KSeF test: the test and demo environments for practice
Choose what you want to do. The tool points to the right environment, its address and whether invoices issued there have any effect at all.
Use the environment
Test environment (TE)
Invoices have no legal effect; self-signed certificates allowed. Do not enter real data.
| API address | https://api-test.ksef.mf.gov.pl |
| QR codes | https://qr-test.ksef.mf.gov.pl |
| Maintenance (test and demo) | 16:00 to 18:00 |
The KSeF 1.0 test environment closed on 1 September 2025; the 2.0 API has been in open testing since 30 September 2025 (KSeF 2.0 API docs, srodowiska.md).
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · VAT Act, regulations and ministry notices checked on 25 October 2026
Poland's Finance Ministry runs three KSeF 2.0 environments. The test environment has run since 30 September 2025 and is for learning and connecting software: invoices have no legal effect, fictitious data and self-signed certificates may be used, and data may be cleared. The pre-production environment, called demo, has run since 15 November 2025: it needs real authentication and permissions as in production, but its invoices have no tax effect either, so it lets a business check readiness on its real settings. Production has run since 1 February 2026 and only there does an invoice get a legally binding KSeF number. The test environments have daily maintenance from 16:00 to 18:00. Each environment has its own API address and its own QR code server, so the code from a test invoice leads to qr-test.ksef.mf.gov.pl, not to the production server. The old KSeF 1.0 test environment closed on 1 September 2025.
The three environments side by side
| Test | Demo | Production | |
|---|---|---|---|
| legal effect | none | none | yes |
| data | fictitious | real company data | real |
| authentication | self-signed certificates allowed | as in production | full |
| API address | api-test.ksef.mf.gov.pl | api-demo.ksef.mf.gov.pl | api.ksef.mf.gov.pl |
| QR codes | qr-test.ksef.mf.gov.pl | qr-demo.ksef.mf.gov.pl | qr.ksef.mf.gov.pl |
| maintenance | 16:00 to 18:00 | 16:00 to 18:00 | announced in the Bulletin |
The addresses and rules come from the KSeF 2.0 API documentation. The ministry announced the switch of environments from 1.0 to 2.0 in its notice of 29 August 2025, and the demo launch in its notice of 15 November 2025.
A practice plan for a small business
- In the test environment, issue an invoice to a fictitious buyer and download it as XML.
- Open the file in the FA(3) reader and check the totals.
- Compute the hash and build the link with the QR code tool; you will see it leads to the test server.
- In demo, log in for real and grant a trial permission to your accountant, as described under tokens and permissions.
Before you start, check whether your case is still practice or already a real invoice:
Use the environment
Use the environment
Pre-production environment (Demo)
| API address | https://api-demo.ksef.mf.gov.pl |
| QR codes | https://qr-demo.ksef.mf.gov.pl |
| Maintenance (test and demo) | 16:00 to 18:00 |
A general description of the system is on the ministry page, and the differences between versions under KSeF 2.0.
What the test environment will not check
Testing shows whether a file is valid and whether your software can send it, but not whether the invoice is right for tax. A test invoice with the wrong rate will succeed, because the system does not assess content. The test environment cannot replace a check of permissions either: there you can give yourself any role, while in production permissions must come from a real login by the owner or the person named in the notification.
Remember the maintenance windows. The test environments are often unavailable every afternoon, so plan automated software tests for another time. Test data may be deleted without notice, so do not treat it as an archive. Once everything works, moving to production means changing the address and login details, not rebuilding the invoice file.
Repeat the test exercise after any major change: a new software version, a new accountant or your first invoice in offline mode. A few minutes in an environment without legal effect saves correcting real invoices, which cannot be removed from the system once they have a KSeF number.