Polish identity card

Polish national identity card (Dowód osobisty)
Polish national ID card (front and back)
Issued by	Poland
Valid in	All EU, EFTA and CEFTA member states (except Kosovo) together with: European microstates French overseas territories  Montserrat (max. 14 days)  Northern Cyprus  Georgia  Jordan (organised tours through Aqaba airport)
Type of document	Identity card, travel document for passport in the listed countries
Eligibility requirements	Polish citizenship
Expiration	10 years (5 years if bearer aged less than 5 when issued)
Cost	Free

All EU, EFTA and CEFTA member states (except Kosovo) together with:

Every Polish citizen 18 years of age or older residing permanently in Poland must have an Identity Card (Dowód osobisty) issued by the local Office of Civic Affairs. Polish citizens living permanently abroad are entitled, but not required, to have one. Identity cards are valid for a period of 10 years (5 years for individuals under the age of 5 on the date of issue).

The front bears a photo of the holder, surname, forenames, date of birth, parents' names and gender. It also contains the coat of arms of the Republic of Poland and a security hologram. In the bottom right corner a special security element can be found - the photo of the person and the year of expiration, but only one of them can be seen at a time, depending on the angle of view.

On the back can be found the holder's nationality, place of birth, date of issue, date of expiry, card number, issuing authority and personal number (PESEL - Powszechny Elektroniczny Spis Ewidencji Ludności - Universal Electronic Population Database). Below the card number is repeated the bearer's photo and some of the personal data in machine-readable form.

The Polish identity card also functions as a travel document inside the European Union and, additionally, the non-EU-member countries within the Schengen area of Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Vatican City, San Marino and Monaco. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Northern Cyprus allow Polish citizens to use the card for travel as well.

The card number consists of 3 letters followed by 6 digits (for example, ABA300000), of which the first digit (at position 4) is the check digit.