A foreign buyer or lender holding a Polish asset as collateral faces a specific problem: the value of that security depends on what already encumbers it, and Polish encumbrances are distributed across several registers that do not communicate with one another. Establishing the collateral position requires querying each register separately, in the correct order, under the correct access conditions.
- What the land register shows
- Ownership, mortgage entries, and third-party rights in rem. Source: Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW), Ministry of Justice · verified 07.07.2026
- What the pledge register shows
- Registered pledges over movables and receivables, with priority ranking. Source: Rejestr Zastawów, Ministry of Justice · verified 07.07.2026
- What the insolvency register shows
- Whether restructuring or bankruptcy proceedings are open against the owner or debtor. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) · verified 07.07.2026
- What no single source shows
- A consolidated encumbrance picture across all asset classes. That picture must be assembled from at least four registers, cross-referenced against the asset identifier and the entity identifier.
Why the collateral question arises specifically at restructuring entry
Polish restructuring law — primarily the Act of 15 May 2015 on Restructuring — creates a procedural moment at which the collateral landscape changes. Once proceedings are opened, the court issues a decision that is entered in KRZ. From that point, certain enforcement actions against the debtor's assets are stayed, and the priority of existing security interests is fixed. A lender or buyer who has not verified the encumbrance position before that moment may be entering a situation where the asset is already pledged, mortgaged, or subject to a retention-of-title clause that was never registered.
The checklist below maps each register to the asset class it covers, the access condition that applies to a foreign applicant, and the specific gap the register leaves open.
Step 1 — Land register (EKW): real property
The EKW is the primary source for real property collateral. It shows the current owner, all mortgage entries with the creditor named, the rank of each mortgage, and any third-party rights such as usufruct or easements. The register is publicly accessible online without registration. Each property has a unique land register number (numer księgi wieczystej). Without that number, a name-based search is not available through the public interface.
The gap: the EKW shows what is registered, not what has been applied for and not yet entered. There is a processing lag between application and entry. A mortgage applied for last week may not yet appear. The register also does not show tax liens held by the tax authority (US) or ZUS social insurance arrears, which arise by operation of law and do not require registration to be enforceable.
Step 2 — Pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów): movables and receivables
Registered pledges over movables, receivables, and enterprise assets are recorded in the Rejestr Zastawów held by the Ministry of Justice. The register is searchable by the debtor's PESEL (natural persons) or NIP tax identifier (legal entities) and by the item pledged. Access is public. A foreign applicant without the Polish national identifier must obtain it from another source — typically the KRS entry of the company — before the pledge search is possible.
The gap: the pledge register covers only pledges that were formally registered. A financial pledge (zastaw finansowy) under the 2002 Act on Financial Collateral Arrangements does not require registration to be effective. Enterprise pledges (zastaw rejestrowy na przedsiębiorstwie) do require registration, but the description of the pledged assets in the register entry may be generic. Matching the registered description to a specific piece of equipment or a specific receivable requires reading the underlying pledge agreement, which is not held in the register itself.
Step 3 — Insolvency and restructuring register (KRZ): proceedings against the entity
The Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych replaced the former Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy as the primary publication point for restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings from December 2021. It shows open proceedings, court decisions issued within those proceedings, and court-appointed administrators or supervisors. It is publicly accessible without registration.
The gap: KRZ shows proceedings that have been formally opened and entered. A filed application that has not yet resulted in a court decision does not appear. The period between filing and the court decision — which under Polish restructuring law can range from days to several weeks depending on the procedure — is a blind spot. A negative result in KRZ is not a guarantee that no application is pending.
Step 4 — Company register (KRS): ownership and encumbrances at entity level
The Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy holds the registration data for Polish commercial companies. It shows the company's registered capital, management board composition, registered address, and — for limited liability companies — the share structure as reported. It also records court decisions affecting the company, including any restructuring or bankruptcy proceedings that have been entered there in addition to KRZ.
The gap: KRS does not show pledges over shares. A pledge over the shares of a Polish spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością (sp. z o.o.) is registered in the Rejestr Zastawów, not in KRS. KRS also does not show the beneficial owner: that information is held in a separate register, the Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR), subject to its own access conditions. KRS filings reflect reported data; discrepancies between the KRS entry and the actual shareholding structure require review of the underlying shareholder register (księga udziałów), which is held by the company itself.
Step 5 — Tax and ZUS arrears: the unregistered encumbrances
Polish law gives the tax authority (Urząd Skarbowy) and the social insurance institution (ZUS) statutory priority over other creditors in certain circumstances. These priority claims do not arise from registered instruments. They arise from unpaid obligations and attach to the debtor's assets by operation of law. No public register shows the current balance of tax or ZUS arrears for a specific entity.
A certificate of tax clearance (zaświadczenie o niezaleganiu) can be obtained from the relevant tax office and from ZUS, but only by the entity itself or by a person with a written authorisation. A foreign buyer or lender cannot obtain this certificate directly. The mechanism for obtaining it requires either the cooperation of the asset owner or a Polish legal representative with a specific power of attorney. The certificate reflects the position at the date of issue; it does not cover the period between issue and closing.
Step 6 — Execution proceedings: the enforcement register
Active enforcement proceedings in Poland are conducted by court bailiffs (komornicy). There is no single national register of active enforcement proceedings that is publicly searchable by debtor name. Individual bailiff offices maintain their own records. A search for active enforcement requires either a request through the debtor's cooperation or a query to the relevant court, identifying the debtor by NIP and PESEL.
KRZ records enforcement proceedings that have been stayed by a restructuring decision. Enforcement proceedings that predate the restructuring opening and have not been stayed may still be active. The interaction between an active enforcement and a restructuring opening requires reading the specific court decision.
The limit of what the sources allow
No single source produces a consolidated collateral map for a Polish asset. EKW covers registered real property rights. The Rejestr Zastawów covers registered pledges over movables and receivables. KRZ covers formally opened proceedings. KRS covers entity-level data. Tax and ZUS arrears, financial pledges, and pending applications that have not yet resulted in a court decision are not visible in any public register.
The ceiling is structural. It is not a function of access conditions or fees. Even with full access to every Polish public register, the picture has gaps: unregistered financial collateral, pending applications, and statutory priority claims that do not require registration. Establishing the collateral position means establishing both what the registers show and where the registers stop.
This report maps what each register shows, the access condition that applies to a foreign applicant, the identifier required to run each search, and the specific category of encumbrance that register does not cover. The gap between what the registers show and the full encumbrance picture is stated explicitly for each source.
Where the sources disagree
The most common discrepancy in Polish collateral verification is between the KRS shareholding entry and the actual state of the share register (księga udziałów). KRS reflects what was last reported; the księga udziałów reflects what actually happened. If shares were transferred and the KRS was not updated, the register and the reality diverge. The same discrepancy can arise between a pledge over shares registered in the Rejestr Zastawów and a subsequent transfer that extinguished or modified the pledge.
A second common discrepancy is between the EKW mortgage entry and the current outstanding balance of the secured debt. The EKW shows the maximum secured amount (suma hipoteczna), not the current balance. The current balance is held by the creditor, not by the register. A mortgage securing a loan of which 80% has been repaid still appears in the EKW at the original sum. The register does not update automatically when the debt is partially repaid.
| Register | Asset class covered | Access condition (foreign applicant) | Identifier required | Not shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EKW (land register) | Real property — ownership, mortgages, third-party rights | Public, no registration required | Land register number (numer KW) | Pending applications; tax and ZUS liens; financial pledges |
| Rejestr Zastawów (pledge register) | Movables, receivables, enterprise assets — registered pledges | Public, no registration required | NIP or PESEL of pledgor | Financial pledges; pledges described generically in entry |
| KRZ (insolvency register) | Restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings | Public, no registration required | NIP or PESEL of debtor | Pending applications not yet decided; pre-KRZ proceedings |
| KRS (company register) | Entity data — capital, management, share structure (reported) | Public, no registration required | KRS number or NIP | Pledges over shares; beneficial owner; actual share register |
| CRBR (beneficial owner register) | Ultimate beneficial owners of Polish legal entities | Public access — access conditions subject to verification before use | NIP of entity | Accuracy of reported data; complex structures above Polish layer |
| Tax authority / ZUS | Tax and social insurance arrears | Clearance certificate obtainable only by entity or authorised representative | NIP; written authorisation required | Period between certificate issue and transaction closing |
| Bailiff records | Active enforcement proceedings | No centralised public search; query per bailiff office or court | NIP and PESEL of debtor | Proceedings at offices not queried; proceedings filed after query date |
The sequence that matters
The order of the search affects what the search can establish. The correct sequence is: (1) obtain the entity's NIP from KRS; (2) obtain the land register number from the EKW search interface or from the seller's documentation; (3) run the EKW search by land register number; (4) run the Rejestr Zastawów search by NIP; (5) run the KRZ search by NIP; (6) cross-reference KRS for any court decisions entered there; (7) request tax and ZUS clearance certificates through the entity or its representative; (8) check bailiff records for the relevant court district.
Steps 1 through 6 can be completed by a foreign applicant with access to the public registers. Steps 7 and 8 require either the cooperation of the Polish entity or a representative with a Polish power of attorney.
What the restructuring opening changes
Once a Polish restructuring procedure is formally opened, the court decision is entered in KRZ and, depending on the procedure, may be published in Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy. From that date, the stay of enforcement applies to the categories of claims covered by the specific procedure. The collateral position established before the opening is the position that governs the creditor's ranking in the restructuring plan.
A lender entering proceedings after the opening is working with a fixed collateral landscape. The verification at that stage is not about what might change; it is about establishing exactly what the position was at the moment the proceedings opened. That requires the same register sequence, but with dates: the state of each register as of the opening date, not the current state.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign buyer search Polish registers without a Polish representative?
EKW, Rejestr Zastawów, KRZ, KRS, and CRBR are publicly accessible online without registration. A foreign applicant can run these searches directly, provided the correct identifier — land register number, NIP, or PESEL — is available. Tax clearance certificates and bailiff records require a Polish representative or the cooperation of the Polish entity.
Does a negative result in KRZ mean there are no proceedings?
A negative result means no proceedings have been formally opened and entered in KRZ. It does not mean no application has been filed. The period between filing and the court's decision is not visible in KRZ. That gap is structural; it cannot be closed by any public register search.
What is the difference between a registered pledge and a financial pledge?
A registered pledge (zastaw rejestrowy) requires entry in the Rejestr Zastawów to be effective against third parties. A financial pledge (zastaw finansowy) under the 2002 Act on Financial Collateral Arrangements does not require registration. Financial pledges over financial instruments and cash do not appear in the Rejestr Zastawów. Their existence can only be established by reviewing the contractual documentation held by the parties.
Does the EKW show the outstanding mortgage balance?
No. The EKW shows the maximum secured amount (suma hipoteczna) at which the mortgage was registered. The current outstanding balance of the secured debt is held by the creditor and is not updated in the register. Establishing the current balance requires a statement from the creditor.
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.