A document held by a Polish entity — a promissory note, a guarantee, a pledge instrument, an assignment agreement — carries collateral value only to the degree that the underlying claim and the security structure behind it can be verified from official sources. This page sets out which registers apply, what each returns, what each costs, and where the chain stops.
- Companies register (KRS)
- Free of charge; no login required. Verified corporate identity, registered capital, representation rules, and filed financial statements. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy · verified 2026-07-06
- Registered pledges — civil (Rejestr Zastawów)
- Certificate on a pledgor: PLN 20. Certificate on a pledged item: PLN 20. Certified extract: PLN 15. Source: Centralna Informacja o Zastawach Rejestrowych, Ministry of Justice · verified 2026-07-06
- Registered pledges — fiscal (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych)
- Search free; official certificate via e-Urząd Skarbowy: PLN 50. Source: Ministry of Finance · verified 2026-07-06
- Insolvency proceedings (KRZ)
- Free; no login. Covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych, krz.ms.gov.pl · verified 2026-07-06
- Land register (EKW)
- Free; accessible by KW number only — name search is not permitted for private parties. Source: Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste, ekw.ms.gov.pl · verified 2026-07-06
- VAT status and declared bank accounts
- Free; no login. Biała lista returns VAT status, registered accounts, and reasons for exclusion or reinstatement, searchable on any past date. Source: podatki.gov.pl · verified 2026-07-06
- Beneficial ownership (CRBR)
- Free; no login. Source: Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych · verified 2026-07-06
Several of the registers listed above are public and free of charge. What the fee at each tier covers is the removed path: locating the correct national identifier, navigating Polish-language portals, obtaining the right certificate type, and consolidating results across registers that do not communicate with each other.
What the registers cover
Polish law maintains two separate pledge registers, and both must be checked to establish the full collateral profile of a document. The civil pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów) is administered by the Ministry of Justice through Centralna Informacja. It records registered pledges over movable assets and rights. A certificate tied to the pledgor costs PLN 20; a certificate tied to the pledged item costs PLN 20; a certified extract costs PLN 15. The fiscal pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) is administered by the Ministry of Finance and records pledges arising from tax enforcement. Search is free; an official certificate through e-Urząd Skarbowy costs PLN 50. A clean result in one register does not confirm a clean result in the other.
The land register (EKW) is the authoritative source for mortgage encumbrances on real property. It is accessible free of charge at ekw.ms.gov.pl. Access requires the KW number — the unique land register identifier. Name-based search is not available to private parties. The KW number is found in the cadastral record (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), which requires a separate inquiry. Without the KW number, the land register cannot be queried.
The KRS corporate register is free and requires no login. It returns current and historical data on directors, shareholders, registered capital, and representation rules. Filed financial statements are available without charge through the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych, linked directly from the KRS record.
| Register | Administered by | Access | Cost (official tariff) | What it returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) | Ministry of Justice | Free, no login | Free (certified extract: approx. PLN 30–60) | Corporate identity, directors, shareholders, capital, filings |
| Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych | Ministry of Justice | Free, no login | Free | Filed financial statements |
| Rejestr Zastawów (civil) | Ministry of Justice | Paid certificate | PLN 20 per pledgor; PLN 20 per item; PLN 15 certified extract | Registered pledges over movables and rights |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (fiscal) | Ministry of Finance | Free search; paid certificate | PLN 50 via e-Urząd Skarbowy | Fiscal pledges from tax enforcement |
| Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) | Ministry of Justice | Free by KW number only | Free | Mortgages, ownership, encumbrances on real property |
| Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) | Ministry of Justice | Free, no login | Free | Insolvency and restructuring proceedings from 1 Dec 2021 |
| Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG) | Ministry of Justice | Free, no login | Free | Corporate announcements, older insolvency notices (pre-Dec 2021) |
| Biała lista podatników VAT | Head of KAS (tax authority) | Free, no login | Free | VAT status, declared bank accounts, exclusion/reinstatement history |
| CRBR | Ministry of Finance | Free, no login | Free | Declared beneficial owners |
VAT status and the bank account risk
The Biała lista (White List) at podatki.gov.pl is maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration. It returns VAT registration status, the bank accounts declared by the entity to the tax authority, and the full history of exclusions, reinstatements, and refusals — each with a date. The list can be queried on any past date. A payment made to a bank account not appearing on the Biała lista on the date of transfer triggers joint and several VAT liability for the payer. For a lender or buyer assessing a document backed by receivables, this creates a direct exposure: if the counterparty's account is not on the list, the underlying payment may be tainted.
Insolvency: the two-register problem
From 1 December 2021, insolvency and restructuring proceedings are published in the Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) at krz.ms.gov.pl. The register is public, free, and requires no login. Search runs by PESEL, NIP, KRS number, or case signature. Proceedings opened before that date were published in the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG), where the official search system at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl remains free and covers the archive from 1996. A complete insolvency check requires both systems.
A clean result in KRZ does not exclude an earlier proceeding in MSiG. A clean result in MSiG does not exclude a proceeding opened after 1 December 2021 in KRZ. Both are checked as a matter of procedure on every engagement.
The limit of what the sources allow
The land register returns encumbrances only when the KW number is already known. The KW number does not appear in the KRS record, in the tax register, or in the pledge registers. It is held in the cadastral authority's records (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), access to which requires a separate inquiry with the relevant starostwo. For a foreign party without a Polish address or a national identifier, that inquiry is not self-service. This is a structural gap: a document secured by a mortgage on Polish real property cannot be verified from a single register query.
The vehicle history check at historiapojazdu.gov.pl requires three simultaneous inputs: registration number, VIN, and first registration date. The first registration date appears only in the vehicle registration certificate (dowód rejestracyjny), which is held by the current owner. Without it, the check cannot be completed. The system does not return the owner's name — only a count of previous owners. For an imported vehicle, the history begins at Polish registration, not at manufacture.
CRBR records declared beneficial owners — the data submitted by the entity itself. The register does not verify the accuracy of the declaration. Where the declared UBO differs from the ownership chain visible in KRS, the discrepancy is itself a finding. Both layers are read together; neither is taken as conclusive alone.
Where the sources disagree
Three types of divergence appear with regularity in Polish collateral checks. First: the CRBR declaration names a natural person as UBO, but the KRS shareholder list shows a chain of holding companies that does not resolve to that person without additional steps. Second: the KRS record shows a director who is no longer in post, because the deregistration filing has not yet been processed — KRS updates are not instantaneous. Third: a pledge appears in the civil register (Rejestr Zastawów) but not in the fiscal register, or vice versa, because the two systems are maintained independently and are not cross-referenced. Each divergence is reported as a finding, not resolved by inference.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €290 | KRS current extract and representation check; KRZ insolvency check; Biała lista VAT status and declared accounts on date of query; CRBR beneficial ownership declaration; MSiG search for pre-2021 announcements; written summary of findings with source references | Pledge register certificates (civil and fiscal); land register query; cadastral identifier search; financial statement analysis; vehicle history; discrepancy analysis across registers |
| Standard | €470 | All Signal items; civil pledge register certificate (Rejestr Zastawów) — pledgor and item; fiscal pledge register certificate (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych); Biała lista query on up to three historical dates; filed financial statements (last two available periods); discrepancy table across all queried registers | Land register query; cadastral identifier search; vehicle history; legal qualification of findings; representation at any authority |
| Extended | €960 | All Standard items; cadastral identifier search and land register query (EKW) for up to two properties; MSiG archive search covering full available period; vehicle history check where registration number and VIN are provided by the instructing party; three-year financial statement analysis with ratio commentary; full discrepancy matrix with source-level attribution; written findings report in English | Legal advice; qualification of findings as to enforceability or priority; representation before courts or authorities; searches requiring judicial authorisation |
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign lender query Polish registers directly?
Most Polish registers are publicly accessible without registration. The practical barriers are language, the requirement for a Polish national identifier (NIP or KRS number) as the search key, and the need to know which of several parallel registers applies to a given asset type. The pledge check alone spans two independent systems administered by two different ministries.
Does a clean KRZ result confirm the entity has no insolvency history?
No. KRZ covers proceedings from 1 December 2021. Earlier proceedings were published in MSiG. Both registers must be checked. A clean result in KRZ, standing alone, does not confirm the absence of an earlier proceeding.
What does the report say about the value of the document?
The report states what the registers show and where the sources stop. It does not assess enforceability, priority of claims, or recoverability. Those questions require legal advice, which is provided separately and is not part of this product.
How is the KW number obtained if the client does not have it?
The KW number is held in the cadastral records of the relevant starostwo. Obtaining it requires identifying the cadastral parcel number from the property description. This step is included in the Extended tier. Without it, the land register cannot be queried — this constraint applies regardless of the tier selected.
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.