Spouses have equal rights and obligations in marriage.
When entering the marriage contract, a wife may make a statement that she wishes to keep her last name or wishes to add her husband's last name to her own. The last name created in that way may have no more then two components. If the bride does not make such a statement, she shall take her husband's last name. Documents should be filed with the vital statistics office. If an alien is not able to obtain such a certificate, a Polish court may exempt an alien from this requirement.