Company registration with BDO | Check if it is your responsibility!
Although the obligation to register in the BDO system has existed since 2018, there are still many entrepreneurs who have not applied for registration in the Database. This can be a considerable inconvenience - failure to register or incorrect registration prevents the entrepreneur from fulfilling important environmental obligations, and is additionally threatened by severe penalties.
What is BDO and who does it apply to?
BDO, or the Database on Products and Packaging and Waste Management, is a an information system to collect and manage waste management data. The system also allows electronic reporting and waste records.
An element of the system is the BDO register, in which the entities listed in Articles 50(1) and 51(1) of the Waste Act are entered. Some of them (mainly entities with relevant permits, permissions and concessions) obtain an entry ex officio, i.e. without having to submit an application. Others traders are required to register with BDO before the actual start of operations.
Who needs to register with BDO?
Obligation to register with BDO applies to both new companies and those that have been in business for many years. Entry in the register must therefore be obtained by all entrepreneurs who:
- generate waste and keep records of it,
- market packaged products, vehicles, tyres, lubricating oils, batteries and accumulators in Poland,
- produce or market packaging in Poland,
- make intra-Community acquisitions of packaging,
- introduce electrical and electronic equipment on the national territory,
- operate a shop or wholesale outlet and provide customers with plastic bags subject to a recycling fee.
A detailed catalogue of businesses obliged to register with BDO can be found in the Waste Act.
NOTES: Failure to register with BDO is punishable by imprisonment or a financial penalty of up to PLN 1,000,000!
Check whether you are obliged to register with BDO!
Not sure if you need to register with BDO? Afraid of penalties for non-registration? Answer a few questions about your company's activities and find out if you are subject to mandatory BDO registration.
Send your request to our expert and in response you will be informed whether or not you need to apply for registration with BDO.
Just starting your adventure with the BDO registry? Watch the free webinar and learn the basics of the BDO system in Poland!
How do I register with BDO? Take advantage of Interzero's expert assistance
The obligation to register with the BDO does not have to involve cumbersome formalities! Entrust them to the experts at Interzero - so you can avoid problems with filling in the form and the risk of returning your application for correction.
Our BDO registration service includes:
- establishing the actual scope of your company's activities,
- identifying the departments to be entered and the codes of the waste generated,
- preparation and submission of the application for registration with BDO.
If you already have an activity that requires registration, but do not yet have a BDO number, then we will assist you in obtaining an entry in the BDO after the deadline.
Trust Interzero - our experts have been supporting businesses for years in all formalities related to the operation of the BDO system. They also have extensive knowledge and a wealth of experience in assessing and then implementing the environmental obligations of companies in various industries. Hand over your responsibilities to us and join the ranks of satisfied customers!
As of 2025, a new regulation came into force (OJEU 2024, item 1644), which removes 5 hazardous waste codes from the list of waste codes exempted from record-keeping, including 2 strictly for the beauty industry. Unfortunately, the exemption in force until now, which was readily used by entities generating small amounts of hazardous waste, will disappear. Find out more on the BDO registration page for the beauty industry.
Advantages of choosing to register with the help of Interzero
Saving time
We will take care of all the formalities so that you don't have to bother with them.
Certainty of correct registration
We will include in the application all areas of your business that require registration with BDO.
Speed of action
We will submit your application promptly, so you will receive your BDO number as soon as possible.
Security
With us, you will avoid the risk of your application being returned for correction and severe penalties for incorrect registration with BDO.
Hassle-free updating of data in BDO with Interzero
Companies registered with BDO are required to update their data appearing in the register. If your company has changed:
- name,
- the address of the registered office or place of business,
- field of activity
... then you should update your data in BDO! You have only 30 days from the change of data to do so, or 14 days if you have ceased your activity requiring an entry in the BDO.
Write to us and get help with updating your BDO data or de-registering. We will look at the changes that have taken place in your company and we will make the appropriate application on your behalf. Don't procrastinate - failure to submit an application to amend your BDO data or to remove it from the register is punishable by a custodial sentence or a fine!
FAQ
Find out the answers to the most common questions about registering a company with BDO.
You must register with BDO prior to the commencement of an activity that requires a BDO registration and number. Remember that it can take up to 30 days from application to registration, so it is not worth delaying the formalities.
Registration with BDO is mandatory for the entities listed in Articles 50(1) and 51(1) of the Waste Act. If your company is included in Article 50(1), you will need to submit an application to obtain an entry in BDO. Article 50(1) entities will be entered into the register ex officio.
A catalogue of entities exempt from BDO registration is included in Article 51(2) of the Waste Act. Pursuant to it, registration in the BDO register is not subject to:
- natural persons and organisational entities which are not undertakings using waste for their own purposes,
- entities owning land on which municipal sewage sludge is used:
- in agriculture, understood as the cultivation of all marketable crops, including those intended for animal feed,
- for the cultivation of plants for compost production,
- for growing non-food and feed crops,
- for land reclamation, including arable land,
- when adapting land to specific needs arising from waste management plans, zoning plans or zoning decisions,
- entities that carry out non-professional collection of packaging waste of used consumer goods, e.g. medicines and their packaging,
- transporters of their own generated waste,
- in principle, also waste generators who are farmers and who farm less than 75 ha of agricultural land.
Additional exemptions from registration with BDO are contained in other provisions of the Waste Act and the Acts amending the Waste Act.
Wondering if you need to register with BDO? Contact Interzero and see if the exemptions mentioned apply to your company too!
The one-off cost of registration with BDO (from 2025) is PLN 200 for micro-entrepreneurs and PLN 800 for other companies. Proof of payment of the BDO registration fee must accompany the application for entry.
Only entrepreneurs pay a registration fee to BDO:
- introducers of electrical and electronic equipment and authorised representatives,
- the introducer of batteries or accumulators,
- introducers of cars and other vehicles,
- introducing packaged products on the national territory,
- the importer of tyres on the national territory,
- introducing lubricating oils on the national territory,
- who are producers, importers and intra-Community purchasers of packaging.
In addition to the registration fee, each of the traders mentioned is required to pay an annual fee in the same amount as the registration fee.
Failure to register a company with BDO on time is at risk of penalty arrest, a fine or an administrative fine of up to one million zloty. The type and amount of the penalty mainly depends on the circumstances of the case and on the company's activities during the period in which it was already subject to registration with BDO:
- Failure to apply for an entry in the register or an application to amend an entry in the register is punishable by a custodial sentence or a fine,
- There is an administrative fine of between PLN 5,000 and PLN 1,000,000 for conducting business without an entry in the BDO register,
- The transport of waste without an entry in the BDO Register is punishable by an administrative fine of between PLN 2 000 and PLN 10 000,
- There is a custodial sentence or a fine for waste management that does not comply with the information reported in the register.
If you register your company with BDO without delay and comply with all outstanding obligations, you have the chance to avoid a penalty. However, you must do this before a possible inspection. Write to us and outline your situation - we will help you identify your company's responsibilities and complete all the paperwork.
You can check the BDO number of your and any other registered company with the help of the search engines on the government BDO system website.
An update application should be submitted to BDO in the event of a change:
- company information contained in the register (e.g. company name, registered address),
- the scope of activities requiring registration.
The update of the data in the BDO must be made no later than 30 days after the change occurs. If your company has ceased to carry out an activity that requires registration, you should submit an application for deletion from the BDO instead of an update application. You have 14 days to do this, starting from the date you permanently cease to carry out that activity.
You can submit an update application, but also an application to remove the company from the BDO register, in 2 ways:
- yourself by filling in a special form made available in the BDO system,
- with the help of an Interzero expert who will complete all the formalities. Write to us - we will take care of the bureaucratic duties and you will have time to develop your business!
Photo source: https://bdo.mos.gov.pl/
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