A railway undertaking should also apply for a new single safety certificate:
- if their current Part A or B of a safety certificate needs to be renewed,
- if they want to make any changes to their safety certificate Part A or B, e.g. concerning company data (change of name or legal form), railway infrastructure on which they can operate or scope of operations.
Please note that if the area of operation is indicated in two or more Member States of the European Union, a single safety certificate will be issued by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA). If the carrier's planned area of operation includes only Poland, the applicant has a choice: they can submit an application to the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) or to the President of the Office of Rail Transport.
The instruction below applies only to applications to the President of the Office of Rail Transport. For information on how to apply for a single safety certificate with the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), please visit ERA website.
WHO?
The application may be submitted by any entrepreneur wishing to carry out rail transport activities or already carrying out such activities.
WHAT TO DO?
You should submit an application for a single safety certificate together with other required documents. The application must be submitted at least five months before the date of commencement of the activity or the expiry of the current safety certificate Part A or B. We recommend to submit the application six months in advance.
WHAT TO PREPARE?
An application for a single safety certificate is submitted via the One-Stop Shop (OSS), a special IT application. Information on the OSS, including a link, user manual and training presentations, can be found on ERA website.
The following documents should be prepared electronically (as PDF files) before applying for a single safety certificate:
- up-to-date safety management system (SMS) which meets the requirements set out in Annex I of the Regulation 2018/762,
- evidence on the application of the system (e.g. completed forms, implemented policies),
- checklist of national legislation for the application for a single safety certificate – a template is available here ,
- power of attorney (signed in accordance with the representation of the company) for the person submitting an application in the OSS system to represent the entrepreneur before the President of the Office of Rail Transport,
- proof of payment of stamp duty for the power of attorney (if an attorney was appointed),
- proof of payment of the fee for issuing a certificate.
If an application is being submitted by an currently operating railway undertaking, the following documents should also be submitted:
- list of changes to the SMS since the last assessment;
- information on the current status of implementation of corrective plans established by the carrier for the non-compliances identified during the supervisory activity and not yet resolved.
These documents shall be submitted electronically to the OSS. Legal documents (power of attorney, proof of fee payment) should be placed in the 'Other Administrative Documents' section of the application library in the OSS.
Details of the process for issuing a single safety certificate are described in the 'Guide for applicants for the Single Safety Certificate' which is available here.
Files containing these documents should be clearly named before uploading to the OSS, as renaming them later is difficult. Please do not place several documents in one file because it will be difficult to correct or change individual documents within such a package.
The application for a single safety certificate is in the electronic form and consists of several parts. Part of the application is a checklist, indicating that each of the documents complies with the requirement in question. The list covers all the requirements of Annex I of Regulation 2018/762 and the requirements of the Operation and Traffic Management TSI. Please note that the process of completing the application may take several hours. During completing the application, it is a good idea to save your work periodically in order to avoid possible technical problems due to logging off or loss of Internet connection.
Before the application is submitted, the system displays a summary of the application. At this stage, we advise to carefully check the most important information (in particular, the company name, KRS and NIP numbers, as well as details of the scope and area of operation). Once the application is submitted, it will only be possible to modify it once the relevant part of the application is opened for editing by a person assessing the application in the Office of Rail Transport.
HOW MUCH WILL YOU PAY?
According to the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 22 July 2021 on fees collected by the President of the Office of Rail Transport you will pay:
- PLN 20,000 for issuing a new single safety certificate,
- PLN 15,000 for the renewal of a single safety certificate,
- PLN 3,500 for updating a single safety certificate,
- PLN 40 000 for the issue of a new single safety certificate including confirmation of conformity with Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 2019/779,
- PLN 40,000 for the renewal of a single safety certificate which includes confirmation of compliance with Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 2019/779 or to be covered by such confirmation,
- PLN 10,000 for updating a single safety certificate which includes confirmation of compliance with Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 2019/779 or to be covered by such confirmation.
The fee must be paid at the time of application to the bank account of the Office of Rail Transport.
Fees for a power of attorney
When submitting a power of attorney, you should pay the stamp duty to the bank account of the tax authority in accordance with the local jurisdiction.
HOW LONG WILL YOU WAIT?
It takes up to five months to process an application for a single safety certificate. Please note that each case is individually assessed and the actual processing time may be different from that indicated above.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Guide for Single Safety Certificate applicants;
Information on the One Stop Shop (OSS);
If you have any questions about submitting an application, you can contact the Office by sending an email to utk@utk.gov.pl or to ask for a meeting during the 'Fridays with the Office of Rail Transport’.
LEGAL BASIS
Railway Transport Act of 28 March 2003,
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/762 of 8 March 2018 establishing common safety methods for assessing safety in relation to requirements for the safety management system under Directive 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulations (EU) No 1158/2010 and (EU) No 1169/2010 (OJ EU L 129 of 25 May 2018, p. 26, as amended),
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/763 of 9 April 2018 laying down practical arrangements for the issue of uniform safety certificates to railway undertakings pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 653/2007,
Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 22 July 2021 on fees collected by the President of the Office of Rail Transport,
Stamp duty Act of 16 November 2006,
Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 28 September 2007 on the payment of stamp duty.