Before funds transfer on a Polish commercial property, the collateral picture must be assembled from several distinct registers. No single source covers the full encumbrance profile. This page identifies which registers are authoritative, what each one discloses, what each one withholds, and where the verification chain ends.
- Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ)
- Public, free, no login required. Searchable by NIP, KRS, PESEL or case signature. Contains insolvency and restructuring proceedings opened after 1 December 2021 only. Source: krz.ms.gov.pl · verified 2026-06-20
- Rejestr Zastawów (pledge register)
- Paid search. Certificate DW-1 (by pledgor) and DW-2 (by asset) each cost 20 PLN. Administered by the Ministry of Justice via Centralna Informacja. Source: Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości · verified 2026-06-20
- Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (tax pledge register)
- Free search by asset. Official extract costs 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy. Administered by the Ministry of Finance. Source: Ministerstwo Finansów · verified 2026-06-20
- Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW)
- Free, but searchable only by land register number (KW). Search by owner name is not available to private parties. The KW number must be obtained from the ewidencja gruntów first. Source: Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości · verified 2026-06-20
What the collateral profile requires
A complete encumbrance check on a Polish commercial property requires parallel queries across at least four registers. The land register (EKW) records mortgages and easements. The Rejestr Zastawów records registered pledges over movable assets and rights. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych records tax authority pledges. KRZ records whether the seller or any entity in the ownership chain is subject to insolvency or restructuring proceedings.
Each register uses a different identifier and a different access mechanism. A foreign buyer without a Polish NIP, KRS number, or a KW number for the specific plot cannot initiate most of these searches independently. The path to the KW number runs through the ewidencja gruntów i budynków, which is administered at the district (powiat) level and requires a property address or parcel number in the Polish cadastral format.
| Register | Administering body | Access | Search key | Covers | Does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EKW (land register) | Ministry of Justice | Free; KW number required | KW number only | Mortgages, easements, ownership | Pledges over movables; tax pledges |
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice | Paid (20 PLN per certificate) | Pledgor name or asset description | Registered pledges (zastawy rejestrowe) | Tax pledges; mortgages |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance | Free search; extract 50 PLN | Asset identifier | Tax authority pledges | Registered pledges; mortgages |
| KRZ | Ministry of Justice | Free; no login | NIP / KRS / PESEL / case signature | Insolvency and restructuring from 01.12.2021 | Proceedings opened before 01.12.2021 |
| MSiG (official gazette) | Ministry of Justice | Free; archive from 1996 | Name, KRS, NIP, text fragment | Pre-2021 insolvency announcements | Post-2021 proceedings (now in KRZ) |
| CRBR (beneficial ownership) | Ministry of Finance | Free; no login | NIP / KRS | Declared ultimate beneficial owners | Accuracy of declarations not verified by register |
| KRS (companies register) | Ministry of Justice | Free; certified extract ~30–60 PLN | NIP / KRS / company name | Corporate structure, representation, share capital | Beneficial ownership beyond declared layer |
| Biała lista (VAT register) | Head of KAS / Ministry of Finance | Free; no login; API available | NIP / bank account number | VAT status, declared bank accounts, historical dates | Tax arrears amounts; enforcement actions |
KRZ: what it shows and what it does not
KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl) is the central public register of insolvency, restructuring, and debt enforcement proceedings in Poland. It replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych on 1 December 2021. The register is open, free of charge, and requires no account or login.
A search returns active and closed proceedings: consumer insolvency, business insolvency, restructuring (sanacja, postępowanie układowe, uproszczone postępowanie restrukturyzacyjne), and enforcement proceedings in which assets proved insufficient. The result includes case signature, court, date of filing, date of decision, and the name of the administrator or trustee where appointed.
The critical boundary: KRZ contains only proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. A seller with a bankruptcy concluded in 2018 will not appear in KRZ. That earlier proceeding may appear in the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG) archive, which is separately searchable at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl and covers announcements from 1996. A full insolvency history requires both systems.
The pledge layer: two registers, not one
Polish law recognises two categories of pledge that encumber commercial assets and do not appear in the land register. First: zastawy rejestrowe, governed by the Act of 6 December 1996 on registered pledges. These are recorded in the Rejestr Zastawów, administered by the Ministry of Justice through Centralna Informacja. A certificate by pledgor (DW-1) costs 20 PLN. A certificate by pledged asset (DW-2) also costs 20 PLN. A full extract (DW-4) costs 15 PLN. Both DW-1 and DW-2 are required for a complete picture, because a pledgor may have pledged the same asset to multiple creditors.
Second: zastawy skarbowe, arising by operation of tax law in favour of the tax authority. These are recorded in the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, administered by the Ministry of Finance. A search by asset is free. An official extract (wypis or zaświadczenie) costs 50 PLN and is obtainable through e-Urząd Skarbowy. A property transaction due diligence that checks only one of these two registers is incomplete.
The land register path for a foreign buyer
The Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste system (ekw.ms.gov.pl) is free and publicly accessible. Every land register entry is searchable and readable — but only by its KW number. There is no name-based search available to private parties. This is not a technical gap; it is a deliberate statutory restriction under Polish land register law.
The practical consequence: a foreign buyer who has the property address but not the KW number must first locate the cadastral parcel number through the ewidencja gruntów i budynków (maintained at powiat level) and then cross-reference it to the KW number. That cross-reference step requires access to local cadastral data and, in practice, a Polish address in the cadastral format. The EKW entry itself, once reached, discloses ownership, all mortgages (hipoteki), easements, and any pending proceedings noted in the register.
VAT status and bank account verification
The Biała lista (podatki.gov.pl) is the official register of VAT-registered entities maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration (KAS). Access is free and requires no login. The register shows current VAT status, the declared bank accounts of the entity, and a dated history of status changes — including the reasons for deregistration, exclusion, or reinstatement.
The register also permits retroactive queries: a payment can be verified against the register as it stood on any past date. Under Polish VAT law, a payment made to a bank account not listed on the Biała lista on the date of transfer may trigger joint and several liability for the buyer on the seller's VAT obligations. This makes the Biała lista check directly relevant to the transaction structure, not only to counterparty diligence.
The limit of what the sources allow
KRZ covers proceedings from 1 December 2021 only. An entity that completed insolvency proceedings before that date leaves no trace in KRZ. The MSiG archive extends coverage back to 1996, but its data format is PDF-only: there are no machine-readable records, and the search requires knowing the entity's name or identifier in advance. A gap between 1996 and the founding date of the entity is not covered by either system.
The EKW land register shows only encumbrances that have been formally registered. An unregistered mortgage, an informal arrangement, or a pending but not yet noted court order will not appear. The register reflects the state at the moment of the query; it does not flag proceedings that have been filed but not yet entered.
CRBR (the beneficial ownership register) contains the declarations submitted by the company's management. The register does not independently verify those declarations. Where the declared beneficial owner differs from the economic reality — through nominee arrangements or layered structures — the register will not reveal this. The KRS corporate structure provides one cross-check; financial statements filed in the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych provide another. Neither is conclusive on concealed ownership.
Where the sources disagree
KRS and CRBR occasionally show different ownership pictures. KRS records the registered shareholder; CRBR records the declared ultimate beneficial owner. Where an intermediary holding company sits between the two, the KRS shareholder and the CRBR beneficiary will be different entities. This is not automatically a discrepancy — it is the expected output of a layered structure. A discrepancy arises when the CRBR declaration names a natural person who does not appear anywhere in the KRS ownership chain. That gap warrants further examination before transaction close.
Financial statements filed in the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych may show debt levels or contingent liabilities that do not appear in any pledge register — because they are contractual, not registered. A balance sheet with significant liabilities under "other creditors" or "financial instruments" alongside a clean pledge register search is itself a result that the collateral report will identify.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €290 | KRZ search (NIP + KRS); MSiG name search; KRS corporate structure extract; CRBR beneficial ownership; Biała lista VAT status and bank accounts on transaction date | EKW land register entries; pledge register certificates (Rejestr Zastawów DW-1/DW-2); tax pledge search; financial statements review; cadastral parcel identification |
| Standard | €470 | All Signal items; EKW land register — all sections (ownership, mortgages, easements, pending notes); cadastral parcel identification to obtain KW number; Rejestr Zastawów DW-1 and DW-2 certificates; Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search and extract; summary of encumbrance positions across all registers | Review of filed financial statements; cross-check of declared vs. registered ownership chain; identification of off-register liabilities; legal qualification of findings |
| Extended | €960 | All Standard items; three years of filed financial statements from Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych; cross-check of CRBR declarations against KRS ownership chain; MSiG archive search covering pre-2021 insolvency history; identification of discrepancies between registers; written summary of where sources agree, where they diverge, and where the chain ends | Legal advice; legal qualification of findings; representation in any proceeding; verification of facts not disclosed in official registers; physical site inspection |
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean KRZ result mean the seller has no insolvency history?
No. KRZ records proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. A proceeding concluded before that date will not appear. The MSiG archive must be checked separately for earlier history.
Can the EKW land register be searched by owner name?
Not by private parties. The search requires the KW number. Obtaining that number requires access to cadastral data at the powiat level, which in turn requires the property address in the Polish cadastral format and, in practice, local access.
Are the two pledge registers linked?
No. The Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) are separate systems with separate search interfaces and separate fee structures. A search of one does not return results from the other.
What does the CRBR register actually verify?
CRBR records declarations submitted by company management. The register does not independently verify whether those declarations are accurate. Cross-checking CRBR against the KRS ownership chain identifies structural discrepancies; it does not resolve them.
Is there a register that shows all tax arrears of a Polish entity?
No single public register discloses the amount of tax arrears. The Biała lista shows VAT status and declared bank accounts. Tax pledge registrations in the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych indicate that a tax authority has secured a claim, but the amount is not publicly disclosed in the register entry.
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.