Ministry of Justice was working on changes concerning the operation of the family foundation registry itself. The draft amendment on this matter was published on the website of the Government Legislation Center and is currently under review.

However, the proposed solutions do not concern the transfer of the actual registration of foundations to notaries. Their primary aim is to facilitate access to data from the family foundation registry.

Once the changes are implemented, information and certificates from the registry will be available in electronic form. Documents will be available for download as computer printouts corresponding to the current registry extract, without the need for a personal visit to the court.

From a business perspective, this is a step toward greater digitization and accessibility of information about family foundations, which should make it easier for both entrepreneurs and their advisors to utilize this institution.

Summary

The discussion regarding the registration of family foundations with notaries shows that family foundations are no longer a niche legal institution and are becoming a standard tool for business succession.

The greatest challenge today, however, is not the registration of the foundation itself, but properly designing its structure—so that it is tax-efficient and meets the actual needs of the family and the business.

Do you need support with a family foundation?

We help entrepreneurs:

• design the structure of a family foundation
• draft the bylaws and operating rules for governing bodies
• clarify the relationships between the foundation and the companies
• complete the entire registration process.

If you are considering a family foundation as part of your succession strategy – please contact us. We will help you determine whether this solution is right for your business.