Collateral due diligence on a Polish asset draws on several official registers. Each register shows a defined slice of the picture. The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated before any engagement begins — not after the report is delivered.
- What the registers show
- Mortgage encumbrances (hipoteka), pledges, seizures, and ownership chain — drawn from the Land and Mortgage Register (Księgi Wieczyste), the Pledge Register (Rejestr Zastawów), and the National Court Register (KRS). Sources verified: 03.07.2026.
- Access condition
- The Land and Mortgage Register is publicly searchable by book number. The Pledge Register is publicly searchable by debtor name or PESEL/NIP. KRS is publicly searchable without registration.
- What the registers do not show
- Unregistered contractual pledges, informal encumbrances agreed outside notarial form, and security interests created under foreign law but not notified to Polish registries.
- Cost structure
- Registry charges are set by statute and published in official tariffs. This page does not reproduce tariff figures: they are subject to legislative amendment and must be verified at the point of order.
What collateral verification covers at each stage
Three tiers of collateral report are available. Each tier is defined by the registers it draws on and the depth of cross-referencing applied. The scope of each tier is fixed before the order is placed.
| Tier | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|
| Signal | Land and Mortgage Register extract for the identified book number: ownership entries, mortgage section (dział IV), encumbrance section (dział III). Pledge Register search by debtor identifier. KRS status of the registered owner entity. | Cross-referencing of historical ownership chain. Insolvency register check. Enforcement proceedings search. Beneficial ownership layer. |
| Standard | Everything in Signal, plus: full ownership history from the Land and Mortgage Register (all divisions, all entries including deleted). National Insolvency Register (KRZ) check on owner and any pledgor. Court enforcement proceedings search at the competent district court. Reconciliation of KRS share register against mortgage entries. | Foreign security interests not registered in Poland. Contractual pledges outside notarial form. Tax lien search at the competent tax authority (requires separate mandate). |
| Extended | Everything in Standard, plus: beneficial ownership layer via CRBR (Central Register of Beneficial Owners) with chain-of-control mapping to the identified encumbrance holders. Tax lien search at the competent tax authority. Customs duty lien check. Cross-border security interest notation where visible in Polish registries. Written summary of where the chain of evidence breaks and why. | Legal qualification of the encumbrances identified. Valuation of the collateral. Enforcement probability assessment. Advice on priority ranking under Polish law. |
The limit of what the sources allow
Polish official registers record only what has been formally notified and accepted by the relevant authority. Several categories of encumbrance fall outside this perimeter.
The Land and Mortgage Register shows mortgages that have been constituted by notarial deed and registered. A mortgage agreed but not yet registered does not appear. A mortgage struck from the register on formal grounds may still be contested in court — the register reflects the registered state, not the litigated state.
The Pledge Register covers registered pledges (zastaw rejestrowy) under the Act of 6 December 1996. Ordinary civil pledges (zastaw zwykły) constituted under the Civil Code are not registered here and are not traceable from public sources. Security assignments (przewłaszczenie na zabezpieczenie) do not appear in any public register.
- CRBR beneficial ownership data is self-reported by the entity. The register does not verify the declarations against corporate documents.
- KRZ insolvency entries appear after the court order is issued and published. A petition filed but not yet decided does not appear.
- Tax liens and customs duty liens are held by the relevant authority and are not consolidated in a single searchable register accessible to third parties without a formal request.
- Foreign security interests — for example, a pledge governed by English or German law over shares in a Polish company — are not reflected in Polish registries unless voluntarily noted.
The Extended tier report states explicitly at which point in the chain the evidence trail stops and what mechanism causes the stop. That statement is itself a deliverable.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between registers arise in practice. The KRS share register may show a shareholder who no longer appears in the mortgage constituting deed. The CRBR beneficial owner may differ from the KRS-registered management board. A mortgage may remain in division IV of the Land and Mortgage Register after the underlying loan has been repaid, if the deletion application has not been filed.
Each such discrepancy is recorded in the report as a discrepancy, not resolved by inference. The report does not qualify which version is legally operative. That determination requires legal advice and is outside the scope of a factual compilation.
How the register search is conducted
Each search requires the correct identifier for the object and the debtor. For real property, the Land and Mortgage Register book number (numer księgi wieczystej) is required. For a pledgor, PESEL (for natural persons) or NIP/KRS number (for legal entities) is required for the Pledge Register search.
Where the client provides only an address or a company name, the first step is identifier retrieval. This step is included in all three tiers. Failure to obtain the correct identifier prevents the register search from proceeding — that outcome is reported, not concealed.
All three registers are publicly accessible. The Land and Mortgage Register online system (ekw.ms.gov.pl) and the KRS online portal (rejestr.io / KRS lookup at ms.gov.pl) are free of charge and require no registration for basic searches. The Pledge Register is searchable at ms.gov.pl without charge.
These registers are public and free of charge. What the report provides is the removed path: correct identifier sourcing, Polish-language navigation, cross-register reconciliation, structured output in English, and a written statement of what the search did not find and why.
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean Land and Mortgage Register confirm the asset is unencumbered?
No. The register shows registered encumbrances. Unregistered pledges, security assignments, and foreign security interests are not visible. A clean register entry is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one.
Is the CRBR beneficial ownership entry reliable for collateral purposes?
CRBR entries are self-declared. The register does not cross-check declarations against notarial corporate documents. The Extended tier report maps the CRBR entry against available KRS documentation and notes where the two diverge.
How long does a register search take?
Online register extracts are available immediately for Signal-tier work. Standard and Extended tiers include court enforcement searches and authority requests that operate on statutory response periods. Estimated turnaround for each tier is confirmed at the time of order, not assumed in advance.
Can the report be used as evidence in enforcement proceedings?
The report is a factual compilation for informational purposes. It does not constitute a certified extract or a court-admissible document. Official certified extracts from each register are available directly from the relevant authority and carry evidentiary weight that a compiled report does not.
What if the book number or debtor identifier is unknown?
Identifier retrieval is the first step in all three tiers. The approach and the sources used for retrieval are described in the engagement confirmation. If retrieval fails, the reason is stated in writing and no further fee applies for that search line.
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.