Civil registry offices across Poland can now register same-sex marriages that were legally carried out elsewhere in the EU, as of August 23.

The new rules follow a major court case involving Polish couple Jakub Cupriak-Trojan and Mateusz Trojan, who married in Berlin in 2018. When they later tried to have their marriage recognised in Poland, Warsaw’s Civil Registry refused. Polish law defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Their case eventually reached the Court of Justice of the European Union. In November 2025, the court decided that EU nations must acknowledge same-sex marriages legally performed in another member state when couples choose to exercise their right to move freely within the EU.

Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court later ruled in March 2026 that Cupriak-Trojan and Trojan’s marriage must be officially recognised. In May 2026, their marriage was registered in Warsaw, making it the first city in Poland to do so.

That same month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk apologised to same-sex couples for the “years of rejection and humiliation” they had faced because of the country’s laws.

“This is a matter of human dignity: the right to happiness, the right to equal treatment by the state,” Tusk said, as reported by Notes from Poland.

“I would like to apologise to all those who, for many, many years, felt rejected and humiliated. For many years, the state has failed the test.”

The Polish government then introduced new rules allowing civil registry offices across the country to recognise same-sex marriages carried out elsewhere in the EU.

However, the move has faced opposition.

On July 17, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed legislation that would have given unmarried couples, including same-sex couples, a number of additional legal rights.

Later that month, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled against part of the government’s plan to recognise foreign same-sex marriages.

The Polish government does not recognise the current Constitutional Tribunal as properly formed and went ahead with the new rules despite its decision.

LGBTQ+ campaign group Love Does Not Exclude has also said the Tribunal’s ruling does not stop the regulations from being introduced.

The change means that a same-sex couple who legally marry elsewhere in the EU can now have that marriage recognised in Poland. However, it does not bring marriage equality to Poland. Same-sex couples are still unable to legally wed within the country. Instead, they must travel abroad to marry and then have the marriage recognised when they return.

For LGBTQ+ people, it is a major step forward that Poland now recognises same-sex marriages from other EU states, but the country still has a way to go before having full marriage equality.