Buying commercial property in Poland means acquiring whatever encumbrances already attach to the title — mortgages, pledges, fiscal claims, and enforcement orders. The Księga Wieczysta (land and mortgage register) is the primary instrument for reading that encumbrance profile. This page explains what the register discloses, what it does not, and what a structured collateral report costs at each scope level.
- What the register shows
- Current owner, legal basis of ownership, mortgages (hipoteki) by creditor and amount, easements, and usufruct rights. Source: Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) · verified 2026-07-11
- Access condition
- Search by KW number only. Name-based search is not available to private parties. The KW number must be obtained from the land parcel register (ewidencja gruntów i budynków) first.
- Cost of online access
- Free of charge. Certified paper extract: fee set by the registry tariff schedule.
- What the register does not show
- Fiscal pledges (zastawy skarbowe), registered pledges on movables (Rejestr Zastawów), pending insolvency proceedings, or VAT status of the seller. These require four separate checks.
What the Księga Wieczysta contains — and the access path
Every plot of commercial land and every separate premises unit in Poland has a unique KW number. The register is divided into four sections (działy). Section I records the property description and associated rights. Section II records ownership. Section III records limited rights, encumbrances, and restrictions other than mortgages. Section IV records mortgages in full detail: creditor, principal amount, currency, interest cap, enforcement basis, and priority rank.
The online portal (ekw.ms.gov.pl) returns a real-time view without registration or fee. The barrier is the KW number. A buyer who does not hold the number must retrieve it from the starostwo (district land authority) that maintains the ewidencja gruntów for the parcel. That step requires the parcel identifier (numer działki) and the commune (gmina). The seller holds both; an independent path requires formal access to the ewidencja — a separate administrative procedure.
Collateral encumbrances: five registers, not one
A clean Księga Wieczysta does not mean a clean collateral profile. Four additional registers carry encumbrances that do not appear in the KW.
| Register | What it covers | Access | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Księga Wieczysta (EKW) | Mortgages, easements, ownership chain | By KW number; no login | Free (online view) |
| Rejestr Zastawów (Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości) | Registered pledges on movables and rights | Centralna Informacja; per-subject or per-debtor query | DW-1 (debtor): 20 PLN · DW-2 (object): 20 PLN · DW-4 (certified extract): 15 PLN |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministerstwo Finansów) | Fiscal pledges arising from tax arrears | e-Urząd Skarbowy; object-based search | Search: free · Wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN |
| KRZ — Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych | Insolvency and restructuring proceedings from December 2021 | krz.ms.gov.pl; by NIP, KRS, PESEL, or case number; no login | Free |
| Biała Lista (KAS) | VAT status, declared bank accounts, suspension/exclusion history | podatki.gov.pl; no login; historical date query available | Free |
A full collateral check on a Polish commercial asset therefore spans five separate portals, two of which require a Polish national identifier or tax number to query the correct subject. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search is object-based — the asset description must match the register's own classification. Mismatches produce false negatives.
KRS and financial statements: the ownership and financial layer
If the seller is a company, two further registers are relevant to the collateral assessment. The Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) shows the current ownership structure, management board, and registered encumbrances on shares. It is free of charge; a certified extract costs approximately 30–60 PLN. The Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych (RDF) holds filed annual accounts and is also free of charge. Both are accessible without registration.
Filed accounts are not audited by the registry. A company may file late or not at all; the register records the filing date, not the accuracy of the content. The gap between filed accounts and the transaction date is part of the collateral risk picture.
The limit of what the sources allow
The Księga Wieczysta is the authoritative mortgage register, but it has two structural limits. First, it is accessible only by KW number — the number the seller controls. An independent path to that number requires a formal request to the starostwo, which is an administrative step with its own timeline. Second, the register shows the current state; a mortgage that was discharged and re-registered in the past week appears as current. The history of encumbrances is not directly visible in the online view.
The KRZ insolvency register covers only proceedings opened after 1 December 2021. An entity that entered restructuring in 2019 and concluded it in 2022 may leave no trace in KRZ. The prior register (Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych) held older entries; cross-checking both is necessary for any seller with a trading history predating 2021. A clean KRZ result does not confirm a clean insolvency history.
The Biała Lista records the bank accounts declared by the seller for VAT purposes. It does not confirm that those accounts are the only accounts used in the transaction. A payment made to an account not on the list triggers joint VAT liability for the buyer — this is a direct collateral risk, not merely a compliance point.
Where the sources disagree
The KW register and the Rejestr Zastawów operate on different legal bases and different object classifications. A pledge registered in the Rejestr Zastawów on a piece of equipment that is permanently attached to a building may or may not appear in the KW, depending on whether the equipment has been legally incorporated into the real property. These classification questions are not resolved by reading either register in isolation. The two registers may show contradictory encumbrance pictures for the same physical asset.
Filed KRS documents and filed financial statements may also diverge on the company's capital structure. A share pledge (zastaw na udziałach) is registered in the KRS; the financial statements show the corresponding liability only if it was booked correctly. Discrepancies between the two are themselves a finding.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR, ex VAT) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €590 | KW extract (Section IV mortgages, Section III encumbrances, Section II ownership); KRS current printout; KRZ insolvency check; Biała Lista VAT status on transaction date; written summary in English | Rejestr Zastawów (debtor and object queries); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych; ewidencja gruntów parcel data; financial statement review; pre-2021 insolvency history; physical site visit |
| Standard | €990 | All Signal items; Rejestr Zastawów query (DW-1 debtor + DW-2 object); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych check with wypis; MSiG court gazette search; KRS certified extract; filed financial statements (last two years); consolidated English-language report with source matrix | Ewidencja gruntów data beyond parcel number; pre-2021 insolvency cross-check; UBO verification beyond CRBR printout; environmental or planning register checks; legal opinion |
| Extended | €2,200 | All Standard items; CRBR beneficial ownership printout; ewidencja gruntów parcel extract; pre-2021 insolvency cross-check via Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych; three-year financial statement review with variance table; KW historical encumbrance timeline; discrepancy analysis across all registers; English-language report with executive summary and source-by-source conflict log | Environmental liability assessment; planning permission history; physical condition survey; legal advice on findings; enforcement action |
All three tiers are delivered as a written factual report. The report compiles what the named registers show on the dates of retrieval. It does not contain a legal opinion on the findings.
Timeline
| Tier | Standard delivery | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Signal | 3 business days | Requires KW number from client at instruction |
| Standard | 5 business days | Rejestr Zastawów physical query adds one day |
| Extended | 8 business days | Pre-2021 archive check may extend by 2 days if volume is high |
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Can the report be ordered without the KW number?
The KW number is required to retrieve the register entry. If only the property address or parcel number is available, the KW number must be obtained from the local starostwo. This step can be included in the Standard and Extended tiers on request; it extends the timeline by one to two business days.
Does a clean Księga Wieczysta mean the property is unencumbered?
No. The KW records mortgages and certain limited rights. Fiscal pledges, registered pledges on movables attached to the property, and insolvency proceedings do not appear in the KW. A complete encumbrance picture requires the five registers listed in the table above.
What happens if the seller's company has no KRZ entry?
A missing KRZ entry confirms only that no insolvency or restructuring proceeding was opened in that register after 1 December 2021. Proceedings opened before that date were recorded in the Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych and in MSiG announcements. The Extended tier includes a cross-check of those earlier sources.
Is the Biała Lista check relevant for a real property purchase?
Yes, where the seller is a VAT-registered entity. A purchase price payment to a bank account not listed on the Biała Lista on the payment date triggers joint and several VAT liability for the buyer under Polish tax law. The check is therefore part of the collateral risk assessment, not a separate compliance exercise.
What language is the report delivered in?
All tiers are delivered in English. Source documents in Polish are summarised and quoted in translation within the report body. Original-language extracts are attached as appendices.
Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. KORDECKI & Partners assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@kordeckipartners.com.