Glossary
Notarial deposit (depozyt notarialny)
A Polish notary can take documents, data carriers, money and securities for safekeeping. What the Notaries Act says, and whether it's the place for a seed.
A notarial deposit (depozyt notarialny) is a Polish legal instrument: a Polish notary accepts documents, data carriers, money or securities for safekeeping, with a protocol stating to whom and on what terms they’re to be handed over.
The Polish Notaries Act (Prawo o notariacie) covers this in the chapter on acceptance for safekeeping. A notary accepts documents, including in sealed envelopes (Article 106), and records the acceptance in a protocol that says to whom the document is to be handed over (Article 107). The document is released to the person named in the protocol or their legal successor. A notary may accept money and securities in connection with an act performed at the office (Article 108). The act doesn’t mention crypto.
Should you leave a recovery phrase there? Technically you can hand over a sealed envelope, but that’s one copy in one place, and the protocol decides who collects it after your death. It’s more sensible to deposit access instructions without the words of the phrase. Other countries have different rules for notaries, so check locally.
Why it matters for your family
A deposit lets you leave a document in a place your family can easily find and that the protocol describes. Use it for the instructions, not for the secret words. The guide on what access instructions contain explains how to write them, and the guide on crypto in your will covers wills. This is not legal advice; for your own case, ask a notary or lawyer.
Accurate as of 19 October 2026.
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