New civil protection mandate

Poland's Ministry of the Interior and Administration announced on 30 September 2026 that all 86,591 designated shelter points across the country must be visibly marked by the end of 2026. The requirement stems from an amended regulation on the fire protection of buildings, other construction facilities, and areas, which was published on 29 September and entered into force on 30 September. Under the updated legal framework, property owners and facility managers across Poland are legally obligated to install standardised signage on their buildings. Building owners are also required to unlock and grant full public access to designated shelter spaces whenever an emergency alarm sounds. The nationwide initiative covers thousands of public and residential facilities serving a national population of approximately 37 million residents.

Standardised signage and international design

The official signage design conforms to international civil defence standards, including technical criteria established under the Geneva Convention. Each designated building must carry two distinct plates on its external facade: a 20-by-20 centimetre plaque showing an equilateral blue triangle set against an orange background, alongside a 10-by-20 centimetre plate bearing the white inscription "PUNKT SCHRONIENIA" on a green background. Building managers must also affix an 8-by-8 centimetre adhesive sticker featuring the orange-and-blue civil defence symbol directly onto entrance doors. The interior ministry, led by Marcin Kierwiński, issued an official communication explaining the operational objective behind the unified visual system.

“Thanks to this, citizens will be able to easily and quickly identify places providing basic protection in threat situations, such as an air attack, a terrorist attack, or sudden weather events.”

Peacetime shelters versus wartime bunkers

The complete national inventory of shelter locations is catalogued on the government platform and mobile application gdziesieukryc.pl, which currently lists exactly 86,591 sites. Designated spaces across Polish municipalities include subway stations, road tunnels, pedestrian underpasses, underground garages, and other reinforced architectural structures. The digital portal also provides citizens with civil defence handbooks, local weather updates, and emergency contact directories, including the nationwide 112 emergency phone line. Speaking on RMF24, Deputy Interior Minister Wiesław Leśniakiewicz emphasized the distinct legal and operational category of these designated locations.

“This regulation enters into force today and we are essentially obliged to mark all these facilities, these shelter points, because these shelter points are for peacetime. Here it must resonate clearly: for peacetime we have shelter points, for wartime we have temporary shelters, bunkers, and hiding places.”

Standby readiness in eastern border regions

The regulatory rollout follows recurring public safety concerns and repeated emergency text warnings issued by the Government Security Centre in the eastern border voivodeships of Lubelskie and Podkarpackie. Addressing questions regarding potential extraordinary measures in these frontier areas, Leśniakiewicz stated that the government sees no necessity to declare a formal state of emergency. He noted that states of emergency are strictly regulated by the Polish Constitution, while regional voivodes already possess the legal authority to maintain subordinated emergency services in a heightened state of operational readiness. Property owners and municipal administrators nationwide have until the end of 2026 to complete the physical installation of the mandated markers.