An entrepreneur entitled to provide postal services, consisting in performance of postal services, in domestic or foreign trading, on the basis of the entry in the register of the postal operators.

The Amendment to the Postal Law gave, from 1 January 2013, equal access to the market for all companies with an entry in the register of postal operators of the Office of Electronic Communications (Act of 23 November 2012, Postal Law; Journal of Laws of 2012, item 1529). At the same time, the institution of the "designated operator" was introduced in place of the previously operating institution of the "public operator"(the public operator term was in force until the end of 2012 in force in accordance with the Act of 12 June 2003 Postal Law Journal of Laws of 2008 No. 189, item 1159).

Among postal operators, selected through a competition, the President of the Office of Electronic Communications selects the designated operator (currently Poczta Polska S.A.) who is obliged to provide universal services in domestic and foreign trading (clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of letter items and postal parcels with the weight and dimensions specified for universal services, and items for the blind). Besides provision of the mandatory universal service, the designated operator may also provide services falling within the scope of universal services, courier items and other postal services.

Other postal operators (alternative) operate on the postal services market in the area of universal services, courier services and other postal services, and they may provide services in the country, abroad, or in the country and abroad, or only locally ( in a voivodeship, powiat, one town or even its part).