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Zajęcie wynagrodzenia (bailiff wage seizure): what it means and what to do

By when7 days to complain

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In short

A zawiadomienie o zajęciu wynagrodzenia is a notice from a komornik (Polish court bailiff) who, on the basis of an enforcement title (usually a final nakaz zapłaty or judgment), orders your employer to deduct part of your pay: for ordinary debts up to 50% of net salary, with the full-time minimum wage protected. The seizure itself does not expire, it runs until the debt is paid, but you have 7 days from the day you learned of the bailiff's act to file a skarga (complaint), and 7 days from learning about a payment order you never received to file an objection with a request to restore the deadline; the delivery day does not count and a deadline ending on a weekend or Polish public holiday moves to the next working day. analfabeta.pl explains such a letter in plain language and counts the deadline for you.

What this letter is

A zawiadomienie o zajęciu wynagrodzenia za pracę (notice of wage seizure) comes from a komornik sądowy, a court bailiff. It means enforcement is already running: the bailiff holds a tytuł wykonawczy (enforcement title), a court decision with an enforcement clause, usually a nakaz zapłaty (payment order), and acts on the creditor's request. He seizes your salary up to the debt, interest and costs.

Your employer gets the same notice and must from now on deduct part of your pay for the bailiff or the creditor; within a week it must also report how much you earn and whether there are other seizures. It has no choice (the alternative is a fine), so do not blame HR.

The notice usually comes with a zawiadomienie o wszczęciu egzekucji (notice that enforcement has started) and a copy of the enforcement title: creditor, court and date of the decision, court case number (sygnatura), debt, and the bailiff's file number (starting with Km).

Why people get it

Most often because an earlier nakaz zapłaty or judgment went unchallenged: it went to an old address, you did not collect the awizo, or you put it aside. The debt may come from a loan, bills, rent, ticket penalties, a fine, child maintenance or an old debt sold on to a debt buyer. Taxes and ZUS contributions are usually enforced by the tax office (urząd skarbowy) or ZUS, under similar rules.

Scams exist: letters from a fake bailiff asking for a transfer to a private account. A real komornik sądowy works at a district court (sąd rejonowy), has a numbered office (kancelaria komornicza) and is listed by the National Council of Bailiffs (Krajowa Rada Komornicza) at komornik.pl. A debt collection company is not a bailiff and cannot seize anything.

Deadlines: how much time you have

The seizure works immediately and lasts until the debt is paid or enforcement is discontinued. The deadlines concern your defence:

  • Skarga na czynności komornika (complaint about the bailiff's act): 7 days from the day you learned about the act, usually the day you received the notice. File it with the bailiff, who forwards it to the district court. Fee: 50 zł (as of 2026-08).
  • Request to restore the deadline for an objection (przywrócenie terminu): 7 days from the day you learned about the payment order, if you never received it. File it with the court that issued the order, together with the objection.
  • Lower bailiff's fee: if you pay the debt to the bailiff within one month of receiving the notice of enforcement, the fee is 3% instead of 10% (as of 2026-08).

Count as with any official letter: the day of delivery does not count, and a last day on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday moves to the next working day. A registered letter you did not collect after two awizo slips (7 + 7 days) counts as delivered.

How much the bailiff can take from a salary under an employment contract (umowa o pracę):

  • ordinary debts: up to 50% of net pay, and the minimum wage (for full-time work) is protected,
  • child maintenance: up to 60%, with no protected minimum.

If you work on a civil-law contract (umowa zlecenie) and it is your only regular income, the same limits apply, but the bailiff must know: write to him and attach the contract, or he may seize everything.

What happens if you ignore it

Deductions continue every month until the debt is paid off, with interest, enforcement costs and the bailiff's fee (usually 10% of the amount recovered) on top. The bailiff can reach your bank account, tax refund, car and, in large cases, property, and can summon you to list your assets. If you change jobs, the seizure follows you: the old employer notes it in your employment certificate (świadectwo pracy) and the new one is notified. Silence stops nothing; it only raises the bill.

What to do now

  1. Check the enforcement title (court, date, case number, creditor, amount). If it all matches and the debt is real, the cheapest way out is payment or a settlement.
  2. If you never received the payment order (for example it went to an old address), file an objection with the court within 7 days of learning about it, together with a request to restore the deadline, explaining why the letter never reached you.
  3. If the bailiff takes more than allowed, or seizes umowa zlecenie income without applying the limits, file a skarga na czynności komornika (7 days, 50 zł) and attach evidence: payslip, contract.
  4. If the debt was paid after the court decision, or you have other objections to the obligation itself, ask a lawyer about powództwo przeciwegzekucyjne (an anti-enforcement lawsuit).
  5. Ask the bailiff in writing for a stan zadłużenia, a statement of the debt (balance, interest, costs). You have the right to know.
  6. Call the creditor and propose instalments. The creditor can suspend or discontinue enforcement, and a settlement within a month of the notice lowers the costs.

Every letter to the bailiff or the court must be in Polish. Keep it short, quote the Km number and the court case number, attach copies, send by registered mail and keep the receipts. If you cannot afford a lawyer, every county (powiat) has free legal aid points (nieodpłatna pomoc prawna).

How analfabeta.pl helps

Paste the text of the notice or photograph it. In your own language you get the verdict: who is enforcing, on what basis, how much they can take, and until when you can defend yourself, counted from the day you received the letter. If you want, we also prepare a formal letter in Polish (a complaint, a request for a statement of the debt, a settlement proposal) with a mirror translation and a ready PDF.

Frequently asked questions

What is a zajęcie wynagrodzenia and why is a komornik taking money from my salary?

It is a notice from a komornik sądowy (court bailiff) that enforcement is already running: he holds a tytuł wykonawczy, a court decision with an enforcement clause (usually a nakaz zapłaty or judgment you did not challenge, often because it went to an old address), and acts on the creditor's request. Your employer gets the same notice, must deduct part of your pay for the bailiff or creditor and report your earnings within a week, and faces a fine if it refuses. Check the creditor, the court, the case number and the bailiff's Km file number in the zawiadomienie o wszczęciu egzekucji (notice that enforcement has started). A real bailiff works at a district court and is listed at komornik.pl by the National Council of Bailiffs; a debt collection company is not a bailiff and cannot seize anything.

How much of my salary can a Polish bailiff take?

Under an employment contract (umowa o pracę) and for ordinary debts, the bailiff can take up to 50% of your net pay, and the minimum wage for full-time work is protected from seizure. For child maintenance the limit is 60% with no protected minimum. If you work on a civil-law contract (umowa zlecenie) and it is your only regular income, the same limits apply, but the bailiff has to know: write to him and attach the contract, or he may seize everything.

How many days do I have to complain about the bailiff, and from when?

A skarga na czynności komornika (complaint about the bailiff's act) must be filed within 7 days of the day you learned about the act, usually the day you received the notice. The delivery day does not count, and if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Polish public holiday the deadline moves to the next working day; a registered letter you did not collect after two awizo slips (7 + 7 days) counts as delivered. You file it with the bailiff, who forwards it to the district court, and the fee is 50 zł (as of 2026-08). It makes sense when the bailiff takes more than allowed or ignores the limits on umowa zlecenie income; attach a payslip or contract as evidence.

I never received the court payment order. Can I still fight the wage seizure?

Yes, but act fast: within 7 days of the day you learned about the order (usually when the bailiff's letter arrived), file an objection (sprzeciw) with the court that issued it, together with a request to restore the deadline (przywrócenie terminu), explaining why the letter never reached you, for example because you did not live at that address. If the debt was paid after the court decision or you dispute the obligation itself, ask a lawyer about powództwo przeciwegzekucyjne, an anti-enforcement lawsuit. Free legal aid points (nieodpłatna pomoc prawna) exist in every county (powiat).

Can I write to the bailiff in English, and can I pay in instalments?

Every letter to the bailiff or the court must be in Polish: keep it short, quote the Km number and the court case number, attach copies, send by registered mail and keep the receipts. Ask the bailiff in writing for a stan zadłużenia, a statement of the balance, interest and costs; you have the right to know. If you pay the debt to the bailiff within one month of receiving the notice of enforcement, his fee is 3% instead of 10% (as of 2026-08). Call the creditor and propose instalments: the creditor can suspend or discontinue enforcement, and a settlement within a month of the notice lowers the costs.

Does a bailiff wage seizure affect my karta pobytu or residence permit?

A wage seizure is civil enforcement of a private debt: it is not a criminal matter and the bailiff does not report it to the immigration office. It can matter indirectly, because when you apply for or extend a residence permit you usually have to show stable income, and monthly deductions lower what lands in your account and show up on your payslips. If you change jobs the seizure follows you through your employment certificate (świadectwo pracy), so settling the debt or agreeing instalments with the creditor is the safer path.