A foreign buyer or lender verifying Polish commercial property faces a specific collateral question: what encumbers the asset, what is the seller's or borrower's standing, and what do the official registers actually reveal. The answer comes from eight distinct Polish registers. Each has its own access path, its own cost, and its own ceiling. This page maps that structure before any engagement begins.
- KRS — companies register
- Free of charge, no registration required. Certified extract (odpis): approximately 30–60 PLN. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy · verified 2026-06-17
- Rejestr Zastawów — registered pledges
- Paid. Certificate per pledgor (DW-1): 20 PLN. Certificate per object (DW-2): 20 PLN. Certified extract (DW-4): 15 PLN. Source: Centralna Informacja, Ministry of Justice · verified 2026-06-17
- KRZ — insolvency register
- Free of charge, no login required. Covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021 only. Source: krz.ms.gov.pl · verified 2026-06-17
- CRBR — beneficial ownership
- Free of charge, no account required. Source: CRBR, Ministry of Finance · verified 2026-06-17
- Biała lista — VAT and bank accounts
- Free of charge, no login required. Covers VAT status, declared bank accounts, and historical status on any past date. Source: podatki.gov.pl · verified 2026-06-17
What the collateral picture requires
Collateral verification for Polish commercial property is not a single-register task. The land register (Księga Wieczysta) shows mortgage entries and ownership. The pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów) shows registered charges over movables and receivables. The tax pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) shows fiscal security interests. A full encumbrance picture requires all three, plus KRS to confirm the entity holding the asset and KRZ to confirm no active insolvency proceeding.
Each register has a separate access path and a separate fee structure. None of them is linked to the others in a single query interface.
| Register | What it shows | Access | Cost | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KRS | Corporate structure, directors, share capital, filed documents | Free, no registration | Free (certified extract: ~30–60 PLN) | Does not show UBO chain beyond declared level |
| EKW — Księga Wieczysta | Title, mortgage entries, easements, encumbrances | Free, but requires KW number | Free | Search by name prohibited for private parties; KW number must be sourced separately from ewidencja gruntów |
| Rejestr Zastawów (Centralna Informacja) | Registered pledges over movables and receivables | Paid per certificate | DW-1: 20 PLN · DW-2: 20 PLN · DW-4: 15 PLN | Covers registered pledges only; unregistered security not visible |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (e-Urząd Skarbowy) | Tax pledges securing fiscal liabilities | Free search; paid certificate | Free search; wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN | Separate system from civil pledge register; both must be checked |
| KRZ | Insolvency and restructuring proceedings | Free, no login | Free | Covers proceedings from 1 December 2021 only; earlier proceedings not included |
| MSiG | Official gazette: older insolvency notices, corporate announcements | Free | Free | Insolvency notices from December 2021 moved to KRZ; MSiG covers earlier period |
| CRBR | Declared beneficial owners | Free, no account | Free | Based on self-declaration; accuracy depends on entity compliance |
| Biała lista | VAT status, declared bank accounts, historical status by date | Free, no login | Free | Bank accounts shown are declared by the taxpayer; does not verify account ownership independently |
| Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych | Filed financial statements | Free | Free | Filing obligation applies to KRS entities; completeness depends on entity compliance |
The land register path
The electronic land register (EKW) is free and publicly accessible. The constraint is structural: search by owner name is prohibited for private parties. A buyer or lender must obtain the KW number first. That number comes from the ewidencja gruntów i budynków (land and buildings registry), which is held at the district (powiat) level. The path is: identify the cadastral parcel number from the seller, request the KW number from the powiat authority, then query EKW.
Without the KW number, EKW cannot be queried. This is a deliberate structural barrier, not a technical limitation. It means the collateral check on land and buildings depends on data the seller controls.
The pledge register path
Poland operates two separate pledge registers. The civil pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów) is held by the Ministry of Justice through Centralna Informacja. It covers registered pledges over movables and receivables under the Act on Registered Pledges. The tax pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) is held by the Ministry of Finance. It covers fiscal security interests arising from tax liabilities.
A clean result in one register does not imply a clean result in the other. Both must be queried independently. A full pledge profile of a Polish entity or asset requires certificates from both systems.
Insolvency: the date boundary
The Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych on 1 December 2021. It is free and searchable without login by NIP, KRS number, PESEL, or case reference. It shows active insolvency and restructuring proceedings opened from that date forward.
Proceedings opened before 1 December 2021 are not in KRZ. They may appear in MSiG (Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy), which is searchable free of charge through wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl. A complete insolvency check therefore covers both systems. A negative result in KRZ alone does not confirm a clean insolvency history.
VAT and bank account verification
The Biała lista (White List) is maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration (szef KAS) and published at podatki.gov.pl. It is free and requires no login. It shows current VAT status, all bank accounts declared by the taxpayer to the tax authority, and the reasons for any deregistration, exclusion, or reinstatement, with dates.
For a buyer or lender, the Biała lista has a direct contractual consequence. Under Polish VAT law, a payment made to a bank account not listed on the Biała lista on the payment date can trigger joint and several liability for the payer for the seller's unpaid VAT. The register can be queried for any past date, which allows retroactive verification of prior transactions.
Beneficial ownership: CRBR
The Central Register of Beneficial Owners (CRBR) is free and accessible without an account. It shows the declared ultimate beneficial owners of Polish legal entities. The register is based on self-declaration by the entity. Accuracy depends on the entity's compliance with its filing obligation and the accuracy of the information filed.
CRBR shows the declared chain. It does not independently verify the chain. Where the declared structure differs from what KRS or financial statements suggest, the discrepancy itself is a finding.
The limit of what the sources allow
Several structural ceilings apply across these registers and cannot be overcome through additional queries.
First, EKW cannot be searched by owner name. The KW number must come from the seller or from the powiat ewidencja gruntów authority. If the seller provides an incorrect parcel number, the KW number derived from it will be wrong. The register itself provides no independent path to verify the asset without seller cooperation.
Second, KRZ covers only proceedings from 1 December 2021. A company that completed a restructuring in 2019 will show no trace in KRZ. MSiG covers the earlier period but outputs PDF files only — there is no machine-readable data feed. A full historical insolvency check requires manual review across both systems.
Third, the civil pledge register and the tax pledge register are entirely separate systems with no shared query interface. A certificate from Centralna Informacja does not cover fiscal pledges, and a result from e-Urząd Skarbowy does not cover civil registered pledges. Both certificates are required for a complete encumbrance check.
Fourth, CRBR reflects declared ownership. Where the declared beneficial owner differs from the economic reality, the register will show the declared figure. Cross-referencing CRBR against KRS filings and financial statements is the only way to identify discrepancies within the public record.
Fifth, the vehicle and equipment register (historiapojazdu.gov.pl / CEPiK) requires three simultaneous identifiers — registration number, VIN, and first registration date — and the last is available only from the seller's vehicle registration document. The register does not reveal the owner's name; it shows only an owner count. For imported vehicles, history begins at Polish registration.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between sources are findings, not anomalies to be explained away.
If KRS shows a director who does not appear in financial statements as a signatory, that gap warrants examination. If CRBR shows a beneficial owner whose shareholding is inconsistent with the KRS share register, the discrepancy exists in the public record regardless of the explanation offered. If the Biała lista shows a bank account that differs from the account stated in a draft sale agreement, that is a direct VAT liability risk.
A collateral report does not resolve these discrepancies. It records them, identifies the registers from which each data point was drawn, and states the date of each query. Resolution requires legal analysis, which this report does not provide.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €290 |
KRS extract and corporate structure summary; KRZ insolvency check (from 1 December 2021); MSiG search (pre-2021 insolvency notices); CRBR beneficial ownership check; Biała lista VAT status and declared bank accounts; Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych — last two filed statements; Summary table of findings with source citations and query dates |
No land register (EKW) query; No pledge register certificates (civil or tax); No cross-register discrepancy analysis; No legal qualification of findings |
| Standard | €470 |
All Signal items; EKW query (requires KW number — sourced from ewidencja gruntów if parcel number provided); Rejestr Zastawów certificate (DW-1 per pledgor, DW-2 per object); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search and certificate; Cross-register discrepancy table (KRS vs CRBR vs financials); Biała lista historical query on up to two specified past dates |
No vehicle or equipment register queries; No legal qualification of findings; EKW query dependent on KW number being obtainable — if ewidencja gruntów path fails, noted as a ceiling in the report |
| Extended | €960 |
All Standard items; Financial statement analysis across last three filed years; CEPiK/historiapojazdu.gov.pl vehicle check (where identifiers provided by client); MSiG full-text search across all announcement types for the entity; Narrative summary of all discrepancies identified across all sources; Source-cited findings memo suitable for submission to a lender or legal counsel |
No legal qualification of findings; No representation before any authority; Vehicle check limited to identifiers provided — owner name not disclosed by register |
Frequently asked questions
Is KRS free?
The KRS search and basic extract are free of charge and require no registration. A certified extract (odpis) carries a fee of approximately 30–60 PLN. What this service provides is the structured path: identifying the correct KRS number, navigating the system in Polish, extracting the relevant documents, and presenting findings in English with source citations.
This register is public and free of charge. What the report cost covers is the removed path: national identifier sourcing, language, extraction of the relevant document set, and cross-referencing against other registers.
Can a foreign party search the land register directly?
EKW is publicly accessible and free. The structural barrier is the requirement for a KW number. Search by owner name is prohibited for private parties. The KW number must be sourced from ewidencja gruntów at the relevant powiat authority, using the cadastral parcel number. Without the parcel number from the seller, this path cannot be initiated independently.
Does a clean KRZ result confirm no insolvency history?
No. KRZ covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. Earlier proceedings are in MSiG. A complete check requires both systems. A negative KRZ result combined with a negative MSiG result covers the full public record — but neither system guarantees that a filing has not been made and not yet processed into the register.
Why are there two pledge registers?
Polish law creates two distinct security interests with separate registration systems. Civil registered pledges (zastawy rejestrowe) are governed by the Act on Registered Pledges and the Pledge Register and recorded by the Ministry of Justice. Tax pledges (zastawy skarbowe) arise from fiscal liability and are recorded by the Ministry of Finance. A clean result in one does not imply a clean result in the other. Both must be checked for a complete encumbrance picture.
What does the Biała lista actually verify?
The Biała lista shows VAT registration status, all bank accounts declared by the taxpayer to the tax authority, and the history of any deregistration or reinstatement events with dates. It can be queried for any past date. A payment made to an account not on the list on the payment date can trigger joint and several VAT liability for the payer under Polish VAT law. The report captures this check and records the query date.
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.