Can an employer check your diploma with the university? A bill would allow it and has cleared committee

What would change

On 5 November 2026 two committees of the Sejm (the lower house of parliament) asked it to pass a government bill amending the Law on Higher Education and Science. The bill adds Article 77a: at an employer's request, a university would confirm whether the data on a paper diploma match its records, meaning the student's personal file and the diploma register.

The employer must have justified doubts and explain them in the request, so the bill does not provide for routine checks of every diploma.

Why the government wants this

According to the bill's explanatory memorandum, employers have no such route today. The head of UODO, the Polish data protection authority, takes the view that the law generally gives employers no right to check a candidate's documents with other bodies, and that a candidate's consent would not be freely given. Authentication by NAWA (the national academic exchange agency) is for documents used abroad.

How a request would work

Everything happens electronically, through the electronic delivery address in the university's BIP (Public Information Bulletin).

• The request gives the employer's details with its REGON (business register number), the graduate's name, the diploma number, the data to confirm and the reasons.
• For diplomas issued after 12 July 2019, the employer first inspects the document's public-document security features itself.
• The university replies without delay, within 30 days of a complete request at the latest.
• Missing items must be supplied within 7 days. Otherwise the request is not examined and the fee is not refunded.

What it costs and who pays

The employer pays the fee and attaches proof of payment. It is 0.5% of the average wage in the third quarter of the previous year, rounded up to a full złoty. At the rate for the third quarter of 2025, PLN 8,771.70, that comes to PLN 44. That applies to a request filed in 2026. Requests in 2027 would use the third-quarter 2026 wage, which GUS (Statistics Poland) had not announced at the time of writing.

What it means for graduates

The memorandum says the employer will not need your consent to file a request. Universities are to explain this in a notice on their websites, so you may not hear about a specific query. Still, the employer must get the data it needs, above all the diploma number, from you.

The rule covers candidates and employees as defined in the Labour Code, not people on civil-law contracts. The bill speaks of a university diploma. It does not mention postgraduate or course certificates.

• Make sure you can find your diploma and its number.
• If your personal details now differ from the diploma, for example after a change of surname, keep a document that explains it.
• See also our first-job guide.

What about electronic diplomas

Since 30 June 2026 universities may also issue diplomas electronically. From 1 January 2027 the electronic diploma becomes the standard, with a paper one issued at the student's request. Where a diploma has an electronic version, the new procedure does not apply: the employer checks it in the electronic diploma repository once the graduate shares the access details. The request route therefore concerns mainly older paper diplomas.

What is not settled yet

This is still a bill. It was on the list of items that could be added to the agenda of the Sejm sitting of 5 and 6 November, but the Sejm's page, current to 5 November, does not yet show a second reading. Further sittings are planned for 17–19 November, 2–4 December and 17–18 December. After the Sejm, the law goes to the Senate and the president, and it would take effect 30 days after publication. The bill does not list what counts as justified doubt. The memorandum gives one example: a worrying result when checking the security features.