A foreign buyer or lender verifying a Polish asset must establish two things before relying on collateral: what encumbrances already exist, and whether the debtor is subject to active insolvency or restructuring proceedings. Poland maintains separate official registers for each. Both are public. Both are free. The path to them — national identifier, language, system logic, cross-register sequencing — is not.
- Primary insolvency register
- Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) at krz.ms.gov.pl — public, no login required, no fee. Search by PESEL, NIP, KRS number, or case signature. Source: KRZ · krz.ms.gov.pl · verified 2026-06-30
- Coverage cut-off
- KRZ contains only proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. Earlier cases were published in Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG). A clean KRZ result does not exclude a pre-2021 proceeding.
- Pledge registers
- Two parallel systems: Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice, civil pledges) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance, fiscal pledges). A complete pledge profile requires both. Source: Centralna Informacja KRS / e-Urząd Skarbowy · verified 2026-06-30
- Cost of certified extract
- Rejestr Zastawów: DW-1 (subject search) 20 PLN, DW-2 (object search) 20 PLN, DW-4 (certified copy) 15 PLN. Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych: wypis/zaświadczenie 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy.
This page describes what each register discloses, how to reach it, what it costs, and — critically — where the evidentiary chain stops. The collateral angle matters most: a clean current register is not a clean encumbrance history.
What KRZ discloses — and what it replaced
KRZ launched on 1 December 2021. It replaced the Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych and consolidated publication of bankruptcy, restructuring, and debt enforcement proceedings. The register is fully public. No account, no fee, no declaration of interest.
A search returns the proceeding type, case signature, court, date of opening, and — where applicable — the appointed administrator or supervisor. The system accepts four identifiers: PESEL (individual), NIP (tax number), KRS (company register number), or the case signature itself.
Before KRZ, insolvency notices were published in MSiG. The MSiG archive at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl is public and free, searchable by name, KRS, NIP, text fragment, and date. It covers publications from 1996 onward. Proceedings opened before December 2021 appear there, not in KRZ. A complete insolvency check requires both systems.
The pledge layer: two registers, not one
Polish law recognises two distinct pledge registers. They are maintained by different ministries, use different search interfaces, and cover different categories of encumbrance. Checking only one produces an incomplete picture.
| Register | Authority | Covers | Search access | Certified extract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice — Centralna Informacja | Civil pledges (registered pledge act 1996) | Public, free, no login | DW-1 (pledgor) 20 PLN · DW-2 (object) 20 PLN · DW-4 (copy) 15 PLN |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance — Szef KAS | Fiscal pledges (tax arrears security) | Public search free; wypis/zaświadczenie via e-Urząd Skarbowy | 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy |
A foreign lender seeking a pledge search on a Polish asset must obtain the NIP of the pledgor and the precise description of the pledged object. Neither register accepts free-text descriptions from an untrained user reliably. Object-based searches (DW-2) require the category and identifier as recorded at time of registration — not necessarily how the asset is described in the transaction documents.
Supporting registers for collateral verification
Insolvency and pledge status do not stand alone. Three further registers inform collateral value directly.
| Register | Relevance to collateral | Access | Key limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| KRS (company register) | Confirms legal existence, share structure, directors, registered capital | Free, no login; certified odpis 30–60 PLN | Beneficial ownership not shown here — see CRBR |
| CRBR (beneficial ownership) | Reveals ultimate beneficial owners of Polish companies | Public, free, no login | Accuracy depends on filing by the obliged entity; no independent verification by registry |
| Biała lista (VAT register) | Confirms VAT status and declared bank accounts of the counterparty | Public, free, no login; historical date query available | Payment to an account not on the list triggers joint VAT liability for the buyer |
| Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych | Filed annual accounts — basis for financial condition assessment | Free, no login | Filing obligation applies; late or missing filings are themselves a signal |
The limit of what the sources allow
KRZ covers proceedings from 1 December 2021 onward. A company incorporated before that date and subjected to insolvency proceedings before that date will show nothing in KRZ. The MSiG archive covers the gap, but it is a gazette — PDF issues, no structured data, no API. Cross-referencing requires manual search across both systems with the correct identifiers.
The pledge registers show what has been registered. They do not show unregistered encumbrances, contractual restrictions on disposal, or retention-of-title clauses embedded in supply agreements. The land register (EKW) shows mortgages on real property — but only if the KW number is known in advance. EKW does not permit name-based searches by private parties. The path runs through the land and buildings cadastre (ewidencja gruntów) first.
CRBR shows what the obliged entity has declared. The registry does not independently verify declarations. Where the beneficial ownership chain runs through a non-Polish holding structure, CRBR shows the Polish node; the chain above it is outside the register's scope. That is the point at which the source stops.
Where the sources disagree
KRS and CRBR sometimes show different ownership pictures. KRS records registered shareholders; CRBR records declared ultimate beneficial owners. A discrepancy between the two — where the KRS shareholder is a foreign holding company but CRBR shows a natural person not visible in KRS — is itself a material fact. It is not an error to be corrected; it is a finding to be reported.
Filed financial statements in RDF may show a debt-free balance sheet while the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych shows an active fiscal pledge. Both can be simultaneously accurate: the pledge may secure a contingent liability not yet reflected in the accounts, or the accounts may be stale. The divergence is the result.
This register is public and free of charge. What the report fee covers is the removed path: obtaining the correct national identifiers (NIP, KRS, PESEL), navigating parallel systems in Polish, sequencing the search across KRZ and MSiG, obtaining certified extracts from both pledge registers with the correct object description, and delivering a consolidated English-language document with source attribution and date stamps.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €290 | KRZ search (current proceedings) · MSiG check for pre-2021 proceedings · KRS status confirmation · English summary with source badges and retrieval dates | Pledge register searches · CRBR beneficial ownership · financial statements · VAT/Biała lista check · certified extracts |
| Standard | €470 | All Signal items · Rejestr Zastawów search (DW-1 and DW-2) · Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search · CRBR beneficial ownership extract · Biała lista VAT status and account verification · English consolidated report | Financial statement analysis · land register (EKW) search · certified pledge extracts (DW-4 / wypis) · legal qualification of findings |
| Extended | €960 | All Standard items · certified extracts from both pledge registers (DW-4 and wypis/zaświadczenie) · RDF financial statements for last three available years · EKW land register check where KW number is established · consolidated English report with divergence analysis across sources | Legal advice · legal qualification of findings · representation · searches outside Poland · UBO verification above the Polish node |
Frequently asked questions
How long does the report take?
Signal: typically two business days. Standard: three to four business days. Extended: five to seven business days, depending on queue at the Centralna Informacja for certified pledge extracts.
What identifiers are needed to start?
For a company: KRS number or NIP. For an individual: PESEL or NIP. For a pledge object search: the asset category and the identifier as it would appear in the register (VIN for vehicles, cadastral parcel number for land, etc.). If identifiers are unknown, the report process includes their establishment as the first step.
Does a clean KRZ result mean the debtor has no insolvency history?
No. KRZ covers proceedings from 1 December 2021. Proceedings opened before that date were published in MSiG. A complete check requires both. The Standard and Extended tiers include both searches as a matter of course.
What if the asset is encumbered by a fiscal pledge not visible in the civil pledge register?
A fiscal pledge (zastaw skarbowy) arises by operation of law when a tax liability exceeds a threshold set annually by the Minister of Finance. It is registered in the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, not in the Rejestr Zastawów. The two registers are maintained separately. Standard and Extended tiers cover both.
Is the report a legal opinion?
No. The report is a factual compilation from official registers. It establishes what the sources show and names where the chain stops. Legal qualification of the findings — what they mean for the transaction — is outside the scope of this product and requires separate legal advice.
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.