A court decision used as collateral in a Polish transaction carries a paper value and an enforcement value. These two figures can differ sharply. This page describes what official Polish registers reveal about each, which sources supply the data, and what the sources cannot show.
- What the register shows
- KRS (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy) discloses corporate status, representation, and filed financial statements at no charge. Source: KRS · verified 2026-06-17
- Pledge status
- Two separate systems must be checked: Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance). A certificate from each costs 20 PLN and 50 PLN respectively. Source: Centralna Informacja / e-Urząd Skarbowy · verified 2026-06-17
- Insolvency status
- KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl) is public, free, and requires no login. It covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021 onward. Source: KRZ · verified 2026-06-17
- What the sources do not show
- No register discloses whether a judgment has already been assigned, whether enforcement proceedings are ongoing, or what assets the debtor actually holds.
What collateral verification covers for a Polish court decision
A judgment debt in Poland is an asset only if the debtor can satisfy it and no prior claim takes priority. Three conditions determine practical value: the debtor's current legal and financial standing, the existence of registered encumbrances over the debtor's assets, and whether insolvency or restructuring proceedings are active. Each condition maps to a specific register.
KRS provides the corporate baseline: registered address, management board, share capital, and filed annual accounts. The Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych holds financial statements and is free of charge. Neither source requires registration or a national identifier from the user.
Pledge registers: two systems, one verification path
Poland operates two pledge registers that do not communicate with each other. The Rejestr Zastawów, administered by the Ministry of Justice through Centralna Informacja, covers civil and commercial pledges. A DW-1 certificate on the pledgor costs 20 PLN; a DW-2 certificate on a specific asset costs 20 PLN; a full extract (DW-4) costs 15 PLN.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, administered by the Ministry of Finance, covers tax-authority pledges. Search by asset is free through e-Urząd Skarbowy. A wypis or zaświadczenie costs 50 PLN. A complete pledge profile of a Polish debtor requires certificates from both registers. Checking only one leaves the picture incomplete.
Insolvency register: the KRZ boundary
KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl) replaced the former Register of Insolvent Debtors and the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy as the primary publication venue for insolvency and restructuring notices. It is publicly searchable by NIP, KRS number, PESEL, or case reference without login or fee.
The boundary is precise: KRZ contains only proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. A clean KRZ result does not exclude earlier insolvency proceedings. MSiG (wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl) holds the archive from 1996 and must be checked in parallel. Notices from before December 2021 remain in MSiG as PDFs; no machine-readable data is available.
VAT status and bank accounts
The Biała Lista (podatki.gov.pl), maintained by the Head of KAS, discloses VAT registration status, registered bank accounts, and the dates and reasons for any deregistration or reinstatement. It can be queried for any past date. This matters for collateral assessment: a debtor deregistered for VAT fraud or excluded from the register is a different risk profile than an active taxpayer.
Beneficial ownership: CRBR
The Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR) is public, free, and requires no account. It discloses the reported ultimate beneficial owners of Polish legal entities. The register reflects what the entity itself has declared; it is not independently verified by the authority against third-party data.
The limit of what the sources allow
The registers described above are the ceiling. They show what has been filed, registered, or declared. They do not show whether a judgment has been assigned to a third party since it was issued. They do not show whether enforcement proceedings (egzekucja komornicza) are currently running against the debtor outside the insolvency framework. They do not show assets held in the debtor's name that are not subject to a registered charge — movable property, receivables, cash — unless those assets appear in filed financial statements.
Land register access (EKW) requires the KW number. Search by debtor name is not available to private parties. The path runs through the land and buildings cadastre (ewidencja gruntów i budynków) to the KW number, then to EKW. This is a two-step process and adds time.
Vehicle and equipment data (CEPiK / historiapojazdu.gov.pl) requires three simultaneous inputs: registration number, VIN, and first registration date. The last item is held only in the vehicle registration document. Owner name is not disclosed; only an ownership-change count is visible. These constraints are intentional and cannot be bypassed through the public portal.
Where the sources disagree
Financial statements filed in the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych may show a balance sheet date that is 12 to 18 months before the verification date. KRS may show the company as active. The two facts do not conflict formally, but the gap between the most recent filed accounts and today is itself a finding. A debtor whose accounts are overdue for filing is in breach of statutory obligations; that breach is visible in KRS.
CRBR beneficial ownership data may diverge from the shareholder structure visible in KRS. Both registers reflect declarations made by the entity. Where CRBR lists a natural person as UBO but KRS shows no corresponding shareholding path, the discrepancy requires explanation before the collateral position can be assessed.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | 290 | KRS status and representation check; KRZ and MSiG insolvency search; Biała Lista VAT and bank account status; CRBR beneficial ownership extract; summary memo in English identifying any flags | Pledge register certificates (Rejestr Zastawów and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych); land register (EKW) search; financial statement review; asset mapping |
| Standard | 470 | All Signal items; DW-1 and DW-2 certificates from Rejestr Zastawów; Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych wypis; filed financial statement review (up to three years); English-language report with source extracts | Land register (EKW) search; vehicle and equipment register check; enforcement proceeding search beyond insolvency registers; legal qualification of findings |
| Extended | 960 | All Standard items; EKW land register search (where KW number is provided or obtainable via cadastre); CEPiK vehicle check where inputs are available; MSiG archive review from 1996; CRBR cross-check against KRS shareholder structure; consolidated English-language collateral report with source-by-source reconciliation and identified gaps | Legal advice; qualification of findings as to enforceability; representation in enforcement proceedings; any fact not determinable from the registers listed |
Frequently asked questions
Several of these registers are free. What does the report cost cover?
KRS, KRZ, MSiG, Biała Lista, CRBR, and EKW are public and free of charge. This register is public and free of charge. What you are paying for is the removed path: registration, national identifier, language, electronic signature, declaration of legitimate interest. Obtaining data from Polish registers requires a Polish NIP or PESEL in several cases, Polish-language navigation, and knowledge of which register holds which fact. The report also reconciles data across sources and states explicitly where the sources stop.
How long does a Standard report take?
Standard reports are delivered within five business days of instruction and receipt of the debtor's full legal name, KRS number or NIP, and the judgment reference. Extended reports take up to eight business days. Timelines assume no queue delay at the Centralna Informacja counter for pledge certificates.
Does the report confirm that the judgment is enforceable?
No. The report establishes what the registers show about the debtor's status, encumbrances, and insolvency history. Enforceability is a legal question that requires legal advice. The report does not contain a legal qualification of the facts established.
What if the debtor is a natural person rather than a company?
KRS covers registered entities only. For natural persons, the available register path is narrower: KRZ by PESEL, MSiG archive, Rejestr Zastawów by PESEL, and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych. EKW access still requires the KW number. CRBR and Biała Lista do not apply to natural persons acting outside a legal entity. Scope and pricing for natural-person subjects should be confirmed before instruction by contacting info@kordeckipartners.com.
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.