A document tied to a Polish asset — a mortgage deed, a lease agreement, a notarial act of sale — is the primary collateral instrument. What the document discloses, who authenticated it, and what encumbrances it records are all verifiable from official Polish registers before any transaction closes.
- What the sources show
- Notarial deeds recorded in the land register (Księga Wieczysta), mortgage entries, encumbrance history. Source: Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) · verified 27.06.2026
- Access condition
- Land register number required. Without it, a search by address or owner name is not available through the public portal.
- What the sources do not show
- Unregistered encumbrances, privately held side agreements, and documents not yet entered into the register at the time of retrieval.
- Cost
- No exact tariff is published here. The fee structure is set by the Ministry of Justice and published in the official gazette; the mechanism is a per-entry charge, not a flat rate.
What a document search covers for Polish collateral
Polish real property transactions are authenticated by a notary (notariusz) and, for mortgage-backed assets, registered in the land and mortgage register. The register is maintained by district courts and accessible electronically through the EKW portal. Each registered property has a unique land register number (numer KW). That number is the access key.
A full document-level review covers four layers: the legal basis of ownership, the mortgage section (Dział IV), any limited property rights in Dział III, and the chain of title through successive entries. Each layer is a separate source query, not a single export.
Collateral-specific document checks in Poland
For a foreign buyer or lender, the collateral question has a specific shape. The document must be authentic, the encumbrance must be correctly ranked, and nothing must sit ahead of the intended security interest. Polish law applies the principle of rękojmia wiary publicznej ksiąg wieczystych — the public faith of the land register. What the register shows is presumed correct. What it does not show is not presumed absent.
| Layer | What it covers | Source register | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title chain | Successive ownership entries, legal basis of each transfer | EKW — Dział II | Historic entries before digitisation may be incomplete |
| Mortgage ranking | Registered mortgages, creditor identity, secured amount | EKW — Dział IV | Amount in register may differ from current outstanding balance |
| Limited rights and claims | Usufruct, easements, pre-emption rights, court orders | EKW — Dział III | Some statutory pre-emption rights (e.g. municipal) are not entered |
| Notarial act | Original transaction document, parties, consideration, conditions | Repertorium notarialne (notary's register) | Access requires notary identification; no central searchable index |
| Enforcement proceedings | Pending judicial enforcement against the asset | EKW Dział III + Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) | Filing lag between court order and register entry |
| Registered pledges | Non-possessory pledges over movables and receivables | Rejestr Zastawów | Covers registered pledges only; contractual pledges outside this register are not visible |
The notarial act: what is accessible and what is not
In Poland, every transfer of real property must take the form of a notarial act. The act is prepared and stored by the notary and entered in the notary's repertorium. There is no single national portal through which a third party can retrieve a notarial act by property address or owner name.
The land register entry references the act (notary name, repertorium number, date). From that reference, the act can be located. Obtaining a copy requires identifying the notary and presenting a legitimate interest. For a foreign lender, this step requires a local representative with a Polish address and the ability to file a written request.
What the land register does show — without accessing the act itself — is the legal basis of each ownership entry. That is sufficient to confirm chain of title. It is not sufficient to confirm the terms of the underlying transaction, any side conditions, or representations made between the parties.
Registered pledges: a separate register, a separate search
Mortgages over real property appear in the land register. Pledges over movables, receivables, and shares are registered separately in the Rejestr Zastawów, maintained by the Ministry of Justice. A collateral review that covers only the land register will miss registered pledges entirely.
The Rejestr Zastawów is searchable by debtor name and by object description. Search results confirm whether a pledge is active, who the pledgee is, and the registered value. The register does not show the underlying pledge agreement or its detailed terms.
The limit of what the sources allow
The land register operates on the principle of public faith: what is entered is presumed correct. What is not entered is not presumed absent. Three categories of encumbrance sit outside the register's visibility. First, statutory pre-emption rights — including certain municipal and agricultural pre-emption rights — are not entered as standard entries and will not appear in a register search. Second, unregistered contractual arrangements between parties (side letters, priority agreements, informal charges) are invisible to any register query. Third, there is a filing lag: a court enforcement order, a tax charge, or a new mortgage may have been applied for but not yet entered at the moment of retrieval.
For the notarial act specifically: the register provides the reference, not the document. Retrieving the document itself requires locating the notary, establishing legitimate interest, and submitting a formal request. That process has no guaranteed turnaround. A foreign entity without a Polish address or representative faces an additional procedural step before the request can be filed.
The Rejestr Zastawów covers registered pledges only. Contractual pledges not submitted for registration — and financial collateral arrangements under Polish law implementing Directive 2002/47/EC — are outside the register's scope entirely.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €290 | Land register extract (all four sections, EKW); mortgage ranking confirmation; Rejestr Zastawów search by debtor; KRZ enforcement check; written summary in English identifying each encumbrance found and its register source | Notarial act retrieval; review of underlying transaction documents; statutory pre-emption right analysis; legal qualification of findings; any register not listed above |
| Standard | €470 | Everything in Signal; notarial act reference traced and act retrieval attempted (one notary); identification of statutory pre-emption rights applicable by asset category; cross-check of mortgage amount in register against publicly available creditor filings; discrepancy table where sources disagree | Legal advice on discrepancies found; review of side agreements or private documents not in any register; enforcement strategy; legal qualification of findings |
| Extended | €960 | Everything in Standard; full historic chain of title from earliest digitised entry; review of all Dział III entries including expired claims; registered pledge agreement summary where accessible; KRS ownership check on corporate seller or borrower; consolidated findings memorandum with source citations and identified gaps | Legal advice; litigation or enforcement action; review of unregistered private documents; any source outside the registers listed; legal qualification of findings |
Frequently asked questions
Can the land register be searched by owner name rather than register number?
The public EKW portal requires the land register number (numer KW). Search by owner name or property address is not available through the public interface. Identifying the correct register number from an address requires a separate step — either a local notary, a municipal office query, or a licensed geodetic database — before the register search can proceed.
Does a clean land register confirm there are no encumbrances?
A clean register confirms no encumbrances are entered as of the retrieval date. It does not confirm the absence of statutory pre-emption rights, unregistered contractual charges, or encumbrances applied for but not yet entered. Those three categories require separate verification steps outside the register.
How long does notarial act retrieval take?
There is no statutory turnaround for third-party requests to a notary's office. In practice, response time depends on the notary's workload and whether the requesting party can demonstrate legitimate interest in a form the notary accepts. A request submitted without a local representative or a Polish address may require additional correspondence before it is processed.
Are registered pledges shown in the land register?
No. Registered pledges over movables and receivables are held in the Rejestr Zastawów, a separate register maintained by the Ministry of Justice. The land register (EKW) covers real property mortgages only. A collateral review that does not include a Rejestr Zastawów search will not detect registered pledges, even if the debtor's real property is clean.
What is the difference between a mortgage amount in the register and the actual debt?
The register records the maximum secured amount at the time of entry. The actual outstanding balance is held by the creditor and is not updated in the register as payments are made. The two figures may differ substantially. Confirming the current balance requires a creditor statement, which is not a register source.
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.