Before a foreign buyer or lender accepts Polish commercial property as collateral, two questions arise: what encumbrances already attach to that property, and what does the debtor's financial record actually show. Both questions have official answers in Poland. The answers come from separate registers, each with its own access path, cost, and ceiling. This page maps those registers, states what each one shows, and states where each one stops.
- What KRS shows
- Legal existence, registered seat, share capital, management board, supervisory board, statutory powers, filed annual accounts. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (ems.ms.gov.pl) · verified 11 July 2026
- Cost of KRS search
- Free of charge, no login required. A certified extract (odpis) costs approximately 30–60 PLN. Source: KRS · verified 11 July 2026
- Pledge registers
- Two separate systems: Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance). A complete pledge profile requires both. Source: Centralna Informacja / e-Urząd Skarbowy · verified 12 July 2026
- Insolvency register
- Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021 onward. Absence of a KRZ entry does not prove absence of an earlier proceeding. Source: krz.ms.gov.pl · verified 11 July 2026
- VAT status and bank accounts
- Biała lista (White List) shows active VAT status, declared bank accounts, and exclusion history with dates. Free, no login. Source: podatki.gov.pl · verified 11 July 2026
What the collateral position actually requires you to check
Collateral value in Poland depends on the absence of prior encumbrances, not on the asset's market price alone. A mortgage registered in the land and mortgage register (Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste) takes priority over a later buyer. A registered pledge in the Rejestr Zastawów follows the asset, not the owner. A tax lien in the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych can attach to movable assets and receivables without appearing in either of the previous two registers. Each register is independent. None of them cross-references the others.
KRS is the starting point, not the endpoint. It confirms the entity exists and is authorised to contract. It does not show whether that entity has pledged its assets, whether it is subject to a restructuring plan, or whether its filed accounts match the figures presented in negotiation. Those answers require four additional registers beyond KRS itself.
Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy: what it shows and what it does not
KRS is the central companies register administered by the Ministry of Justice. It is publicly accessible at no charge. A search returns the entity's full registered name, KRS number, NIP, REGON, registered seat, share capital, board composition, scope of board authority, and any court-ordered restrictions on the entity's capacity to act. Filed financial statements are accessible separately through the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych, also free of charge.
KRS does not show pledges, mortgages, tax liens, or insolvency proceedings. It shows the legal shell. The contents of that shell — its encumbrances, its solvency history, its actual beneficial ownership — require separate registers.
| Information | Visible in KRS | Where to find it if not in KRS |
|---|---|---|
| Legal existence and registered seat | Yes | — |
| Board composition and authority | Yes | — |
| Share capital | Yes | — |
| Filed annual accounts | Via RDF (linked) | Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych |
| Registered pledges on movables | No | Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) |
| Tax pledges | No | Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) |
| Mortgage on real property | No | Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) |
| Insolvency or restructuring proceedings | No | Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) |
| Beneficial ownership | No | Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR) |
| VAT status and bank accounts | No | Biała lista (podatki.gov.pl) |
The pledge registers: two systems, one check
Poland operates two separate pledge registers. Neither is a subset of the other. A complete collateral check requires both.
The Rejestr Zastawów is administered by the Ministry of Justice through Centralna Informacja. A certificate on a pledgor entity (DW-1) costs 20 PLN. A certificate on a specific pledged item (DW-2) costs 20 PLN. A full extract (DW-4) costs 15 PLN. These are paid documents. The register covers pledges on movable assets and rights established under the 1996 Law on Registered Pledges and the Pledge Register. A registered pledge follows the asset into the hands of a buyer who acquires it in the ordinary course of business — unless the buyer had no knowledge of the pledge. Verifying the register before closing is how that knowledge question is resolved.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych is administered by the Ministry of Finance. A search by asset is free. A formal certificate (wypis or zaświadczenie) costs 50 PLN and is obtained through e-Urząd Skarbowy. This register covers tax liens established by tax authorities under the Tax Ordinance. Tax liens arise by operation of law and do not require a court order. They attach to the taxpayer's assets at the moment of their creation, not at the moment of registration.
| Register | Administrator | Search cost | Certificate cost | Access path |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice / Centralna Informacja | Paid | DW-1: 20 PLN · DW-2: 20 PLN · DW-4: 15 PLN | In-person or written request; no public online search |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance | Free (by asset) | Wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN | e-Urząd Skarbowy; formal certificate requires NIP of the tax debtor |
Insolvency register: KRZ and its cut-off date
The Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) is the official insolvency and restructuring register. It is publicly accessible at krz.ms.gov.pl, free of charge, without login. It can be searched by NIP, KRS number, PESEL, or case signature. It shows bankruptcy proceedings, restructuring proceedings, consumer insolvency, and debt relief arrangements.
KRZ covers proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. It replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych. Proceedings opened before that date were recorded in the MSiG (Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy) and in court files. The MSiG archive is searchable at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl, free of charge, from 1996 onward. Announcements of bankruptcy and restructuring from December 2021 onward appear in KRZ, not in MSiG. An absence of a KRZ entry for proceedings after December 2021, combined with a negative MSiG search for the period before, together constitute the available register-level check — but they do not cover proceedings that were initiated but not yet published at the time of search.
VAT status and bank accounts: the White List
The Biała lista (White List) is maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration (Szef KAS) and is accessible at podatki.gov.pl. It is free, requires no login, and can be queried on any past date. For each entity it shows: current VAT registration status, registered bank accounts, and the history of exclusions, refusals, and reinstatements with the corresponding dates and stated reasons.
For a lender or buyer, the bank account data carries a specific legal consequence. Under Polish VAT law, a payment made to a bank account not listed on the White List triggers joint and several VAT liability for the payer. Verifying the seller's listed accounts before any transfer is not optional due diligence — it is a direct condition for avoiding that liability. The White List is updated daily. The verification date must be documented.
Beneficial ownership: CRBR
The Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR) is Poland's beneficial ownership register. It is publicly accessible, free of charge, without an account. It shows the declared ultimate beneficial owners of Polish companies, foundations, and certain other entities, with the nature and extent of their control.
CRBR shows what entities have declared. It does not verify those declarations against underlying corporate documents. Where the declared structure differs from the structure visible in KRS or in shareholder agreements, the discrepancy itself is a finding — and a finding that a register-level check produces without the need for further investigation at this stage.
Land register access: the identifier problem
The Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) system is publicly accessible at ekw.ms.gov.pl, free of charge. It shows registered mortgages, easements, and other encumbrances on real property. The obstacle for a foreign verifier is structural: EKW can only be searched by the land register number (numer KW). That number is not shown in KRS, in the company's commercial register entry, or in any of the other registers described above.
The KW number must be obtained from the land and buildings register (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), which requires the cadastral parcel identifier (numer działki). That identifier appears in the property's title documents held by the seller. The practical path is: seller discloses the KW number → verifier confirms it in EKW → EKW shows the encumbrances. Without the KW number, EKW is not searchable by a private party. Search by owner name is not permitted for private individuals or foreign entities.
The limit of what the sources allow
Each register described above shows only what has been filed with, or recorded by, that register. KRS shows the entity as registered, not as it operates. KRZ shows insolvency proceedings from 1 December 2021 onward; a proceeding opened before that date requires a separate MSiG search and, where doubt remains, a court file inquiry. The Rejestr Zastawów shows pledges that have been registered; a pledge that has not yet been registered, or a pledge under a foreign law, does not appear. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych shows tax liens that have been recorded; a tax liability that has not yet produced a lien is invisible. EKW shows mortgages as registered; an unregistered contractual mortgage does not appear.
CRBR shows what has been declared. A discrepancy between the declared beneficial owner and the actual control structure is not detectable from CRBR alone. The White List shows bank accounts as declared to the tax authority; an account opened and not yet reported does not appear.
The ceiling of what these sources allow is stated before payment. The reports at each tier state explicitly what was checked, what the result was, and where the register-level chain ends. No report substitutes for legal due diligence on the underlying transaction documents.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between registers are a finding in their own right. The most common: the declared beneficial owner in CRBR differs from the ownership structure visible in KRS. The share capital in KRS differs from the equity figure in the most recent filed accounts. The entity appears active in KRS but shows a VAT exclusion history in the White List. Where such discrepancies exist, the Extended report documents them as a separate section. A discrepancy between the Rejestr Zastawów and the asset schedule presented by the seller is also recorded — the register prevails over the seller's disclosure for the purpose of the report.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €590 | KRS extract and RDF financial statements (three most recent filed years); KRZ search; MSiG search (entity name and NIP); White List status on the report date; CRBR declared beneficial owner | Pledge register searches (Rejestr Zastawów and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych); EKW mortgage check; analysis of financial statement content; discrepancy mapping across registers |
| Standard | €990 | Everything in Signal; Rejestr Zastawów search (DW-1 on entity, DW-2 on identified assets); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search; EKW check on KW number provided by instructing party; White List historical query on specified past date; discrepancy table across all registers covered | Analysis of underlying pledge agreements or mortgage instruments; review of shareholder agreements or side letters; proceedings opened before 1 December 2021 beyond MSiG search; movable asset history (CEPiK) where vehicle identifiers are not provided |
| Extended | €2,200 | Everything in Standard; MSiG archive search for the full available period (from 1996); court file inquiry at the competent district court for proceedings not yet published in KRZ or MSiG; CEPiK vehicle history where registration number, VIN and first registration date are provided; review of filed financial statements with ratio analysis across all available years; written summary of register-level findings and discrepancies, structured for use in transaction due diligence | Legal qualification of findings; advice on transaction structure; review of contracts or title documents; any register not listed above; any jurisdiction outside Poland |
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean KRS entry mean the company has no debts?
No. KRS shows the legal structure of the entity. It does not show liabilities, pledges, tax arrears, or pending insolvency proceedings. A company with no adverse KRS entries may carry registered pledges in both pledge registers and an open restructuring proceeding in KRZ.
Is the insolvency register complete for all years?
KRZ covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021 onward. Proceedings before that date are in the MSiG archive, searchable from 1996. Proceedings that were initiated but not yet published at the time of search are not visible in either source. The Extended report includes a court file inquiry to address that gap.
Why are there two pledge registers?
The Rejestr Zastawów covers pledges created under civil law (the 1996 statute). The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych covers tax liens created by the tax administration under the Tax Ordinance. They are maintained by different ministries and are not linked. An asset can appear in one, both, or neither. A check of only one register does not constitute a complete pledge search.
Can the land register be searched without a KW number?
No. EKW search requires the land register number (numer KW). That number must come from the seller's title documents or from the land and buildings register (ewidencja gruntów), which requires the cadastral parcel identifier. The Standard and Extended reports include an EKW check where the instructing party provides the KW number.
What does the White List bank account check protect against?
Under Polish VAT law, a payment to a bank account not listed on the White List on the payment date triggers joint and several VAT liability for the payer. The White List check documents which accounts were listed on the date verified. That documentation is the basis for the statutory protection.
Are these registers in Polish only?
All registers are in Polish. The reports issued by this office are in English. Underlying register outputs are reproduced as exhibits and translated where relevant to the findings.
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.