Question 1

What is a PESEL number?

Accepted Answer

PESEL (Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludności) is the 11-digit Polish national identification number. It encodes the holder’s date of birth, gender, and a check digit, and is issued to every Polish citizen and registered resident.

Question 2

How is the PESEL check digit calculated?

Accepted Answer

The 11th digit is a checksum calculated from the first 10 digits using the weights 1, 3, 7, 9, 1, 3, 7, 9, 1, 3. Multiply each digit by its weight, sum the results, take the last digit of the sum, and subtract from 10. If the result is 10, the check digit is 0.

Question 3

How does PESEL encode the date of birth?

Accepted Answer

Digits 1-2 are the year, 3-4 are the month with a century offset (+0 for 1900s, +20 for 2000s, +40 for 2100s, -20 for 1800s, +60 for 2200s), and 5-6 are the day. This lets PESEL represent dates across multiple centuries within 6 digits.

Question 4

Are these generated PESELs safe to use for testing?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for software testing. The numbers pass format and checksum validation but are not assigned to any real person. Do not submit them on real government, banking, or healthcare systems.

Poland PESEL Generator

Generator Settings

Validate PESEL

PESEL Format

API Access

⚠️ Testing Only