Sign a document electronically

First, fill in and save the form

1. 1

   Open the downloaded PDF in something that handles forms: the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (computer or phone), your browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) or Preview on a Mac.

2. 2

   Fill in the fields: click a field and type, tick the right boxes.

3. 3

   Save the filled-in file. In a browser, use the Download or Save button on the PDF viewer’s toolbar, and if the browser asks, choose the version with your changes. Don’t use Print or “Save as PDF” in the print dialog: printing can lose what you typed or turn the form into a picture.

4. 4

   Open the saved file again and check that everything you typed is still there.

Which signature to use

• Trusted signature (podpis zaufany) — free. All you need is a Trusted Profile (profil zaufany), which you can set up e.g. through your online banking. The easiest option for most people.
• Personal signature (podpis osobisty) — free. You need a Polish ID card with an electronic layer (e-dowód) holding the personal signature certificate, plus a phone with NFC or a card reader.
• Qualified electronic signature — paid, bought from a trust service provider. Recognised across the European Union.

What the law says, briefly. A qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one throughout the EU (Article 25(2) of the eIDAS Regulation), and it is the only one that satisfies the electronic form, which Polish law treats as equivalent to written form (Article 78¹ of the Civil Code). The trusted and personal signatures have the effect of a handwritten signature towards public offices and institutions (Article 20ae of the Act on the Computerisation of Public Entities, Article 12d of the Identity Cards Act); the personal signature also towards anyone else, if both sides agree to it. In private matters a trusted signature does not replace a handwritten one where the law requires written form, but it shows unambiguously who signed the document and when — which is enough for documentary form (Article 77² of the Civil Code).

Consents and declarations for a club usually don’t require written form. Sport Match accepts a file with any of these signatures; what is accepted is up to your club.

Trusted signature — free, via gov.pl

You need an active Trusted Profile (profil zaufany). If you don’t have one, set it up for free at pz.gov.pl — the quickest way is through your online banking.

1. 1

   Open the gov.pl service Podpisz dokument elektronicznie (Sign a document electronically) and choose Podpisz lub sprawdź dokument (Sign or check a document). It takes you to podpis.gov.pl.

2. 2

   Choose Dodaj plik (Add file) or drag the file onto the page, pick your filled-in PDF and choose Dalej (Next). If you’re warned that the document has editable fields that can’t be changed after signing, that’s fine — the form is already filled in.

3. 3

   On the screen listing your documents, check that the signature format is PAdES — that keeps the file a PDF with the signature inside it. You change it in the document’s menu: Zmień format i rodzaj podpisu (Change signature format and type). Don’t choose XAdES. In the preview you can also move the visible signature mark (by default it sits in the top-right corner of the first page).

4. 4

   Choose Podpisz (Sign), then the method Profil zaufany (username and password, or online banking) or Aplikacja mObywatel (you scan a QR code in the mObywatel app).

5. 5

   Confirm the signature the way the page asks — e.g. with a text-message code or in the mObywatel app.

6. 6

   Choose Pobierz podpisane dokumenty (Download signed documents) and save the file. It should end in .pdf. Do it straight away — once you leave the page, you can’t get back to it.

Button names are taken from the gov.pl service as of September 2026. If the page looks a little different, look for options with a similar meaning.

Personal signature — with your e-ID card

You need:

• a Polish ID card with an electronic layer (e-dowód — issued since March 2019) holding the personal signature certificate; it is loaded on request when the card is issued,
• the 6-digit PIN2 for the personal signature, which you set when you collected the card,
• the 6-digit CAN number, printed in the bottom-right corner of the card’s photo side,
• a phone with NFC, or an NFC card reader connected to a computer.

On your phone, in the mObywatel app

1. 1

   In an up-to-date mObywatel app, open the Podpisz dokument (Sign a document) service.

2. 2

   Add your filled-in PDF (up to 10 MB) — from the phone’s storage, the cloud or a drive.

3. 3

   Enter the CAN from your card, then your PIN2.

4. 4

   Hold the card against the back of the phone, where the NFC antenna is, until the app is done. If it doesn’t connect, take the phone out of its case.

5. 5

   Save the signed PDF. On an iPhone, save it yourself — mObywatel doesn’t keep signed documents; on Android the file is saved automatically.

On a computer, via gov.pl

Use the same service as for the trusted signature (steps 1–3 and the PAdES format stay the same). After Podpisz (Sign), choose the method E-dowód (e-ID card), then Podpis osobisty e-dowodem (personal signature with e-ID card). You sign either with a phone with NFC (in the eDO App) or with an NFC reader connected to a computer running the Podpis GOV app — the page walks you through it. Download the signed file with Pobierz podpisane dokumenty (Download signed documents).

Qualified electronic signature

You buy a qualified certificate from a qualified trust service provider, e.g. Certum (SimplySign), KIR (mSzafir, Szafir), EuroCert, PWPW (Sigillum) or CenCert (Enigma) — on a smart card with a reader, or in the cloud with confirmation in a phone app. The providers’ tools differ, but the idea is the same:

1. 1

   Open the filled-in PDF in your provider’s app or in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

2. 2

   In Acrobat Reader, choose the Use a certificate tool, then Digitally sign, drag out where the signature goes and pick your certificate (the names can differ slightly between versions).

3. 3

   If the tool asks for a format, choose PAdES (signature inside the PDF), not XAdES, and keep the .pdf extension.

4. 4

   Confirm with your PIN or in the provider’s app, and save the file.

With a certificate on a smart card you can also use the gov.pl service described above — choose the Certyfikat kwalifikowany (qualified certificate) method; it needs the Podpis GOV app and a card reader.

Upload the signed file to Sport Match

1. 1

   Log in to Sport Match. On Today, choose Download forms and send on the Documents to send card — or open Members and click yourself or your child.

2. 2

   Go to the Documents tab. Parents upload a child’s documents on the child’s page.

3. 3

   Under Required by the club, click the document you’re sending — the upload form opens with that document already chosen. Or scroll to Upload a document and pick the club’s form under Which form is this?.

4. 4

   Check the title and document type, pick the signed file and choose Upload. The document appears under Uploaded documents as Waiting for review, with a signature badge.

What the badge next to a document means

Once you upload a file, Sport Match checks the signature in it: whether the file was changed after signing, and who issued the signer’s certificate. Certificates are checked against the EU trusted lists (refreshed daily) and the Polish e-ID system. The E-signature column shows one of these badges — click the icon next to it for the details: the signer, the certificate’s issuer and the signing time.

• Qualified electronic signature

  The certificate comes from a qualified provider on the EU trusted lists, the key is on a qualified signature device, and the certificate wasn’t revoked. It has the legal effect of a handwritten signature.

• Trusted profile signature (podpis zaufany)

  Signed with the trusted profile via gov.pl — the signature carries the Minister of Digital Affairs’ qualified seal, verified against the EU trusted lists.

• Personal signature (e-ID card)

  Signed with the personal signature of a Polish e-ID card: the certificate was issued by the e-ID system and wasn’t revoked.

• Advanced signature or electronic seal (qualified certificate)

  The certificate is qualified and comes from a provider on the EU lists, but it doesn’t confirm a qualified signature device (an advanced signature), or it belongs to an organisation rather than a person (an electronic seal).

• Signature intact — signer not verified

  The PDF carries an electronic signature and nothing has changed since signing, but the signer’s certificate couldn’t be confirmed (e.g. it isn’t from a provider on the EU lists, or its revocation status couldn’t be checked). On its own this doesn’t confirm who signed — your club reviews the document.

• Signature invalid

  The signature doesn’t match the file (it was changed after signing), or the certificate was revoked before signing. Take the filled-in PDF from before signing, sign it again and upload it again.

• Signature found, not checked

  The file has a signature Sport Match can’t check automatically — e.g. an .xml (XAdES) file with a trusted signature. Your club will verify it themselves.

• Not signed

  The file has no electronic signature — e.g. a scan or a photo. That’s fine if your club accepts scans.

Whatever the badge, your club reviews every document and approves or rejects it, giving a reason. You’ll see the status next to the document and get a notification about the decision.