Poland sets out AI regulatory sandbox rules and opens PLN 35 million call for a central sandbox portal

On August 10, 2026, Poland's Ministry of Digital Affairs explained how AI regulatory sandboxes would work under the act on AI systems and reported a PLN 35 million call to build a central portal for the Polish AI sandbox.

Archive entry: this covers an event from August 10, 2026, and we published it on November 8, 2026. The details come from sources dated at the time and may have changed since.

On August 10, 2026, Poland's Ministry of Digital Affairs explained in an article on gov.pl how AI regulatory sandboxes would work under the act on AI systems. The act, signed by the President, created the legal basis for the sandboxes in Poland.

What the ministry set out

Selection: KRiBSI would create and supervise the sandboxes and choose projects through a competition it organizes and decides.
Duration and cost: participation would last 6 to 12 months and be free for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; art. 93 of the act capped fees at twice the minimum wage for local governments and four times for other entities.
Flexibility: KRiBSI could grant a temporary derogation from certain AI Act obligations and help participants reach compliance. Participants would then receive a confirmation of participation and a final report, and could request an individual opinion on whether their system complied with the law.
Central portal: the Digital Poland Projects Centre (CPPC) announced a PLN 35 million call from the European Funds for Digital Development programme (action 2.1) to build a central portal for the Polish AI sandbox and a secure environment for testing AI solutions.

What it meant for people building with AI

The rules gave Polish startups and SMEs that build AI systems, especially potentially high-risk ones, a route to test them with the regulator for free for 6 to 12 months, with a possible temporary derogation from some AI Act obligations. The project had a regulatory track of expert support toward AI Act compliance and a technological track of safe testing for public bodies on AI factory infrastructure via Cyfronet and PCSS, with Polish language models and ready-made components such as chatbots, assistants and OCR.

Timing and sources

The ministry's article on the call gave no application deadline and pointed to the CPPC website for documentation. The act entered into force on August 11, 2026, the day after these announcements, and its published text appeared as Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1003.

Sources

Piaskownice regulacyjne AI - wsparcie innowacji poprzez ich bezpieczne testowanie w praktyce (Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji (gov.pl), August 10, 2026, official)
Piaskownice AI dla firm i administracji - rusza nabór (Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji (gov.pl), August 10, 2026, official)
Ustawa z dnia 3 lipca 2026 r. o systemach sztucznej inteligencji (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1003, tekst ogłoszony) (Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (ELI), July 27, 2026, official)

Written with AI assistance, strictly from the sources listed above. Before it went live, automated checks verified its dates, sources and every language edition.