A Polish debtor's collateral profile is readable from official registers before any payment is made to this firm. What those registers reveal — and where they stop — determines the ceiling of the report.
- Companies register (KRS)
- Legal status, registered capital, management, filing history. Free, no login required. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy · verified June 2026
- Insolvency register (KRZ)
- Bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings opened after 1 December 2021. Free, no login required. Search by NIP, KRS or PESEL. Source: krz.ms.gov.pl · verified June 2026
- Pledges register (Rejestr Zastawów)
- Registered charges over movable assets. Certificate per debtor (DW-1): 20 PLN. Certificate per asset (DW-2): 20 PLN. Source: Centralna Informacja, Ministry of Justice · verified June 2026
- Tax pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych)
- State tax liens over assets. Search free; certified extract: 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy. Source: Ministry of Finance · verified June 2026
- VAT whitelist (Biała lista)
- Active VAT status, declared bank accounts, history of exclusions with dates. Free, no login. Searchable on any past date. Source: podatki.gov.pl · verified June 2026
- Financial statements (RDF)
- Filed balance sheets and P&L accounts. Free, no login. Source: Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych · verified June 2026
What the collateral profile covers
The collateral angle on a Polish debtor requires cross-referencing at least five registers. No single source answers the full question. The KRS confirms the debtor exists in law, holds its registered capital figure, and lists current management. The RDF holds filed financial statements — balance sheet debt and asset values as reported by the entity itself.
The pledge layer requires two separate searches. The civil pledges register (Rejestr Zastawów, Ministry of Justice) records charges over movable assets constituted under the Act on Registered Pledges. The fiscal pledges register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, Ministry of Finance) records state tax liens. A complete pledge profile requires both. Neither is visible from the other.
The VAT whitelist (Biała lista) carries a dimension relevant to collateral: it discloses all bank accounts declared to the tax authority. Payment to an account not on this list triggers joint VAT liability for the payer. For a buyer or lender, the list functions as a cross-check on the accounts through which the debtor actually operates.
Insolvency status: what KRZ shows and what it does not
The Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) is public, free, and requires no login. It is searchable by NIP, KRS number, PESEL, or case signature. The register covers bankruptcy, restructuring, and debt relief proceedings.
The critical limit: KRZ contains only proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. It replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych. A negative result in KRZ does not rule out an earlier proceeding. Pre-December 2021 cases require a search of the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG), whose archive runs from 1996. From December 2021 onward, insolvency announcements moved to KRZ; MSiG no longer carries new insolvency notices.
MSiG is also free and searchable without login at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl. Search criteria include entity name, KRS number, NIP, case type, and date range. Issues are published as PDFs; no structured machine-readable data is available.
Land and mortgage encumbrances
The electronic land and mortgage register (EKW) is free to search. The access constraint is structural: search by owner name is not permitted for private parties. The only entry point is the KW number (księga wieczysta number). That number is held in the land parcel records (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), which requires a separate step to obtain.
This means real property encumbrances cannot be confirmed without first identifying the KW number — either from the debtor's own documentation or from the land parcel register. The report maps this path explicitly and states where it closes.
Vehicle and movable asset history
The vehicle history service (historiapojazdu.gov.pl, CEPiK) is free and requires no login. The access barrier is deliberate: three data points are required simultaneously — registration number, VIN, and date of first registration. The third item appears only in the vehicle registration document (dowód rejestracyjny), which is held by the current owner.
The service does not disclose the owner's name. It returns a count of previous owners and selected technical and insurance events. For an imported vehicle, the history begins at the point of Polish registration — prior history in the country of origin is not visible.
Beneficial ownership (CRBR)
The Central Register of Beneficial Owners (Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych, CRBR) is public, free, and searchable without creating an account. It discloses the natural persons declared as ultimate beneficial owners of Polish legal entities, along with their share or control percentage as reported by the entity.
The limit: CRBR reflects what the entity itself declared. The register does not independently verify the accuracy of the declaration. Discrepancies between the CRBR entry and the ownership chain visible in KRS or in corporate documents are themselves a finding.
The limit of what the sources allow
The registers establish what has been filed, declared, or recorded. They do not establish what is accurate. A balance sheet in the RDF reflects the figures the entity submitted; the registers do not audit those figures. A CRBR entry reflects the beneficial owner as declared; the registers do not verify the declaration against the actual ownership structure.
The pledge registers record charges that were registered. An unregistered pledge, a contractual lien, or an undisclosed assignment of receivables does not appear. The KRZ covers proceedings from December 2021 onward; earlier insolvency history requires a separate MSiG search, and that search returns PDFs, not structured data.
Real property encumbrances cannot be confirmed without the KW number. If that number is not in the debtor's documentation, the land parcel register is the next step — and that step requires a national identifier and a stated legitimate interest. Vehicle encumbrances visible in CEPiK are limited to what was registered; a pledge over a vehicle that was not filed in the Rejestr Zastawów does not appear in the vehicle history.
- KRZ covers proceedings from 1 December 2021 only — earlier cases require MSiG
- EKW search requires the KW number — name search not permitted for private parties
- CEPiK vehicle check requires three concurrent data points held by the current owner
- CRBR reflects declared ownership — not verified ownership
- Civil and fiscal pledge registers are separate — neither is visible from the other
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between registers are findings in themselves. Common patterns on Polish debtors include: registered capital in KRS that does not match equity on the filed balance sheet; beneficial owners declared in CRBR who do not appear as shareholders in KRS documents; bank accounts in active use that differ from those on the Biała lista. Each gap is documented in the report and stated without interpretation.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR) | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €590 | KRS status and registered capital; KRZ insolvency check (post-December 2021); MSiG name search (1996–2021); Biała lista VAT status and declared accounts; CRBR beneficial owner entry; summary of findings with source citations | Pledge register searches (civil and fiscal); EKW mortgage encumbrances; RDF financial statement review; CEPiK vehicle check; discrepancy analysis across sources |
| Standard | €990 | All Signal items; Rejestr Zastawów search (DW-1 per debtor + DW-2 per identified asset); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search with certified extract; RDF financial statements reviewed for last two filed periods; discrepancy table across KRS, CRBR, RDF and Biała lista | EKW mortgage encumbrances (requires KW number — stated if unavailable); CEPiK vehicle history; court file review; on-site asset inspection |
| Extended | €2,200 | All Standard items; EKW search where KW number is obtainable; CEPiK vehicle history where registration documents are available; MSiG full-text review of all announcements by entity; RDF financial statements for up to five filed periods; consolidated encumbrance map across all registers; written summary of source limits and open questions | Legal qualification of findings; advice on enforcement strategy; on-site inspection; interviews with third parties; review of documents not in public registers |
Frequently asked questions
These registers are public and free — what does the report add?
Access to most Polish registers requires a national identifier (NIP or KRS number), knowledge of which register holds which data, and in some cases a registered account or a stated legitimate interest. The report removes that path: identification, language, cross-register sequencing, and consolidation of results into a single document with source citations. The cost of each official certificate is stated in the report alongside the finding it supports.
What if the debtor has no KRS number — a natural person or a foreign entity?
KRS covers legal entities registered in Poland. For a natural person, the insolvency search runs on PESEL through KRZ; the pledge search runs by name and identifier through Centralna Informacja. For a foreign entity operating in Poland, the report identifies the Polish branch or subsidiary registration where one exists. The scope and limits are confirmed before the order is accepted.
Does the report cover pre-2021 insolvency proceedings?
Yes. The Standard and Extended tiers include an MSiG name search covering announcements from 1996. MSiG results are returned as PDFs; the report extracts and lists relevant entries by date and case type. KRZ covers the period from 1 December 2021 onward.
Can the report confirm that no mortgage exists on a property?
Only if the KW number is available. Without it, the EKW cannot be searched by owner name. The report states this limit explicitly. If the KW number can be obtained through the land parcel register, that step is included in the Extended tier.
How long does the report take?
Signal: three to five business days. Standard: five to seven business days. Extended: seven to ten business days. Timing depends on the volume of register certificates required and their official processing times.
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.