Amendment to the National Criminal Register Act: Poland Implements the ECRIS-TCN System

Significant changes are under way in Polish law concerning the international exchange of information on criminal convictions. The reform rests on the Act of 13 February 2026 amending the Act on the National Criminal Register (Krajowy Rejestr Karny, KRK) and certain other acts, which implements Council Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA of 26 February 2009 on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from criminal records between Member States, as well as Directive (EU) 2019/884 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 amending that Framework Decision as regards the exchange of information on third-country nationals and as regards the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS), and replacing Council Decision 2009/316/JHA. The new provisions serve the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/816 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 establishing a centralised system for the identification of Member States holding conviction information on third-country nationals and stateless persons, to supplement the European Criminal Records Information System, and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1726.

The key element of the amendment is the implementation of the ECRIS-TCN system (European Criminal Records Information System for Third Country Nationals).

What is the ECRIS-TCN system?

Until now, ECRIS allowed for the efficient exchange of conviction data concerning citizens of EU Member States. For third-country nationals, stateless persons and persons of unknown nationality, the procedure was considerably more difficult and required sending separate enquiries to every Member State.

ECRIS-TCN is a central, digital database holding alphanumeric and biometric data, including fingerprints. It will allow Polish law-enforcement authorities to establish almost instantly in which Member State a given foreign national has previously been convicted, and to address a request for the details of that judgment directly to the competent authority.

What changes?

The amendment modifies not only the Act on the National Criminal Register, but also the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Fiscal Penal Code. The most important measures include:

• The role of the KRK Information Bureau — as the central authority it will coordinate the transfer of data and the handling of enquiries within the new system;
• A duty to take fingerprints — authorities conducting criminal proceedings are now required to collect biometric data from third-country nationals, closing gaps in the identification of offenders;
• Reinforcement of the mutual recognition of judgments — faster access to information will allow courts to take prior convictions handed down in other EU countries into account more efficiently;
• Protection of minors — the changes will also improve the effectiveness of vetting persons applying to work with children, raising the safety standard in childcare institutions.

When do the changes take effect?

Implementation has been staged over time to ensure full synchronisation with EU systems:

• Procedural and administrative provisions — enter into force 14 days after publication in the Journal of Laws;
• Operational provisions (the database, the exchange of fingerprints) — enter into force on the date of the technical launch of the ECRIS-TCN system, planned for the second quarter of 2026;
• Article 6 of the Act — enters into force on 12 July 2026.