A debtor report on a Polish sole trader or registered business — drawn from CEIDG and the registers listed below — establishes what encumbers the asset before transfer. It answers the collateral question: what already attaches to the property, and what attaches to the person selling it.
- What CEIDG shows
- Active or suspended status, registered business address, declared PKD codes, suspension and resumption dates. Source: CEIDG (ceidg.gov.pl) · verified 2026-08-05
- What CEIDG does not show
- Pledges, tax arrears, court judgments, insolvency proceedings, or land encumbrances. Those require separate registers.
- Cost of CEIDG access
- Free, without registration. A certified extract costs a nominal fee at the registry counter.
- Collateral check cost
- Rejestr Zastawów certificate: 20 PLN per debtor (DW-1) or 20 PLN per asset (DW-2). Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych: 50 PLN per wypis via e-Urząd Skarbowy. Both registers must be queried for a complete pledge profile.
What the debtor profile covers
Before a foreign buyer or lender relies on a Polish commercial property as collateral, the seller's debt profile must be established independently. Polish law creates encumbrances that bind the asset, not only the person — a registered pledge on business equipment, a tax lien on inventory, or an insolvency proceeding can survive transfer and attach to the new owner's security.
The report draws on eight official registers. Each is queried separately. Results are cross-referenced, and any discrepancy between registers is reported as a finding, not a footnote.
| Register | What it shows | Access cost | Collateral relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEIDG | Sole trader status, registered address, declared activity, suspension history | Free | Confirms the seller's legal capacity to dispose of assets |
| KRS | Company structure, directors, share capital, filed amendments | Free; certified extract 30–60 PLN | Identifies who has authority to encumber or transfer the asset |
| Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) | Registered pledges on movables and rights; debtor and asset certificates | 20 PLN per DW-1 or DW-2 certificate; 15 PLN per DW-4 extract | Direct: pledge registered here survives asset transfer |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) | Tax pledges on assets with value above statutory threshold | Free search; 50 PLN per wypis via e-Urząd Skarbowy | Direct: tax pledge has priority over most private creditors |
| KRZ (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych) | Insolvency and restructuring proceedings from 1 December 2021 | Free, no login required | Active proceeding limits or voids the seller's right to dispose of assets |
| MSiG (Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy) | Official gazette; insolvency announcements before December 2021 | Free; archive from 1996 | Covers the period KRZ does not; PDF only, no structured data |
| Biała lista (White List of VAT taxpayers) | VAT status, declared bank accounts, reasons for exclusion or reinstatement with dates; searchable on any past date | Free, no login required | Identifies tax irregularities; payment to an unlisted account creates joint VAT liability |
| Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych | Filed financial statements linked to KRS number | Free | Shows declared liabilities and equity; basis for solvency assessment |
The pledge registers: why both are required
Poland operates two separate pledge registers with different supervising ministries, different search interfaces, and different legal effects. Querying only one produces an incomplete picture.
The Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice, Centralna Informacja) records contractual pledges on movables and assigned rights. A DW-1 certificate names all registered pledges where the subject is the debtor. A DW-2 certificate covers a specific asset. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) records tax pledges arising automatically when a taxpayer's arrears exceed the statutory threshold. A tax pledge has statutory priority over most private secured creditors. Both registers must be queried to establish the full encumbrance profile of the collateral.
Insolvency: the KRZ coverage gap
KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl) is the central insolvency and restructuring register. It is public, free, and requires no login. Search runs by PESEL, NIP, KRS number, or case signature. An active insolvency or restructuring proceeding blocks or limits the debtor's right to transfer assets.
KRZ covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. Before that date, announcements appeared in MSiG. The MSiG archive runs from 1996 and is searchable by name, KRS, NIP, text fragment, or case type. A complete insolvency check requires both systems. An absence of a KRZ record does not confirm the absence of an earlier proceeding.
VAT status and the White List
The Biała lista (podatki.gov.pl) shows current and historical VAT status, all bank accounts declared to the tax authority, and the reasons and dates of any exclusion or reinstatement. It is searchable on any past date. Under Polish tax law, a payment made to a bank account not on the White List on the payment date creates joint and several VAT liability for the payer. For a lender, this is a direct collateral risk: a seller with a history of VAT exclusions signals a tax debt that may already have triggered a tax pledge on the asset.
The limit of what the sources allow
Each register has a defined ceiling. CEIDG shows declared status — not actual activity. A suspended sole trader may still hold assets and liabilities. KRS shows filed information — not real-time control. A beneficial owner exercising control through nominees does not appear directly in KRS; CRBR records the declared UBO, not the verified one. The Rejestr Zastawów records registered pledges — unregistered security interests, contractual set-off rights, and retention-of-title clauses do not appear. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych shows tax pledges above the statutory threshold — smaller arrears generating no pledge are not visible here, though they remain a debt. KRZ covers only proceedings from 1 December 2021. Financial statements in the Repozytorium are filed with a statutory delay and reflect declared, not audited, figures unless an audit is attached.
The report states, at each finding, which register produced it, what the register's coverage period is, and where the chain stops. No finding is presented without its source. No inference is drawn beyond what the source directly shows.
Several of these registers are public and free to access directly. The fee for this report covers the assembled path: national identifier resolution, cross-register reconciliation, coverage-gap analysis between KRZ and MSiG, language, and a structured output that names discrepancies as findings.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between registers are themselves a finding. Common patterns in Polish debtor checks include: a company shown as active in KRS while a restructuring proceeding is open in KRZ; declared bank accounts in Biała lista that differ from those in the sale agreement; financial statements showing no liabilities while a pledge is registered in the Rejestr Zastawów. Each of these discrepancies is reported in a dedicated section of the report, with the conflicting sources identified by name and date.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR, excl. VAT) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €590 | CEIDG status check; KRS extract and structural summary; KRZ search (from 2021); MSiG search (pre-2021 insolvency announcements); Biała lista VAT status on transaction date; written summary with source citations | Pledge register certificates (Rejestr Zastawów and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych); financial statement review; CRBR beneficial ownership check; discrepancy analysis across registers |
| Standard | €990 | All Signal items; Rejestr Zastawów DW-1 (debtor) and DW-2 (asset) certificates; Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search and wypis; Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych review (last two filed years); CRBR beneficial ownership extract; cross-register discrepancy section | On-site asset verification; review of draft transaction documents; legal qualification of findings; representation |
| Extended | €2,200 | All Standard items; Biała lista historical search across the full transaction period; MSiG archive search beyond standard five-year window; financial statement review for up to five filed years; analysis of any open restructuring or enforcement proceedings identified; written findings memorandum with coverage-gap statement per register; telephone briefing with the responsible analyst | Legal advice; audit of financial statements; representation in proceedings; on-site due diligence |
Payment is by invoice. Scope is fixed before the report begins. The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated before payment is made.
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean KRZ result confirm the seller is not insolvent?
No. KRZ covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. A proceeding opened before that date appears only in MSiG. A complete insolvency check requires both systems. Even a clean result in both confirms only that no proceeding has been announced — not that no application has been filed.
Why are there two pledge registers in Poland?
The Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) records contractual pledges created by agreement between parties. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) records tax pledges that arise by operation of law when tax arrears exceed the statutory threshold. They have different legal bases, different supervising authorities, and different search interfaces. A pledge in one register does not appear in the other.
Can the report be ordered for a sole trader registered only in CEIDG, not KRS?
Yes. The debtor report covers both CEIDG-registered sole traders and KRS-registered entities. The applicable registers differ: sole traders do not file financial statements in the Repozytorium and do not appear in KRS. The Signal and Standard tiers are adjusted accordingly, and the report states which registers were queried and which were not applicable.
How long does the report take?
Signal: typically three business days from confirmed instruction. Standard: five business days. Extended: seven to ten business days, depending on the volume of proceedings identified and the number of financial statement years reviewed. Timelines are confirmed in writing before the report begins.
Is the Biała lista check sufficient to verify VAT status?
The Biała lista shows VAT registration status and declared bank accounts as of any queried date. It does not show the amount of VAT debt, the existence of a payment plan, or the outcome of any VAT audit. For a lender assessing collateral value, the White List check establishes the baseline; it does not replace a full tax liability review.
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.