Dobry Start 2026: 300 zł per pupil, apply to ZUS by 30 November

Who gets it, and how much

Dobry Start (also called 300+) is 300 zł once a year for each child at school (§ 4 ust. 1 and § 5 ust. 1 of the Council of Ministers' regulation on Dobry Start, "the regulation"). Your income does not matter: the regulation sets no income limit.

• Age: the pupil is under 20, or under 24 with a disability certificate (orzeczenie o niepełnosprawności). A pupil who turns 20, or 24, in the year the school year starts still counts (§ 4 ust. 2–3).
• School: a primary, secondary or art school, or some special centres. The preschool year (zerówka) does not count (§ 3 pkt 5, § 6 pkt 2).
• Who applies: a parent, a guardian, a foster family, a person who cares for the child under a court order, or in some cases an adult pupil (§ 4 ust. 1, § 10 ust. 1). If both parents care for the child, ZUS pays the one who applies first (§ 28 ust. 2). With shared care in turns ordered by a court, each parent gets 150 zł (§ 5 ust. 2).
• Residence: you live in Poland (§ 2 ust. 1).

Dobry Start is not taxed, a bailiff cannot take it, and it does not count as income for other benefits (art. 187a ust. 3 of the act on family support and foster care, "the family support act").

When to apply

ZUS takes applications from 1 July to 30 November (§ 26 ust. 1). For the 2026/2027 school year, the last day is 30 November 2026. A later application is left unexamined (bez rozpatrzenia), and there is no money for that school year (§ 26 ust. 2).

One exception: if the pupil's disability case was pending in that period, you can apply within 3 months of the day the certificate was issued (§ 26 ust. 3). This matters for pupils aged 20 to 24, who get Dobry Start only with the certificate (§ 4 ust. 2).

How to apply

Only online (§ 13 ust. 1). For a parent, ZUS lists these ways (zus.pl): your ZUS profile (PUE/eZUS or the mZUS app), internet banking of many banks and credit unions (SKOK), and the Emp@tia portal. Other applicants use eZUS or the mZUS app. If your child is a foreigner, a bank or Emp@tia works only if you and the child both have a PESEL number (zus.pl).

Give your bank account: ZUS pays only by transfer (§ 27 ust. 2). If you apply through a bank or Emp@tia and have no eZUS profile, ZUS creates one for you (§ 13 ust. 2). ZUS sends every letter about Dobry Start only to that profile (§ 15 ust. 5). Check it.

If the form has mistakes, ZUS gives you 14 days to correct it; if documents are missing, 14 to 30 days. If you do not reply in time, the application is left unexamined (§ 24). Report any change within 7 days, through your profile (§ 25 ust. 1).

No computer? ZUS must let you use one at its offices and help you (art. 187a ust. 2c pkt 2 of the family support act).

How ZUS decides and pays

• If you get it, there is no decision. ZUS puts information on your profile and pays, even if you do not open it (§ 15 ust. 1–3).
• When: by 30 September for an application filed with its documents in July or August. Otherwise, within 2 months of filing it with its documents (§ 27 ust. 1).
• If ZUS refuses, takes the right away or changes it, or wants money back, it issues a decision (decyzja), and only to your profile (§ 15 ust. 4–5). ZUS may tell you by email or text message that a letter is waiting (art. 187a ust. 2f of the family support act).

Foreigners and citizens of Ukraine

As a foreigner, you can get Dobry Start if you live in Poland and one of these applies (§ 2 ust. 1 pkt 2). For most groups, the child must also live with you in Poland:

• you are a citizen of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, or a UK citizen or family member covered by the Brexit agreement;
• a social security agreement between Poland and your country gives you the right;
• your residence card (karta pobytu) says dostęp do rynku pracy (access to the labour market), as it does when you may work in Poland (art. 244 ust. 1 pkt 11 of the Foreigners Act). Not if you came for seasonal work or study, work on a visa, or have a work permit for up to 6 months;
• you have an EU Blue Card, or certain permits for intra-company transfers or research;
• you live in Poland with permanent residence, EU long-term resident status, refugee status or subsidiary protection, or on a few rarer grounds (art. 5 ust. 1 pkt 3–5 of the family support act);
• you have temporary protection and a PESEL number with UKR status, and the child goes to a school in the Polish system.

The work rule. For the last two groups, from the 2026/2027 school year, you must have been professionally active (aktywny zawodowo) in Poland in the month before the month you apply (§ 2 ust. 2). This applies to applications filed from 1 July 2026 (§ 2 ust. 1 of the amending regulation, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 866). In short, it means: insurance from a job or a contract that pays at least half the minimum wage; a business; parental leave; sick, maternity or care pay; or a few other cases (§ 3 pkt 1a; art. 2 pkt 1a of the 800+ act). Being registered as unemployed (status bezrobotnego) that month also counts (§ 2 ust. 3; art. 66 ust. 1 pkt 24 of the health care act).

The rule does not apply if the child is a Polish citizen, has a disability certificate, or is in the care of a guardian named by the country of origin, nor to an adult pupil who applies alone (§ 2 ust. 2). So choose the month: if you worked in October, apply in November, by 30 November (§ 26 ust. 1).

Narrower than for 800+. For 800+, the work rule also covers the residence-card and Blue Card groups (art. 1 ust. 2a of the 800+ act). For Dobry Start, it covers only the last two groups (§ 2 ust. 2). If ZUS refuses you for not working although you are in another group, appeal.

With UKR status:

• ZUS pays only after the education register (SIO) confirms that the child attends a school in the Polish system that school year (§ 26a ust. 3).
• ZUS can call you to come to a ZUS office within 3 working days. If you do not come in time, it leaves your application unexamined (§ 26a ust. 1–2).
• The Ukraine special act no longer gives Dobry Start: its art. 26 was repealed on 5 March 2026 (art. 17 pkt 13 of the wind-down act, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 203).

If ZUS refuses: the appeal (odwołanie)

You have 14 days from delivery of the decision (art. 129 § 2 k.p.a.; the k.p.a. applies where the regulation says nothing, § 30). The regulation does not say when a decision on your profile counts as delivered. To be safe, count from the day it appears there.

The appeal goes to the President of ZUS (Prezes Zakładu Ubezpieczeń Społecznych), whom the law names as the higher body for Dobry Start (art. 187a ust. 2d of the family support act). You send it through the ZUS unit that issued the decision (art. 129 § 1 k.p.a.). It does not go to a court: the court comes only after the President decides (art. 52 § 1 p.p.s.a.).

Send it only through your ZUS profile, not by post, e-Doręczenia or email (§ 15 ust. 6). ZUS's instruction gives the steps (zus.pl):

1. In PUE/eZUS, open [Dobry start] > [Szczegóły Twoich wniosków], mark the application and click [Szczegóły].
2. Mark the child and click [Odwołanie od decyzji odmownej]. In the form (DS-ODW), check the decision's number and date, paste your letter into [Treść odwołania] and add your proof.
3. Send and sign it with your PUE profile, a trusted signature (podpis zaufany) or another e-signature (§ 15 ust. 8). Keep the confirmation.

An appeal needs no detailed reasons: it is enough that it shows you disagree (art. 128 k.p.a.). Still, say what is wrong and add proof, for example payslips for the month before you applied or a school certificate. Ask for the decision to be overturned and Dobry Start paid.

Missed the 14 days through no fault of your own? Within 7 days of the obstacle ending, ask to restore the deadline and send the appeal with the request (art. 58 k.p.a.).

If ZUS is late: the ponaglenie

If the date in § 27 ust. 1 has passed (30 September, or 2 months) and ZUS has neither paid nor decided, send a ponaglenie: a formal letter asking the President of ZUS to make ZUS act (art. 37 § 1 k.p.a.). Not earlier: a ponaglenie sent too early is left unexamined (art. 37 § 3a).

It goes to the President of ZUS, through ZUS (art. 37 § 3 pkt 1 k.p.a.; art. 187a ust. 2d), again only through your profile (§ 15 ust. 6). There is no special form for it: ZUS says to use the general letter form POG when no form fits (zus.pl). Say when you applied and that nothing has come (art. 37 § 2). ZUS must pass it on within 7 days, and the President must deal with it within 7 days. If ZUS was late, the President orders it to decide by a set date (art. 37 § 4–6).

With UKR status, the dates in § 27 ust. 1 apply "taking into account" the SIO check (§ 26a ust. 3). The regulation does not say how long the check may take, so it is not clear when ZUS is late. Ask free legal help.

After the appeal

If you disagree with the President's decision, you can complain to the voivodeship administrative court (WSA) for the place where you live (art. 187a ust. 6 of the family support act), within 30 days of delivery, through the President of ZUS (art. 53 § 1 and 54 § 1 p.p.s.a.). If ZUS is still late after a ponaglenie, you can complain to the court about the delay at any time (art. 53 § 2b). We do not write these complaints yet. Free legal help can.

What Respubliko writes, and free help

Respubliko writes the appeal or the ponaglenie in Polish from your answers. You check it, paste it into the form on your ZUS profile, sign it and send it yourself. Respubliko does not apply for Dobry Start for you and does not send anything.

• ZUS answers questions on 22 560 16 00 (working days, 7:00–18:00) and in its offices (zus.pl). A call or an email is not a letter: the appeal still goes through your profile (§ 15 ust. 6).
• Free legal help (nieodpłatna pomoc prawna) is open to everyone in Poland, foreigners too, in about 1,500 points, in every county, in person, by phone or online (gov.pl). Book at zapisy-np.ms.gov.pl.