A receivable held as collateral is only as strong as what the debtor actually owns and what already encumbers it. In Poland, that picture is assembled from eight separate registers — none of which speaks to the others. This page maps each source, its access condition, its cost, and where it stops.
- Primary company register
- Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) — free, no login, no registration. Certified extract: approximately 30–60 PLN. Source: KRS · retrieved 30 July 2026
- Pledge registers
- Two systems run in parallel: Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance). A complete pledge profile requires both. Source: Rejestr Zastawów / e-Urząd Skarbowy · retrieved 30 July 2026
- Insolvency register
- Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) — free, no login. Coverage begins 1 December 2021. Earlier proceedings are not in this register. Source: KRZ · retrieved 30 July 2026
- VAT and bank account status
- Biała lista (White List, Ministry of Finance) — free, no login. Covers current VAT status and declared bank accounts. Source: podatki.gov.pl · retrieved 30 July 2026
What the registers actually cover
Polish law splits security interests across separate public registers. A receivable pledged as collateral may be burdened by a registered pledge (zastaw rejestrowy), a fiscal pledge (zastaw skarbowy), or both. Neither register references the other. A lender or buyer who checks only one register receives an incomplete picture.
The Rejestr Zastawów, held by the Ministry of Justice, records registered pledges over movable assets and receivables. A certificate on the pledgor (DW-1) costs 20 PLN. A certificate on the subject of the pledge (DW-2) costs 20 PLN. A certified copy (DW-4) costs 15 PLN. These fees are fixed by regulation and verified as of July 2026.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, held by the Ministry of Finance, records fiscal pledges arising by operation of tax law. A search by subject is free. A formal extract or certificate costs 50 PLN, obtainable through e-Urząd Skarbowy. This register is structurally separate from the Ministry of Justice system.
| Register | Administrator | What it covers | Search cost | Certificate cost | Access condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice | Registered pledges — movables, receivables | 20 PLN (DW-1 or DW-2) | 15 PLN (DW-4 certified copy) | Centralna Informacja — no special status required |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance | Fiscal pledges arising from tax obligations | Free | 50 PLN (wypis/zaświadczenie) | e-Urząd Skarbowy — free search, paid extract |
| KRS | Ministry of Justice | Corporate structure, directors, share capital | Free | 30–60 PLN (certified extract) | No login, no registration |
| KRZ | Ministry of Justice | Insolvency and restructuring proceedings from 1 Dec 2021 | Free | — | No login, no registration |
| Biała lista | Ministry of Finance (KAS) | VAT status, declared bank accounts | Free | — | No login — historical date queries available |
| MSiG | Ministry of Justice | Official gazette — announcements to Nov 2021 | Free | — | wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl — no login |
The corporate layer: KRS and financial statements
KRS provides the corporate foundation: legal form, registered capital, directors, and — for limited liability companies — the list of shareholders. The Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych holds filed financial statements. Both are free and require no login or registration.
The beneficial ownership register (CRBR) is also public and free, with no account required. It records the ultimate beneficial owner as declared by the entity. The declaration is the company's own submission — the register does not verify it against other sources.
Financial statements filed in the Repozytorium are the debtor's own submissions. They are not audited by the register. Where the most recent filing is more than twelve months old, the gap itself is a fact that belongs in the collateral assessment.
VAT status and bank accounts: the White List
The Biała lista (White List) is maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration. It shows current VAT registration status, declared bank accounts, and the stated reason for any deregistration, suspension, or reinstatement — each with a date. Historical queries are available: the status of an entity on any past date can be retrieved.
A payment made to a bank account not appearing on the White List creates joint VAT liability for the paying party under Polish tax law. For a lender evaluating a receivable, the debtor's account status on the date of any anticipated payment is therefore directly relevant to the collateral analysis.
Insolvency: what KRZ covers and where it stops
KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl) is the central insolvency and restructuring register. It is public, free, and requires no login. Search is possible by PESEL, NIP, KRS number, or case signature.
KRZ replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych. It contains only proceedings commenced on or after 1 December 2021. A clean KRZ result does not exclude an earlier insolvency or restructuring proceeding. For proceedings before that date, the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG) archive — searchable from 1996 — is the relevant source.
| Source | Coverage period | Access | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| KRZ | From 1 December 2021 | Free, no login | No data on earlier proceedings |
| MSiG archive | From 1996 to November 2021 | Free, no login | PDF issues only — no machine-readable data |
The limit of what the sources allow
Each register answers a defined question. None of them produces a consolidated collateral profile. The following constraints apply regardless of the report tier.
- KRZ contains only proceedings from 1 December 2021. A negative result is not a clean bill of health for earlier periods.
- The Rejestr Zastawów and the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych are structurally separate. Each must be queried independently. A result from one does not reflect the other.
- CRBR records the entity's own declaration of beneficial ownership. The register does not cross-check that declaration against KRS shareholding data or against other registers.
- The land register (EKW) is searchable only by KW number, not by entity name. Obtaining the KW number requires access to the land and buildings cadastre (ewidencja gruntów), which involves a separate procedural step.
- Financial statements in the Repozytorium are the entity's own submissions. The register does not verify them. A gap in filing history is visible; what lies behind the gap is not.
- MSiG issues from before December 2021 are PDF only. There is no machine-readable search across the full archive.
The report states at which point in each chain the source stops. Where a register produces no result, the report identifies whether that absence is evidentially significant or simply a coverage gap.
Where the sources disagree
CRBR and KRS are the most common source of divergence. CRBR records the declared beneficial owner. KRS records the registered shareholder. These are not always the same person, and neither register flags the discrepancy. Where they differ, the difference itself is a finding — not a data error to be resolved before delivery.
A second common divergence: filed financial statements and KRS share capital. Where registered capital has changed and the financial statements have not yet been updated — or vice versa — the gap is noted with the date of each entry.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR, excl. VAT) | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €590 | KRS corporate extract (current); CRBR beneficial ownership declaration; KRZ insolvency check; Biała lista VAT and bank account status; Rejestr Zastawów — pledgor certificate (DW-1); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych — free search. Summary of findings with source citations and retrieval dates. | Rejestr Zastawów subject certificate (DW-2); fiscal pledge formal extract (50 PLN); MSiG archive review for pre-2021 proceedings; financial statement analysis; EKW land register; CRBR-to-KRS cross-check narrative. |
| Standard | €990 | Everything in Signal, plus: Rejestr Zastawów subject certificate (DW-2) and certified copy (DW-4); fiscal pledge formal extract from e-Urząd Skarbowy; MSiG archive search for pre-December 2021 insolvency and restructuring announcements; filed financial statements from Repozytorium (three most recent years); CRBR-to-KRS cross-check with divergence notation. | EKW land register (requires KW number — separate procedural step); vehicle and equipment register checks; on-site asset verification; legal qualification of findings. |
| Extended | €2,200 | Everything in Standard, plus: EKW land register review (subject to KW number availability); vehicle register check via CEPiK/historiapojazdu.gov.pl where requisite identifiers are provided; full MSiG narrative review; financial statement trend analysis across available filing history; consolidated collateral profile with source-by-source divergence map; written summary of coverage gaps and what further investigation would require. | Legal advice or legal qualification of any finding; representation; enforcement strategy; court filings; any action that constitutes legal practice. |
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign entity request certificates from the Polish pledge registers directly?
The Rejestr Zastawów is accessible through Centralna Informacja without a special status requirement. However, the request form, the fee schedule, and the certificate itself are in Polish. The entity number (KRS or PESEL) of the pledgor must be known in advance. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych extract requires a Polish tax portal account (e-Urząd Skarbowy) with a verified identity. For a foreign entity without a Polish NIP, that verification step is not straightforward.
Does a clean KRZ result mean the debtor has no insolvency history?
No. KRZ covers proceedings commenced from 1 December 2021. Proceedings from before that date are in the MSiG archive, searchable from 1996. A complete insolvency check requires both sources. The report identifies which source was queried, for which period, and what the result was.
What does the CRBR beneficial ownership declaration actually show?
CRBR records what the entity declared. It shows the name, date of birth, nationality, and the nature of the beneficial owner's control (percentage of shares, voting rights, or other means). The register does not verify the declaration against KRS data. Where the declared beneficial owner differs from the registered shareholder in KRS, the report notes the discrepancy without resolving it — resolution requires legal analysis outside the scope of a factual report.
Why does the land register require a KW number rather than a name search?
Polish law restricts electronic land register searches to KW number (numer księgi wieczystej) for private parties. A name-based search is not available through the public portal (ekw.ms.gov.pl). The KW number is obtained from the land and buildings cadastre (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), which is administered at the starostwo level. Obtaining it adds a procedural step that is part of the Extended tier scope.
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.
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