The Central Register of Beneficial Owners (CRBR) is Poland's statutory UBO database. It is public, free of charge, and requires no account or registration to search. For a foreign buyer or lender, the register is the first source to check before any collateral assessment — but it is not the last, and the ceiling of what it shows must be stated before any reliance decision is made.
- What it shows
- Declared beneficial owners of Polish legal entities, with name, nationality, PESEL (where applicable), and percentage of control. Source: CRBR (crbr.podatki.gov.pl) · verified June 2026.
- Cost
- Free of charge. No account required. Access is immediate.
- Access condition
- Public search by entity name or NIP/KRS number. No declaration of legitimate interest required.
- What it does not show
- The register displays declared ownership only. It does not verify the accuracy of the declaration. Pledges, charges, and encumbrances are held in separate registers and require separate searches.
This register is public and free of charge. What you are paying for is the removed path: registration requirements in other linked registers, national identifiers needed to cross-reference entries, language, and the structured cross-check across all relevant Polish registers that transforms a single CRBR printout into a usable collateral picture.
What the CRBR extract shows — and what surrounds it
A CRBR extract names the declared beneficial owner of a Polish entity: the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company above the statutory threshold. The entry shows the person's name, citizenship, country of residence, PESEL number where applicable, and the nature and extent of control. Entries are made by the entity itself under a statutory obligation. The register does not cross-verify those declarations against share registers, notarial deeds, or corporate documents.
For collateral purposes, the CRBR extract is necessary but not sufficient. A lender or buyer needs to know not only who claims to own the asset, but what already encumbers it. That requires parallel searches across at least four additional Polish registers, each with its own access path and identifier requirements.
| Register | What it shows | Access | Cost | Key constraint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRBR | Declared beneficial owner, percentage of control | Public, no login | Free | Self-declared; not verified by the register |
| KRS (companies register) | Shareholders, directors, share capital, filed documents | Public, no login | Free; certified extract approx. 30–60 PLN | Certified extract needed for legal reliance |
| Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) | Registered pledges over movables and rights | Public search; paid certificate | DW-1 (by pledgor): 20 PLN · DW-2 (by object): 20 PLN · DW-4 (certified copy): 15 PLN | Search by pledgor name or object; both required for full picture |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) | Tax authority pledges over assets | Public search free; certificate paid | Wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy | Separate system from civil pledge register; must be checked independently |
| KRZ (insolvency register) | Restructuring and insolvency proceedings | Public, no login | Free | Covers proceedings from 1 December 2021 only; earlier cases not included |
| EKW (land and mortgage register) | Title, mortgages, encumbrances on real property | Public, but search requires KW number | Free | No name-based search for private individuals; KW number must be sourced separately |
The pledge register problem: two systems, one gap
Poland operates two separate pledge registers. The civil pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów) sits within the Ministry of Justice and covers pledges created under the Act on Registered Pledges and the Pledge Register. The tax pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) sits within the Ministry of Finance and covers security interests created by tax authorities. Neither register cross-references the other.
A full encumbrance check requires both searches. The civil register returns results by pledgor name or by object description. The tax register is searched by the asset or taxpayer. Both searches must be run, and the certificates from both must be read together. A check of only one register leaves the collateral picture incomplete.
The insolvency register cutoff
The National Debt Register (KRZ) replaced the previous Register of Insolvent Debtors on 1 December 2021. It is public and free to search without login, using NIP, KRS, PESEL, or case number. The register covers all restructuring and insolvency proceedings opened from that date forward.
Proceedings opened before 1 December 2021 are not in KRZ. A negative KRZ result does not confirm the absence of an earlier insolvency or restructuring. For entities with operating history before that date, the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG) archive must also be checked. MSiG announcements relating to bankruptcy and restructuring migrated to KRZ from December 2021; the MSiG archive remains the source for earlier periods.
The limit of what the sources allow
The CRBR shows what the entity's management has declared. It does not show whether the declaration is accurate. Where the declared beneficial owner differs from the economic reality — nominee structures, undisclosed back-to-back arrangements, or stale entries not yet updated after a share transfer — the register will not flag the discrepancy. Cross-referencing the CRBR entry against the KRS shareholder list and any filed notarial deeds is the minimum check needed to assess consistency.
The land register (EKW) does not allow name-based searches by private individuals. To retrieve the mortgage and encumbrance page for a specific property, the KW number is required. That number appears in the land and buildings cadastre (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), which is managed at the district (powiat) level. Obtaining the KW number from cadastral records is a separate procedural step before the EKW search can begin.
No single Polish register consolidates UBO data, pledge data, insolvency data, and title data in one output. A collateral assessment that relies on any one register alone is structurally incomplete. The ceiling of what the sources allow is a cross-register picture, not a single extract.
Where the sources disagree
The most common discrepancy in Polish collateral checks is between the CRBR entry and the KRS shareholder list. CRBR entries are updated by the entity; KRS shareholder lists are updated through notarial deeds filed with the court registry. Where a share transfer has occurred but the CRBR has not been updated — or vice versa — the two registers will show different control structures. That discrepancy is itself a result: it indicates either a filing failure or a timing gap. Either condition affects reliance on the declared ownership chain.
A secondary discrepancy arises between the civil pledge register and the tax pledge register. An asset may appear unencumbered in the Ministry of Justice system while carrying a tax pledge entered by a tax authority. The two systems do not communicate. The gap between them is not an error — it is a structural feature of Polish secured transactions law.
What is included at each tier
| Scope | Signal — €290 | Standard — €470 | Extended — €960 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRBR extract with consistency check against KRS | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| KRS extract (current shareholders, directors, share capital) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| KRZ insolvency check (proceedings from December 2021) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| MSiG archive check for pre-December 2021 insolvency | Not included | ✓ | ✓ |
| Civil pledge register search (Rejestr Zastawów, both DW-1 and DW-2) | Not included | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tax pledge register search (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) | Not included | ✓ | ✓ |
| EKW land register check (where KW number is available) | Not included | Not included | ✓ |
| Filed financial statements from RDF (last three available years) | Not included | Not included | ✓ |
| Białą listę VAT status check with account verification | Not included | Not included | ✓ |
| Discrepancy memo (where sources disagree) | Not included | Not included | ✓ |
| Delivery | 3 business days | 5 business days | 8 business days |
The Signal tier establishes who is declared as beneficial owner and whether that declaration is consistent with the current KRS shareholder list. It also confirms whether any insolvency or restructuring proceeding is active from December 2021. It does not cover pledges, earlier insolvency history, real property encumbrances, or financial condition. Those layers require Standard or Extended.
Frequently asked questions
Is the CRBR declaration verified by the Polish authorities?
The register records what the entity's management has submitted. The Ministry of Finance may cross-check entries against other state databases in certain circumstances, but the register itself does not carry a verification mark per entry. Accuracy of the declared ownership structure is assessed by cross-referencing the CRBR entry against KRS records and, where available, filed notarial deeds.
Can a pledge be registered without appearing in the civil pledge register?
Pledges created under the Civil Code (ordinary pledges) are not entered in the Rejestr Zastawów. Only registered pledges under the Act on Registered Pledges appear there. Tax pledges are in the separate Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych. Financial collateral arrangements may not appear in either. A clean result in one register does not confirm the absence of security interests of other types.
What if the KW number for a property is not available?
Without the KW number, the EKW online system cannot be searched. The KW number must be obtained from the district-level land and buildings cadastre (ewidencja gruntów i budynków). That step requires the property address or cadastral parcel number. Obtaining the KW number from cadastral records is part of the Extended tier scope.
Does a negative KRZ result confirm the entity has no insolvency history?
No. KRZ covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. An entity with insolvency or restructuring history before that date will show no result in KRZ. The MSiG archive must be checked separately for the period before December 2021. The Standard and Extended tiers include that check.
How is the report delivered?
The report is delivered as a structured PDF in English, with source extracts attached as annexes. Instructions for ordering are at 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.