Before a foreign buyer or lender can rely on a Polish commercial property as collateral, two parallel questions must be answered: what does the asset actually secure, and what already encumbers it. Both answers come from official registers. The registers are named, their access conditions are stated, and their limits are described below — before any engagement begins.
- Collateral verification path
- Starts with the land register (Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste), then cross-checks KRS company status, Rejestr Zastawów, Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, KRZ insolvency proceedings, and the VAT whitelist. No single register is sufficient alone.
- Land register access
- EKW is free and requires no login — but search by owner name is not available to private parties. A KW number is required. That number must be obtained from the ewidencja gruntów i budynków (cadastre). Source: EKW · verified August 2026.
- KRS company search
- The Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy is free and publicly searchable without registration. A certified extract (odpis) costs approximately 30–60 PLN. Source: KRS · verified August 2026.
- Pledge registers
- Two separate systems exist. Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice): certificate per pledgor (DW-1) 20 PLN, per collateral item (DW-2) 20 PLN, certified extract (DW-4) 15 PLN. Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance): free search, official statement 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy. Both must be queried. Source: Centralna Informacja / e-Urząd Skarbowy · verified August 2026.
What the Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy reveals about the collateral owner
The KRS is the primary company register for all entities required to register in Poland. For a collateral transaction, it establishes whether the entity offering security actually exists in its stated form, who holds authority to bind it, and whether any registered restrictions apply to its capacity to encumber assets.
The KRS is free and does not require an account. It shows current and historical officers, registered address, share capital, registered activity scope, and any court-ordered restrictions on management authority. Financial statements filed with the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych (RDF) are accessible at no charge through the same infrastructure. The RDF shows filed accounts for each reporting period — these are the accounts as submitted, not audited or verified by the register.
A certified extract (odpis) from the KRS costs approximately 30–60 PLN and carries an official timestamp. For cross-border use, a certified extract is typically required rather than a screen printout.
| Data point | Available in KRS | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Current management board members | Yes | With appointment dates and representation rules |
| Historical officers | Yes | Deletion dates shown; prior entries accessible |
| Registered share capital | Yes | Nominal figure; paid-in status not shown |
| Court-ordered restrictions on management | Yes | Includes prohibitions on asset disposal |
| Filed financial statements | Via RDF (free) | As filed; not audited or verified by register |
| Beneficial owners | No — separate CRBR register | CRBR is free and publicly searchable |
| Shareholder list (sp. z o.o.) | Partial — via filed lista wspólników | Updated list may not yet be filed; gap is common |
| Pledges and charges on assets | No | Separate Rejestr Zastawów and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych |
The land register path: EKW and the cadastre dependency
The Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) is the authoritative record of title and encumbrances for Polish real property. It is free and accessible without login. The access barrier is structural: the system accepts only a KW number (księga wieczysta number). It does not accept an address, a company name, or a NIP.
The KW number must come from the ewidencja gruntów i budynków — the cadastre. Access to cadastral data for a named entity is restricted. In practice, the KW number is obtained from the seller or borrower, from the notarial deed of prior acquisition, or from the local starostwo. Each path has a different timeline and a different cost structure.
Once the KW number is in hand, EKW shows all four sections of the land register: ownership (Section II), encumbrances other than mortgages (Section III), and mortgages (Section IV). Section IV lists each registered mortgage by amount, currency, creditor, and priority rank. A mortgage not yet entered in Section IV — because registration is pending — does not appear. The register reflects the state at the moment of query, not the state at the moment of the underlying transaction.
Pledge registers: two systems, one verification requirement
Polish law maintains two separate pledge registries. A complete collateral check requires both.
The Rejestr Zastawów, maintained by the Ministry of Justice through Centralna Informacja, records registered pledges (zastaw rejestrowy) over movables and certain other assets. It is searched by pledgor (DW-1, 20 PLN) or by collateral item (DW-2, 20 PLN). A certified extract (DW-4) costs 15 PLN. The register covers pledges registered under the Civil Code pledge framework and the registered pledge act. It does not cover tax pledges.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, maintained by the Ministry of Finance, records tax pledges (zastaw skarbowy) arising by operation of tax law. The search is free via e-Urząd Skarbowy. An official statement (wypis or zaświadczenie) costs 50 PLN. Tax pledges arise automatically when a tax liability exceeds a statutory threshold — they do not require a separate registration act by the creditor.
| Register | Administered by | Type of pledge | Search cost | Official certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice / Centralna Informacja | Registered pledges (civil law) | 20 PLN per query type | DW-4: 15 PLN |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance / KAS | Tax pledges (arise by operation of law) | Free | 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy |
Insolvency proceedings: KRZ and the MSiG gap
The Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) at krz.ms.gov.pl is the current official register for insolvency and restructuring proceedings in Poland. It is free, publicly accessible, and requires no login. Search is available by NIP, KRS number, PESEL, or case signature.
KRZ covers proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. For proceedings opened before that date, the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG) remains the source of record. MSiG is searchable free of charge at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl, with an archive extending to 1996. Issues are published as PDFs; there is no structured data extraction.
An absence of a KRZ entry does not confirm the absence of insolvency proceedings. A proceeding opened before December 2021 will not appear in KRZ. Both systems must be checked for a complete picture.
VAT whitelist: the collateral relevance of the Biała Lista
The Biała Lista (podatki.gov.pl) is maintained by the Chief of the National Revenue Administration (szef KAS). It is free and requires no login. It shows VAT registration status, declared bank accounts, and the reason and date of any deregistration, suspension, or reinstatement.
For collateral purposes, the whitelist serves two functions. First, it confirms that the entity is an active VAT taxpayer — relevant where the underlying transaction involves VAT recovery. Second, it shows the bank accounts declared to the tax authority. A payment made to an account not on the whitelist triggers joint and several liability for the payer under Polish VAT rules. This makes the whitelist a direct due-diligence input, not a background check.
The whitelist can be queried for any past date, allowing retrospective verification of status at the time of a prior transaction. A full data file (JPK_WB format) is available for download.
Beneficial ownership: CRBR
The Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR) is free and publicly searchable without an account. It shows the declared beneficial owners of registered Polish entities, including natural persons who ultimately control or own the entity. The register reflects declarations submitted by the entity itself — the register does not independently verify the accuracy of those declarations.
For a collateral transaction, CRBR establishes who the entity claims as its ultimate controlling person. Discrepancies between the CRBR entry and the KRS shareholder list, or between CRBR and the filed lista wspólników, are a material finding. Identifying such discrepancies is part of the verification path, not a conclusion about their cause.
The limit of what the sources allow
Each register listed above shows what was submitted to it, at the moment of query. None of them shows what was not submitted. A mortgage that has been agreed but not yet registered does not appear in EKW Section IV. A pledge created this week may not yet appear in Rejestr Zastawów. A tax liability that has not yet crossed the statutory threshold generates no entry in Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych. The registers are authoritative within their scope — they are not real-time monitors of all encumbrances in existence.
The KRS shareholder list (lista wspólników) for a sp. z o.o. is filed by the management board, not updated automatically. The filed list may be months behind the actual cap table. The CRBR entry is a self-declaration. Neither register audits the accuracy of what is submitted.
KRZ covers insolvency proceedings from December 2021 only. MSiG covers earlier periods but as PDF issues, not structured data. A gap between the two systems — cases from the transition period — requires manual cross-checking. An absence of an entry in either register is not a clean bill of health; it means no entry was found at the moment of query in the system searched.
The EKW search barrier — requiring a KW number rather than permitting name search — is a structural feature of the system, not a temporary limitation. Where the KW number cannot be obtained from the counterparty or from prior documentation, the cadastral path requires a separate step with its own timeline.
Where the sources disagree
The most common discrepancy in Polish commercial property due diligence is between the KRS shareholder list and the CRBR beneficial owner declaration. An entity may show one set of shareholders in its last filed lista wspólników and a different ultimate owner in CRBR. Both entries may be internally consistent with their own submission dates. The discrepancy is a finding — it identifies a question that requires a response from the counterparty, documented in writing.
A second common discrepancy is between the EKW mortgage register and the company's own balance sheet. A mortgage shown in EKW Section IV that does not appear in the filed financial statements — or vice versa — is a material inconsistency. The RDF financial statements and the EKW entry are independent records. Reconciling them is part of the collateral verification path.
What is included at each tier
| Scope item | Signal · €290 | Standard · €470 | Extended · €960 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KRS status and current officers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| KRS historical officer and restriction timeline | No | Yes | Yes |
| RDF financial statements (last filed period) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RDF financial statements (prior three periods) | No | Yes | Yes |
| EKW land register (with KW number supplied) | Sections II–IV summary | Full four-section extract | Full extract + mortgage reconciliation |
| Cadastral path to KW number (if not supplied) | No | No | Yes |
| Rejestr Zastawów (civil pledges) | No | Yes — DW-1 per pledgor | Yes — DW-1 + DW-2 per item + DW-4 certified |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (tax pledges) | No | Yes — search result | Yes — official statement (50 PLN) |
| KRZ insolvency check | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MSiG pre-2021 insolvency check | No | Yes | Yes |
| CRBR beneficial owner | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Biała Lista VAT status and account verification | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Discrepancy analysis across sources | No | Flagged | Documented with source references |
| Certified extracts for cross-border use | Not included | Not included | Included where available |
| Legal qualification of findings | Not included | Not included | Not included |
Frequently asked questions
Can the land register be searched by company name?
No. EKW accepts only a KW number. Search by owner name, NIP, or address is not available to private parties. The KW number must be obtained from the counterparty, from prior notarial documentation, or through the cadastre (ewidencja gruntów i budynków).
Does a clean KRZ result confirm no insolvency proceedings?
No. KRZ covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. Earlier proceedings appear only in MSiG. A complete insolvency check requires both systems. An absence of an entry in KRZ alone is not sufficient.
Are the pledge registers linked?
No. Rejestr Zastawów (civil pledges, Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (tax pledges, Ministry of Finance) are independent systems. A search in one does not return results from the other. Both must be queried separately.
What does the CRBR entry actually confirm?
CRBR shows what the entity declared as its beneficial ownership structure. The register does not verify those declarations independently. A CRBR entry is a starting point, not a verified ownership chain.
Is a certified KRS extract required for cross-border use?
A screen printout from the KRS portal is not an official document. A certified extract (odpis) costs approximately 30–60 PLN and carries an official timestamp. For use in foreign proceedings or with foreign lenders, a certified extract is the appropriate form. Apostille requirements depend on the destination jurisdiction.
What happens if the KW number is not supplied by the counterparty?
The cadastral path is used. The ewidencja gruntów i budynków (cadastre) holds the link between a parcel and its KW number. Accessing that link for a named entity requires a separate step through the relevant starostwo. This step adds time and cost. It is included only in the Extended tier.
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.