Build a Polish Electronic Sick-Leave Certificate (eZLA)

Skill: Convert a physician's incapacity assessment into a structured eZLA record

Region: Poland (Polska) Category: Health care / social security — e-health & ZUS Does: Takes a physician's assessment of an insured person's temporary incapacity for work and assembles the structured eZLA electronic medical certificate (elektroniczne zwolnienie lekarskie), issued on PUE ZUS by the authorised physician and routed automatically to ZUS, the payer (employer) and (where relevant) NFZ. Spec: ZUS / NFZ — eZLA (ZUS ZLA) electronic certificate on PUE ZUS (current version)

The eZLA replaced paper sick notes: the physician issues it electronically on PUE ZUS and ZUS delivers it to the employer's PUE profile, so the employee no longer carries a paper note. It records the incapacity period, the medical reason (ICD-10 + statutory codes A–E), and the regime to be followed during the leave. Field names below follow the eZLA form/structures, not a verbatim XSD.

When this applies

• Issued by a physician with PUE ZUS authorisation when an insured person is temporarily incapable of work, needs to care for a sick family member, or is hospitalised.
• Issued electronically at the time of assessment; back-dating is limited by statute (generally not more than 3 days before the examination, with exceptions for psychiatric care).

Structure (ASSESSMENT → eZLA)

eZLA
  Insured       PESEL (or document type+number), name, DOB
  Payer(s)      employer/payer NIP (each insurance title gets a certificate)
  Issuer        physician PWZ (prawo wykonywania zawodu), place of issue
  Incapacity    period od–do (number of days), continuation/initial flag
  Reason        ICD-10 statistical code + statutory letter code:
                  A (illness within 60 days of previous), B (pregnancy),
                  C (alcohol abuse), D (TB), E (after-effects > 14 days/relapse)
  Care          relationship + identity of the cared-for person (care leave)
  Regime        "chory może chodzić" / "chory powinien leżeć" (may walk / must lie)
  Place of stay address where the insured will stay during the leave

Data rules

• One eZLA per insurance title (per payer) — a person with several payers gets a certificate addressed to each.
• Insured PESEL must match the ZUS register; the physician is identified by PWZ.
• ICD-10 code is recorded but not shown to the employer; the statutory letter codes (A–E) affect benefit entitlement and care.
• Period limits — care-leave days are capped per year by relationship type; the incapacity period must respect statutory back-dating limits.
• Regime indicator must be set; an incorrect "may walk/must lie" flag affects ZUS inspection outcomes.

Worked example (outline)

eZLA — insured PESEL 88070712345, payer NIP 1234567890
Issuer: physician PWZ 7654321
Incapacity 2025-10-03..2025-10-12 (10 days), initial
Reason: ICD-10 J06.9, statutory code (none of A–E)
Regime: "chory powinien leżeć"
Place of stay: insured's home address

Issued on PUE ZUS and delivered automatically by ZUS to the employer's PUE profile; sick-pay/sickness-benefit base then reconciles via ZUS RSA/RCA.

Validation checklist

• Issued on PUE ZUS by a physician with a valid PWZ
• One eZLA per payer/insurance title; insured PESEL matches the ZUS register
• Incapacity period and initial/continuation flag correct; back-dating within statutory limits
• ICD-10 code present; statutory A–E letter code applied where relevant
• Care-leave identity/relationship and annual day caps respected
• Regime (may walk / must lie) and place of stay recorded
• Delivered to ZUS and the payer's PUE profile; reconciles with RSA/RCA absence

Last updated: 2026-06-04 — confirm the current eZLA structure on PUE ZUS, the statutory letter codes, back-dating and care-leave limits against current ZUS (zus.pl) guidance before use.