Amputation navigator
Disability certificate
Amputation does not determine the degree of disability. The panel assesses how you function, not what is missing. Below is what to prepare and the deadlines you cannot miss.
Disclaimer: informational material, not legal advice. Amounts and rules as of July 2026. Check the current position on official sites before filing.
Document checklist
- A medical certificate on the panel form, completed by your treating doctor. Valid for 3 months from issue, not 30 days as many sites still state.
- Medical records: hospital discharge summaries, outpatient clinic records, test results.
- Rehabilitation records, because they show the course of treatment, not just the fact of surgery.
- A history of residual limb complications and pain clinic consultations, if you are under treatment.
- Earlier ZUS or KRUS rulings, if you have them.
- Once you receive the certificate, check indication number 9. Without it you will not get a parking card, and the only route is an appeal against the certificate within 14 days.
Deadlines to watch
- 3 months of validity for the medical certificate, counted from the day the doctor issues it.
- 14 days to appeal against the certificate to the regional panel, counted from delivery.
- 14 days from delivery of the decision on the level of support needed, after which the decision becomes final.
- 3 months to apply to ZUS for the supporting benefit, counted from the decision, if you want the arrears.
- From 1 March to 31 August, applications are accepted under Module I of the Active Local Government programme.
- One year from being assigned a degree, only then are the 10 additional working days of leave available.
From my own experience
I lost the most time on one thing: I was convinced that the disability degree and the decision on the level of support needed were a single case. They are two separate paths, two applications and two different offices. The second trap is a tax one. In your annual return you can only deduct the part of an expense that was not covered by the health fund or PFRON, and with a prosthesis that is a difference of tens of thousands.
The full article on what the certificate really gives you and what it does not
Where to check
- Supporting benefit, Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy - gov.pl
- Active Local Government programme in 2026, PFRON - pfron.org.pl
- Support Services System, filing applications - sow.pfron.gov.pl
- Act on vocational and social rehabilitation - isap.sejm.gov.pl
Legal position and amounts verified on 28 July 2026.
Want to understand the topic in more depth
This page walks through the procedure: what to prepare and by when. If you want to know how the assessment board evaluates an application and what the certificate actually gives you in daily life, read the article.
Read the article on disability certification after amputation