A foreign buyer or lender examining Polish commercial property as collateral faces a layered verification problem. The asset sits in a land register. The operating entity sits in a company register. The individual behind the company sits in a beneficial ownership register. Charges may be recorded in two separate pledge systems. Each source answers a different question. None answers all of them.
CEIDG — Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej — is the register of sole traders and civil partnerships operating in Poland. It is the correct starting point when the seller or borrower is a natural person conducting business, not a company. Collateral value depends on whether the operating entity is solvent, unencumbered, and correctly identified. CEIDG establishes the first fact. The registers listed below establish the rest.
- What CEIDG shows
- Trading name, NIP, REGON, registered address, business scope, status (active / suspended / struck off), and civil partnership membership. Source: CEIDG · ceidg.gov.pl · verified before 2026-06-07.
- Cost
- Free of charge, no login required. A certified extract carries a separate fee set by the registry.
- Access condition
- No registration, no national identifier, no declaration of interest required.
- What CEIDG does not show
- Registered charges, insolvency proceedings, land title, financial statements, or beneficial ownership. Each requires a separate source.
- Charge registers
- Two systems: Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance). A complete pledge profile requires both. Source: Centralna Informacja Rejestr Zastawów · verified before 2026-06-07.
- Insolvency register
- KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl): public, free, no login. Covers proceedings opened after 1 December 2021 only. Source: KRZ · verified before 2026-06-07.
What the collateral check covers and why it takes multiple registers
Polish law does not consolidate encumbrance data in a single record. A charge over movable assets is registered in the Rejestr Zastawów, administered by the Ministry of Justice. A tax lien is recorded in the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, administered by the Ministry of Finance. A mortgage sits in the land register (EKW). These three systems do not communicate. A search in one does not substitute for a search in the others.
The Rejestr Zastawów charges a fee per query. A DW-1 certificate (by pledgor) costs 20 PLN. A DW-2 certificate (by asset subject) costs 20 PLN. A DW-4 extract costs 15 PLN. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych allows free subject-based search; a certified wypis or zaświadczenie costs 50 PLN through the e-Urząd Skarbowy portal. Both systems must be queried to establish a complete pledge profile.
The land register (EKW) is accessible free of charge but only by KW number. Search by owner name is not available to private parties. The path runs through the ewidencja gruntów (land cadastre) to retrieve the KW number, then into EKW. This two-step route is navigable but requires knowing the plot identifiers in advance.
Company and beneficial ownership layer
If the operating entity is a company rather than a sole trader, KRS (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy) is the primary source. KRS is free of charge. A certified odpis carries a fee in the range of 30–60 PLN. KRS discloses directors, registered capital, share structure, and filed financial statements. Financial statements are additionally available through the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych, also free of charge.
Beneficial ownership is recorded in CRBR (Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych). CRBR is public, free, and requires no account. It shows the ultimate beneficial owner as declared by the entity. The register does not independently verify the declaration. The chain disclosed is the chain reported — not necessarily the chain as it exists.
VAT status and bank account verification run through the Biała lista (White List), operated by the Head of the National Revenue Administration at podatki.gov.pl. The list is free, requires no login, and allows historical queries by date. A payment made to an account not listed on the White List triggers joint VAT liability for the payer. This is a direct financial risk, not a procedural one.
Insolvency and court publication layer
KRZ (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych) at krz.ms.gov.pl is the central insolvency register. It is public, free, and searchable without login by PESEL, NIP, KRS number, or case signature. It replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych. The register covers proceedings opened after 1 December 2021.
MSiG (Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy) covers the period before December 2021. Its search interface at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl is free and covers the archive from 1996. Search criteria include entity name, KRS number, NIP, text fragment, case signature, matter type, and date. Since December 2021, insolvency and restructuring announcements migrate to KRZ; MSiG continues to publish other court and commercial notices. Both must be checked for a complete picture.
The limit of what the sources allow
CEIDG confirms status and identity for sole traders. It does not show charges, proceedings, title, or financial condition. KRZ covers insolvency from December 2021 forward; absence of a KRZ record does not exclude an earlier proceeding archived in MSiG or closed before the system migration. The land register requires the KW number as an entry point — without it, EKW cannot be searched by name. CRBR shows the declared beneficial owner; it does not audit the declaration. The Rejestr Zastawów and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych are separate systems: a clean result in one does not clear the other.
Several of these registers are free of charge and technically public. The barrier for a foreign party is not cost — it is the path. Each source requires a different national identifier, a different access method, and in some cases a different language interface. The pledge certificates require knowing the correct form designations (DW-1, DW-2, DW-4) and the applicable fee schedule. The land register requires the KW number before the search can begin. This report removes that path.
This register is public and free of charge. What is paid for is the removed path: registration, national identifier, language, electronic signature, declaration of legitimate interest.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies arise most often between the CRBR beneficial ownership declaration and the ownership structure reconstructed from KRS filings. An entity may declare one beneficial owner while the share register shows a layered structure pointing elsewhere. When CRBR and KRS do not align, the discrepancy is itself a finding — not a data error to be resolved by assuming one source is correct.
A second common discrepancy: KRZ shows no insolvency record, but MSiG contains a notice from before December 2021. Both are accurate for their respective time ranges. The combined picture requires both searches. A report that checks only KRZ is incomplete for any entity with a history before 2022.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €290 | CEIDG status and identity check; KRS extract (if applicable); KRZ insolvency search; CRBR beneficial ownership lookup; Biała lista VAT and account status; written summary with source citations | Pledge register searches (Rejestr Zastawów and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych); land register (EKW) check; MSiG archive search; financial statement review; certified extracts |
| Standard | €470 | Everything in Signal; Rejestr Zastawów search (DW-1 and DW-2 certificates); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych query; MSiG archive search (from 1996); discrepancy note where sources disagree | Land register (EKW) check; financial statement analysis; certified extract procurement; legal qualification of findings |
| Extended | €960 | Everything in Standard; EKW land register check (requires KW number or cadastral path); Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych review; DW-4 extracts from Rejestr Zastawów; full discrepancy mapping across all sources; structured findings table | Legal advice or qualification of findings; court representation; enforcement assessment; on-site inspection |
Payment is by invoice. Turnaround is confirmed at the time of order. Orders are placed by email at info@kordeckipartners.com.
Common questions
Is CEIDG sufficient on its own for a collateral check?
No. CEIDG establishes identity and trading status for sole traders. It does not show charges, insolvency, land title, or beneficial ownership. A collateral check requires at minimum CEIDG plus the two pledge registers, KRZ, and EKW.
What if the KW number for the property is not known?
The land register (EKW) cannot be searched by owner name. The KW number must be retrieved through the ewidencja gruntów using the plot identifier. The Standard tier does not include this step. The Extended tier includes the cadastral path to retrieve the KW number and the subsequent EKW search.
Does a clean KRZ result confirm there is no insolvency history?
No. KRZ covers proceedings from 1 December 2021. Earlier proceedings are in MSiG. Both must be checked. A clean KRZ result for an entity operating before 2022 is incomplete without an MSiG search.
Are these registers accessible in English?
The registers operate in Polish. Some portals offer partial English interfaces, but the substantive content — legal notices, certificate text, extract wording — is in Polish. The report is delivered in English with source citations.
How current is the data?
Each register is queried at the time of the order. The report states the query date for each source. Register data reflects the state at the moment of retrieval, not a historical snapshot unless a historical date query is explicitly requested (available for Biała lista).
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.