
Quick answer
Who needs a military and weapons licence in Poland?
Any business that manufactures or trades in listed explosives, weapons, ammunition or military and police products in Poland, or trades in military or police technology, needs a concession from the Minister of the Interior and Administration (the MSWiA concession, in Polish koncesja MSWiA) under the Act of 13 June 2019. The concession is issued for a fixed term of 5 to 50 years, and the applicant must name two qualified individuals who meet the statutory requirements as to age, education, training, health and good character.
The licence covers more than production. Repair, overhaul, brokering, commercial advice, organising shipments and storage performed in Poland all fall within the statutory definitions of manufacture and trade. It does not authorise export, transfer or transit – those require separate authorisations from the Ministry of Development and Technology, and for armaments a certified WSK internal control system. The official target for a decision is two months; in practice it is the opinions of the security bodies, not the paperwork, that set the timetable.
5–50years – fixed term of the concession, set in the application
1990ssince the early 1990s – Dudkowiak & Putyra has advised on defence industry concessions
362days – filing to decision in a Dudkowiak & Putyra trade-licence matter closed in 2026
14days – to notify MSWiA of changes in management, shareholders or sites
Military and weapons licence applications in Poland
Dudkowiak & Putyra is a Polish business law firm that has advised foreign investors since 1991. Its defence and security team of seven, which includes a certified WSK auditor, takes a licence application from the first classification of the product to the decision: it selects and prepares the two qualifying persons, coordinates the premises opinion and certificates, files the application, answers the Ministry’s supplement calls and represents the applicant until the concession is issued.
After the grant the same team keeps the licence in good standing – notifications, amendments, five-year renewals, inspections – and prepares the export authorisations and WSK certification that a concession does not replace. We work with authorised certification institutions and with former military and security officials, and the firm’s tax, accounting and payroll practices cover the rest of a Polish set-up. Files are run in Polish and reported in English.
We reply within 24 hours with a scope and a timeline.
Part of the Defence, Security & Dual-Use practice
Dudkowiak & Putyra runs a defence one-stop shop for foreign suppliers and investors: licensing, export control, procurement, industrial security, transactions, tax and accounting under one roof. See the practice page
What the military and weapons licence covers – explosives, weapons, ammunition and technology for military or police purposes
This page is part of our Defense & Military Law in Poland guide and covers one permission: the MSWiA concession, also referred to in English as a military licence, weapons licence or special trade licence. The concession regime is set out in the Act of 13 June 2019 on business activity in the manufacture and trade of explosives, weapons, ammunition and products and technology for military or police use. The items that trigger the licence are listed in the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 17 September 2019 (Journal of Laws 2019, item 1888), which has four parts: explosives (MW), weapons and ammunition (BA), military and police products (WT I–XIV) and military or police technology (WT XIII). A concession decision names the exact parts and positions it covers, the sites and the two persons authorised to direct the licensed activity.
The Act distinguishes two licensed categories: manufacture or trade in explosives, weapons, ammunition and military or police products, and trade in military or police technology. Both terms are defined more widely than their everyday meaning.
| Activity performed in Poland | Treatment under the Act |
|---|---|
| Production and assembly of a listed item | Manufacture, including controlled production processes and relevant components |
| Repair, overhaul or remanufacture that restores or changes original properties | Manufacture |
| Recovery or disposal of controlled materials and products | Manufacture |
| Purchase, resale or other commercial dealing in listed goods or technology | Trade |
| Negotiating, commercial advice, assistance in concluding a contract, organising the movement of goods | Trade – commercial agency and brokering may require the licence in their own right; freight forwarding is excluded |
| Storage | Not a separate category, but storage under a trading or manufacturing model activates the premises, opinion and certificate requirements |
Four kinds of trade are exempt from the licence under Article 7(2) of the Act: trade in pyrotechnic articles of classes F1, F2, F3, T1 and P1; trade in deactivated firearms and deactivated military or police products; trade in alarm and signal weapons; and, since 29 May 2026, the sale of filter-ventilation units for protective shelters to the entities designated under the Civil Protection Act. For everything else on the list, the concession must be in place before the first regulated activity is carried out in Poland.
Video guide · 1 min
Defense Concession in Poland: Not Just for Manufacturers. Michał Dudkowiak, Managing Partner, explains why the concession reaches trade, brokering, repair and storage performed in Poland – not only production.
Summary (video published 10 September 2026): the question is not only what you sell but what your business actually does in Poland. Manufacturing or trading in weapons, ammunition, explosives or listed military and police goods requires an MSWiA concession. Repairs, assembly and modifications count as manufacturing; brokerage, negotiating and arranging transactions can count as trading. Before the first transaction, classify the product and check each activity against the Act.
Where the licence stops. The concession is standing permission to run a regulated business in Poland. It does not replace an export, transfer or transit authorisation under the Strategic Goods Act, a certified WSK system for trade in armaments, an industrial security clearance for classified contracts, or a civil-explosives permit from the voivode. Where several regimes apply, each permission is required separately.
| Permission | What it authorises | Authority | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military and weapons licence (concession) | Manufacture, trade, repair, brokering and storage of listed items performed in Poland | Minister of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) | this page |
| Strategic-goods authorisation | A specified export, import, intra-EU transfer, transit, brokering or technical-assistance transaction | Minister of Development and Technology (MRiT) | Trade with strategic goods in Poland |
| WSK certificate | Certified internal control system, a condition of an authorisation to trade in armaments | Authorised certification body | [DANE: link do strony Export Compliance – ICP and WSK po publikacji] |
| Industrial security clearance | Access to classified information at CONFIDENTIAL or above in a contract | ABW or SKW | Industrial security in Poland |
| Civil-explosives permit | Acquisition, storage and use of explosives for civil use (mining, construction) | Voivode or district mining office | Explosives for civil use in Poland |
What matters is where the work is done, not where the contract is signed. A sale negotiated and concluded abroad is not licensed trade in Poland just because the buyer is Polish; work carried out in Poland can be, even if the contract and the invoice stay abroad.
Three operating models: trade without storage, trade with storage, manufacture
How the business will physically operate determines how much preparatory work the application requires. A trade licence without the right to store is exempt from the premises condition of the Act and is the fastest model to file. As soon as goods are stored or made in Poland, the site must be ready for an external technical opinion and for fire, sanitary and environmental certificates.

| Criterion | Model 1 – Trade without storage | Model 2 – Trade with storage | Model 3 – Manufacture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premises opinion from an authorised institution | Not required | Required, site- and scope-specific | Required; assesses location, buildings, equipment, process safety, materials and storage |
| Fire, sanitary and environmental certificates (PSP, Sanepid, WIOŚ) | Not required under the concession filing rule | Required for the premises and equipment | Required |
| Two qualifying persons (training, medical, psychological, criminal record) | Required | Required | Required |
| Storage facility class, instructions, qualification card, entry register | Not applicable | Required according to product type and quantity | Required |
| Production quality assessment system | Not applicable | Not applicable | Within one year of the grant (exemptions for gunsmiths and micro-enterprises) |
| Typical applicant | Distributor, broker, integrator selling from the manufacturer’s stock, Polish subsidiary of a foreign supplier | Distributor with own warehouse, service provider holding spare parts | Producer, assembler, repair and overhaul facility |
| Realistic pre-filing period | Weeks: training, medical and criminal-record evidence | Months: site adaptation and three certificates before the opinion | Months to a year: construction or adaptation, opinion, certificates |
A concession may later be extended from model 1 to model 2 or 3 by an amendment application, once the premises evidence exists. Many foreign suppliers start with a trade licence without storage, supply from the parent company’s stock abroad, and add storage or servicing once Polish volumes justify it.
Who can apply for a military and weapons licence in Poland
The concession is granted to an entrepreneur registered in CEIDG (a natural person) or in the National Court Register (KRS) – for example a sp. z o.o., a joint-stock company or a partnership. A branch of a foreign entrepreneur can also apply, but then the foreign company itself is the licence holder and the statutory screening reaches its management and shareholders.
For a company, at least two individuals must meet the full set of personal conditions: either two members of the management board, or one board member and a commercial proxy (prokurent) or attorney appointed to direct the licensed activity (Article 10(1)(2) of the Act). The good-character requirements reach further.
| Condition | Who must meet it |
|---|---|
| Polish, EU, Swiss or EFTA citizenship, or a settlement or long-term EU resident permit, or reciprocity under an international agreement | Each of the two qualifying persons |
| Age 21 and at least secondary education (exceptions for gunsmiths and makers of black-powder replicas) | Each of the two qualifying persons |
| Documented professional training for the intended scope, completed at an authorised institution | Each of the two qualifying persons |
| Full legal capacity; medical and psychological certificates issued no more than three months before filing | Each of the two qualifying persons |
| No final conviction for an intentional offence or intentional fiscal offence; no pending proceedings of that kind | The two qualifying persons, all board members, commercial proxies, partners, and shareholders holding at least 20% – with a certificate of good conduct for corporate shareholders |
| No entry in the register of insolvent debtors of the National Court Register or the Central Register of Restructuring and Insolvency | The applicant company |
| Positive Police opinion (or foreign equivalent), capacity, age, fitness and integrity | Employees working directly in manufacture or trade |
In practice the application stands or falls on the two qualifying persons. If their training certificates, medical and psychological reports and criminal-record certificates are all in order on the day of filing, the only thing left outside the applicant’s control is how long the security bodies take to issue their opinions.
Foreign documents. Criminal-record certificates, diplomas and corporate documents issued abroad must be filed with a sworn Polish translation, and copies must be certified by a notary or by the attorney acting in the case. In a 2025–2026 matter handled by Dudkowiak & Putyra, MSWiA asked for the original of a board member’s foreign university diploma together with its apostille and had the document verified by a separate department before proceeding – a step to plan for whenever a qualifying person was educated outside Poland.
Documents for the military and weapons licence application – checklist
The application is filed on the MSWiA form and identifies the entrepreneur, KRS or CEIDG and NIP, the requested activity and scope by reference to the parts and positions of the Regulation, the term and intended start date, all operating sites, the management, proxies and persons directing the activity, and the shareholders with their holdings. The attachments below follow the Act; items 9–11 apply only to models 2 and 3.
How the military and weapons licence procedure works in Poland
Procedure · six steps
- Scope. Classify each product against the concession list and fix the activity wording (manufacture, trade, with or without storage), the sites and the term. Result: the exact text of the requested scope.
- People. Appoint the two qualifying persons, book the authorised training, obtain medical, psychological and criminal-record documents (the last three months before filing). Result: complete personal evidence.
- Premises (models 2 and 3 only). Adapt the site, obtain the three certificates (PSP, Sanepid, WIOŚ) and the technical opinion of an authorised institution. Result: site evidence valid for the requested scope.
- Filing. Submit the MSWiA form with annexes, ownership data, translations and stamp duty. MSWiA checks completeness and may call for supplements within a set period. Result: a complete application.
- Review. MSWiA requests opinions from the minister responsible for the economy, the Head of the Internal Security Agency (ABW), the Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) or the competent voivodeship Police commander (Article 9(1) of the Act) on the refusal grounds of Article 22; it may verify the site and presents the draft wording of the decision for comment (Article 10 of the Administrative Procedure Code). Result: opinions on file, draft agreed.
- Decision. The concession names the entity, activity, scope, sites, persons, start date and term. Business must start within six months of the date written into the decision, and MSWiA must be notified within 14 days of the start. Result: a concession valid for 5 to 50 years.
A refusal, or a decision upholding a refusal, may be challenged by a request for reconsideration to the Minister within 14 days, and then by a complaint to the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw within 30 days. Where defence or state security so requires, MSWiA may omit the factual reasons from its decision.

Promesa – a promise to grant the licence
An investor who is not yet ready to operate may apply for a promesa, an administrative promise that the concession will be granted. It is valid for at least six months and lists the conditions still to be met. During its validity MSWiA may refuse the final concession only on the grounds listed in Article 19(4): the application data have changed, the conditions set in the promesa have not been met, the grant would threaten defence, state security or public order, or the applicant does not meet the statutory conditions. A promesa is not permission to operate and costs PLN 98 in stamp duty. It is useful when financing, a lease or a customer contract depends on formal confirmation that the licence will follow.
How long a military and weapons licence takes in Poland – statutory target and real time

The Administrative Procedure Code sets a two-month target for a complex case, and MSWiA quotes two months in its correspondence. The Ministry does not publish an end-to-end processing period, and the actual time depends on the opinions of the economy minister, the ABW or SKW and the Police, which are not subject to a binding deadline, and on any supplement calls.
In a trade-licence matter handled by Dudkowiak & Putyra between September 2025 and October 2026 (model 1, no storage, a Polish company with foreign shareholders, scope covering explosives, weapons and ammunition, military and police products and technology, 50-year term), the application was filed on 5 September 2025 and the concession was issued on 2 September 2026 – 362 days. MSWiA extended its own deadline nine times. The decision text had been approved internally after five months; the remaining seven months were spent on opinions and the verification of a foreign diploma.
Source: dates in the matter file of a single concession procedure, Dudkowiak & Putyra, DP-Stats 2026.6. A single matter is an illustration, not a statistic; see Sources and methodology.
| Stage | Statutory or official period | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation before filing (training, medical, criminal record) | Medical documents valid for 3 months | About two months in the matter above (training certificates 14 July, filing 5 September 2025) |
| Completeness check and supplement call | Set by MSWiA in the call | Call after 33 days; answered within 16 days |
| Opinions of economy minister, ABW and Police | No binding period | Requested on day 61; the Police opinion was still outstanding on day 124 |
| Decision | 2 months (Administrative Procedure Code target) | Day 362; nine deadline-extension orders |
| Collection of the decision | — | 29 days after issue |
When you plan a launch or a transaction, assume several months rather than weeks. An application without storage rights is quicker to prepare, because it needs no premises opinion and no fire, sanitary or environmental certificates – but it does not shorten the time the security bodies take.
Cost of a military and weapons licence in Poland
Polish lawyers do not publish fee schedules, and Dudkowiak & Putyra quotes each application individually after a short scoping call. The official and third-party costs below are fixed by law or depend on the number of persons and documents.
| Item | Amount or basis | Who pays and when |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty for the concession | PLN 616 per scope of activity (e.g. trade in weapons, in ammunition, in products and in technology are counted separately) | Applicant, with the application |
| Stamp duty for a promesa | PLN 98 | Applicant, with the promesa application |
| Authorised professional training for the two qualifying persons | Per person, per course; the fee is set by the institution but capped by statute at half the average monthly wage (Article 11(6)) | Applicant |
| Medical and psychological examinations | Per person; each examination and certificate capped by statute at one tenth of the average monthly wage (Article 12(4)) | Applicant, within three months before filing |
| Criminal-record certificates | Per person and for the company; foreign certificates with sworn translation | Applicant |
| Sworn translations and certified copies | Per page | Applicant |
| Technical opinion of an authorised institution (models 2 and 3) | Fee set by the institution; site-specific | Applicant, before filing |
| PSP, Sanepid, WIOŚ certificates (models 2 and 3) | Stamp duty for certificates | Applicant, before filing |
Calculator · official fees and document count
Military licence application – stamp duty and documents
Select the parameters and press Calculate.
Stamp duty rates: PLN 616 per scope and PLN 98 for a promesa (state of the law: October 2026). Training, medical, translation and opinion fees are set by the providers and are not estimated here.
After the licence: obligations, amendments, refusal and revocation
| Trigger | Deadline or consequence |
|---|---|
| Commencement of the licensed activity | Start within 6 months of the commencement date in the concession; notify MSWiA of the start within 14 days – otherwise the concession may be revoked |
| Change of name, legal form, registered office or site, board, proxies, persons directing the activity, partners or 20% shareholders | Notify within 14 days; where data written into the concession changes, apply to amend the decision |
| Change of premises, technology or storage affecting the technical opinion or certificates | Notify within 14 days; updated opinion for material changes |
| Medical and psychological fitness of qualifying persons and relevant employees | Renew every 5 years; present the new certificates to MSWiA within 30 days of expiry (Articles 31 and 24(3)) |
| Suspension of the licensed activity | Possible for up to 3 years; a suspension longer than 6 months requires the stock to be sold or placed on consignment (Article 36) |
| Police (or foreign) opinion for relevant employees | Refresh every 5 years |
| Manufacturing: production quality assessment system | Create and implement within 1 year of the grant or of extension to manufacturing; conformity opinion of an authorised institution, or a current certificate from an accredited certification body in the licensed scope (Article 41(7)) |
| Restructuring, transfer of the enterprise, liquidation, insolvency, suspension | Notify within 14 days; a share deal keeps the licence in the company, but may trigger foreign-investment screening separately |
| Cessation of activity | Secure the trade records and notify MSWiA and the Police commander without delay |
MSWiA must refuse the licence where granting it would threaten national defence, state security or public order, and in a liquidation or bankruptcy. It may refuse where the applicant, or a person connected with it, had a concession revoked in the last 10 years for reasons other than non-commencement. The same security ground requires revocation of an existing licence; failure to restore compliance, serious breach, loss of eligibility or obstruction of an inspection may lead to restriction or revocation.
A concession is tied to the people and the sites named in it. A new board member, a new shareholder above 20% or a new warehouse starts a 14-day notification deadline, and a change that goes unreported is in itself a ground for restricting or revoking the licence.

Do I need a military and weapons licence in Poland? A short test
Test · six questions
Answer the six questions and press Check.
The test indicates which regime is likely to apply. Classification of a specific product against the lists remains fact-specific and is not legal advice.
Military and weapons licence matters handled by Dudkowiak & Putyra
Dudkowiak & Putyra has advised on concessions for explosives, weapons, ammunition and military technology since the early 1990s, when its first matters concerned explosives production, and today runs a defence and security team led by two managing partners. The firm represents Polish subsidiaries of foreign manufacturers, distributors, brokers and integrators before MSWiA, from classification to the decision and the post-licence obligations.
Case study · trade licence · 2025–2026
Military and weapons trade licence for a Polish company with foreign shareholders
In 2025–2026 Dudkowiak & Putyra obtained for a Warsaw-based trading company, owned by investors from outside Poland, a 50-year MSWiA concession for trade without storage in explosives (MW 1–4), weapons and ammunition (BA 1–30), military and police products (WT II–IX, XII, XIV) and military technology (WT XIII). The firm prepared the two qualifying persons, the application and two supplements requested by MSWiA, including a foreign university diploma with apostille, and filed a request to expedite when the approved decision remained unissued for several months. The concession was issued a year after filing.
What it shows: a trade licence without storage avoids the premises work, but the security opinions and the verification of foreign documents set the real timetable; a complete file and immediate answers to supplement calls are what keep the procedure moving.
A dedicated defence team
Seven lawyers who work on defence, security and dual-use matters, led by two managing partners and supported by a certified WSK auditor and a network of former military and security officials.
Three regimes, one team
The concession, the strategic-goods authorisations and WSK certification are prepared together, so the scope of the licence matches the products you will actually ship.
Foreign shareholders and managers
Apostilles, foreign criminal-record certificates, sworn translations and the citizenship or residence requirements for qualifying persons are handled in every file.
Clear scope, English-language reporting
The scope and the timetable are agreed before work starts; correspondence with MSWiA is conducted in Polish and reported to you in English.
How we help with the military and weapons licence in Poland
Classification and scope
Product-by-product check against the concession list, the military list and the EU dual-use list; wording of the requested scope.
Qualifying persons
Selection of the two persons, authorised training, medical and psychological examinations, criminal-record evidence in Poland and abroad.
Premises and certificates
Coordination of the technical opinion and the PSP, Sanepid and WIOŚ certificates for models with storage or manufacture.
Application and representation
Filing, supplement calls, access to the file, comments on the draft decision, requests to expedite, reconsideration and court complaints.
Promesa and amendments
Promesa applications, extension of scope or sites, notifications after corporate changes and share deals.
After the licence
Compliance calendar (6 months, 14 days, 5 years, 1 year), production quality system, inspections and WSK certification for export.
Tell us what you make or sell and where.
Polish lawyers do not publish fee schedules; we quote the application after a scoping call.
Who you talk to first
The first call is always with one of the three partners below. They scope the application, confirm the operating model and stay on the file until the decision is issued.

Michał Dudkowiak
Barrister (adwokat), Managing Partner · Author of this guide
Admitted to the Bar in 2014; graduate of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and holder of a University of Cambridge diploma in British and EU law. Heads the defence and security practice of Dudkowiak & Putyra and advises foreign manufacturers, importers and exporters on concessions, strategic-goods authorisations and the regulatory structuring of defence projects in Poland. Author of the Polish Defence Market Legal Guide 2026 and speaker at Rzeczpospolita’s training on trade in strategic goods (April 2026).

Piotr Putyra
Barrister (adwokat), Managing Partner
Admitted to the Bar in 2019. Advises on defence and strategic-trade law at Dudkowiak & Putyra: concessions, export and transfer authorisations, dual-use classification and the structuring of defence projects.

Michał Puk
Barrister (adwokat), Supervising Partner (Commercial and Regulatory) · Reviewer of this guide
Admitted to the Bar in 2019, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Represents applicants before MSWiA in concession proceedings, including supplement calls, requests to expedite and amendments, and advises on the corporate side of licensed entities at Dudkowiak & Putyra.
Who works on your file
Depending on the scope, the matter team is drawn from the lawyers below and from the firm’s corporate, tax and employment practices.

Maria Łupicka
Barrister (adwokat), Counsel
Admitted to the Bar in 2025. Advises on regulatory matters in the defence sector and on export, import and transit controls for military and dual-use goods.

Wiktor Galusiński
Lawyer, barrister trainee, certified WSK auditor
Prepares concession and authorisation files and audits internal control systems for trade in armaments.

Tomasz Halec
Lawyer, attorney trainee, defence and dual-use
Drafts applications, supplements and correspondence with MSWiA and MRiT; dual-use and military compliance training.
Technical and military experts we work with
A licence application is not a purely legal exercise. For the premises opinion, the classification of explosives and ammunition, storage design, WSK certification and product conformity we work with authorised certification institutions, explosives and ballistics specialists, former officers of the armed forces and the security services, and former officials of the licensing authorities. Dudkowiak & Putyra coordinates their input so that the client has one point of contact – the defence one-stop shop described on the Defence, Security & Dual-Use practice page, where the full team is presented.
Read more in the Defense & Military Law guide
- Defense & Military Law in Poland – guide overview
- Trade with strategic goods in Poland – export, import and transit authorisations
- Dual-use goods in Poland – customs, sanctions and compliance
- Industrial security clearance in Poland
- Explosives for civil use in Poland
- Interceptor drones in Poland – classification and MSWiA licence
Sources and methodology
Legal basis. Act of 13 June 2019 on business activity in the manufacture and trade of explosives, weapons, ammunition and products and technology for military or police use (Ustawa z dnia 13 czerwca 2019 r. o wykonywaniu działalności gospodarczej w zakresie wytwarzania i obrotu materiałami wybuchowymi, bronią, amunicją oraz wyrobami i technologią o przeznaczeniu wojskowym lub policyjnym; text on ISAP; consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2023, item 1743, as amended, most recently by the acts published in Journal of Laws 2026, items 471 and 646) – in particular Articles 2 (definitions of manufacture and trade), 7 (concession and exemptions), 8 (term), 9 (opinions), 10–12 (conditions, training, examinations), 16–18 (premises opinion, application, supplements), 19 (promesa), 22 and 24 (refusal and revocation), 26 (omission of reasons), 27–31 (obligations), 36 (suspension), 41 (quality system); Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 17 September 2019 on the classification of explosives, weapons, ammunition and products and technology for military or police use (Journal of Laws 2019, item 1888; ISAP); Act of 14 June 1960 – Administrative Procedure Code, Articles 10 and 35; Act of 16 November 2006 on stamp duty (schedule, concession and promesa items). Official information: gov.pl/mswia, Department of Permits and Concessions.
Own data. The milestones in the section on timing come from the file of one concession procedure conducted by Dudkowiak & Putyra between September 2025 and October 2026 (dates of filing, calls, orders, draft decision, internal approval visible in the file and the decision). They describe a single matter and are published as an illustration of the procedure, not as an average. Methodology and versions: DP-Stats 2026.6.
State of the law: October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice; classification of a product or activity is fact-specific.
Also published: [DANE: linki Mondaq / Lexology po publikacji].
Also presented at: online training „Towary o znaczeniu strategicznym bez ryzyka” on trade in strategic goods, dual-use items and arms, organised by Rzeczpospolita on 9 April 2026 and delivered by the Dudkowiak & Putyra defence team (summary, event page).
Corrections: none since publication.
FAQ – military and weapons licence in Poland

Is a Polish licence needed to sell weapons to a Polish buyer from another EU country?
No, if the sale is negotiated and concluded outside Poland; yes, if regulated acts such as negotiating, storing or servicing are performed in Poland by staff or an establishment there.
Can a company with foreign shareholders obtain the licence?
Yes; foreign ownership is not a bar, but shareholders of 20% or more are screened for criminal record and the qualifying managers must hold Polish, EU, Swiss or EFTA citizenship or a settlement or long-term residence permit.
How long is the licence valid?
For the term requested in the application, between 5 and 50 years, with fitness and Police opinions renewed every 5 years.
How much does the licence cost in stamp duty?
PLN 616 for each scope of activity, so an application covering four scopes costs PLN 2,464, plus PLN 98 for a promesa.
How long does MSWiA take to decide?
The official target is 2 months; in a Dudkowiak & Putyra trade-licence matter closed in 2026 the decision came 362 days after filing, after nine deadline extensions.
Do I need a warehouse to get a trade licence?
No; a trade licence may be issued without the right to store, which removes the premises opinion and the fire, sanitary and environmental certificates from the file.
Does the licence allow me to export?
No; export, intra-EU transfer and transit require separate authorisations from the Ministry of Development and Technology, and trade in armaments requires a certified WSK system.
Who must complete the authorised training?
Each of the two qualifying persons – two board members, or one board member and a proxy or attorney appointed to direct the licensed activity.
What happens if the company changes its board or shareholders after the grant?
MSWiA must be notified within 14 days, and data written into the concession must be amended by a separate application; failure to notify is a ground for restriction or revocation.
Can MSWiA refuse without giving reasons?
It may omit the factual reasons where defence or state security so requires; the applicant may still request reconsideration within 14 days and complain to the administrative court within 30 days.
Is a promesa worth applying for?
It is useful when a lease, financing or customer contract needs a formal indication that the licence will be granted; it costs PLN 98, is valid for at least 6 months and does not allow operations.
Does a dual-use product require this licence?
Not by itself; a dual-use classification triggers EU export controls, while the concession applies only if the product also falls within the Polish concession list.