A foreign buyer or lender assessing Polish collateral faces nine distinct official registers. Each covers a different layer of encumbrance. No single query is sufficient.
- What the registers show
- Registered pledges, fiscal pledges, mortgage charges, insolvency proceedings, company structure, financial statements, VAT status, and beneficial owners — each in a separate system. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy, Rejestr Zastawów, KRZ · verified 2026-06-18
- Cost of access
- Most registers are free of charge and require no login. Certified extracts from the pledge register cost 15–50 PLN per document. KRS certified extracts cost 30–60 PLN.
- Access condition
- Land register (EKW) requires a book number (numer KW) to query — name-based search is not available to private persons. Vehicle history requires three simultaneous identifiers held by the seller.
- What the registers do not show
- Proceedings opened before 1 December 2021 are not in KRZ. Vehicles show an owner count, not an owner name. UBO data is self-declared.
The pledge layer: two separate registers
Poland operates two distinct pledge registers. Neither covers what the other covers. A collateral check that queries only one is incomplete.
The Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice, Centralna Informacja) records civil-law pledges over movable assets and receivables. A DW-1 certificate on a pledgor costs 20 PLN. A DW-2 certificate on a pledged object costs 20 PLN. A certified extract (DW-4) costs 15 PLN per document. These are the tariffs in force as of the verification date.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) records fiscal pledges arising from unpaid tax liabilities. Search by asset is free. A wypis or zaświadczenie costs 50 PLN and is obtained through e-Urząd Skarbowy. Fiscal pledges rank ahead of most civil-law claims.
A complete pledge profile of any Polish asset requires both queries. The registers do not cross-reference each other.
| Register | Authority | What it covers | Search cost | Certified document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice | Civil-law pledges on movables and receivables | 20 PLN per DW-1 or DW-2 | DW-4: 15 PLN |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance | Fiscal pledges from unpaid tax | Free (e-Urząd Skarbowy) | Wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN |
Land register: the title and mortgage layer
The Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) system is free and requires no login. It discloses the owner of record, all registered mortgages, easements, and other encumbrances entered in the land book.
The structural barrier is the access condition. EKW queries require a numer KW — the land book number assigned to each property. Name-based search is not available to private persons. The path to the numer KW runs through the ewidencja gruntów i budynków (land and buildings register), which is held at the county (powiat) level and requires a separate query.
Without the numer KW, the mortgage layer of a Polish property cannot be established from EKW. This is the primary access barrier for foreign buyers who hold only an address.
Insolvency and restructuring: the KRZ cutoff
The Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) is public, free, and requires no login. It is searchable by PESEL, NIP, KRS number, or case reference. It covers bankruptcy, restructuring, and debt relief proceedings.
The hard cutoff is 1 December 2021. KRZ contains only proceedings opened on or after that date. Proceedings opened before that date were published in the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG). A clean KRZ result does not rule out an earlier insolvency. Both systems must be checked.
MSiG is also free. Its archive runs from 1996. Search criteria include company name, KRS number, NIP, case type, and date range. Announcements are published as PDF issues — no structured data extraction is available.
| System | Coverage from | Access | Search by | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl) | 1 December 2021 | Free, no login | PESEL / NIP / KRS / case ref | Structured records |
| MSiG (wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl) | 1996 | Free, no login | Name / KRS / NIP / text / date | PDF issues |
Company structure and financials
The Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) is free and requires no login. It discloses the registered address, management board, supervisory board, share capital, and filed amendments. Certified extracts cost 30–60 PLN.
Financial statements are filed in the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych, also free and without login. Statements are available as filed — format and completeness depend on the entity's reporting obligations under Polish accounting law.
VAT status and bank accounts: the Biała lista
The Biała lista (White List of VAT taxpayers) is maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration and is free to query without login at podatki.gov.pl. It shows current VAT status, registered identifiers, declared bank accounts, and the dates and reasons for any deregistration, exclusion, or reinstatement.
The Biała lista can be queried against any past date. This allows reconstruction of VAT status at the time of a specific transaction. Payment to a bank account not appearing on the list at the date of transfer triggers joint and several liability for VAT — a material risk for any buyer.
A full data extract is available in JPK_WB format. An API exists with rate limits.
Beneficial ownership: CRBR
The Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR) is open, free, and requires no account. It discloses the declared ultimate beneficial owners of Polish legal entities, with PESEL numbers and ownership percentages.
CRBR data is self-declared by the entity. The register does not verify the accuracy of filings. A discrepancy between CRBR and KRS shareholding data is itself a result — it is noted and reported, not resolved at the register level.
Vehicle and movable asset history
Vehicle history is available free at historiapojazdu.gov.pl without login. The access condition is structural: the query requires three simultaneous identifiers — registration number, VIN, and date of first registration. The date of first registration appears only in the vehicle registration document (dowód rejestracyjny), held by the current owner.
The system discloses an owner count, not owner names. For an imported vehicle, history begins from the date of Polish registration. This is a deliberate design barrier against bulk verification. With a profil zaufany account, the rate limit is 20 queries per hour.
The limit of what the sources allow
Each register covers its own layer. None aggregates across layers. The following cannot be established from any single Polish register:
- A complete encumbrance picture without querying both pledge registers, EKW, and KRZ/MSiG separately
- A property owner by name without first obtaining the numer KW from the county land register
- Whether an insolvency existed before 1 December 2021 without a separate MSiG search
- The identity of a vehicle owner — only an owner count is disclosed
- The accuracy of CRBR beneficial ownership data — entries are self-declared and unverified
Where sources disagree — for example, where CRBR ownership percentages do not match KRS shareholder lists — the discrepancy is reported as a finding. It is not resolved by the registers themselves.
A negative result in KRZ does not exclude a pre-December 2021 proceeding. This ceiling is stated before any report is commissioned.
Where the sources disagree
Three divergences are structurally common in Polish collateral checks.
First: CRBR beneficial ownership versus KRS shareholding. CRBR entries are self-declared. KRS reflects filed shareholder agreements. A mismatch between the two is a reportable finding requiring document-level review.
Second: KRZ absence versus MSiG record. An entity with a clean KRZ result may carry a pre-2021 insolvency in MSiG. Both must be checked before a negative conclusion is drawn.
Third: Biała lista bank accounts versus transaction records. An account appearing in historical transaction data but absent from the Biała lista at the relevant date is a VAT liability exposure. The list's historical query function establishes status at any past date.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €290 | KRS extract and status; KRZ insolvency check; Biała lista VAT status; CRBR beneficial owner disclosure; summary of findings | Pledge register queries (Rejestr Zastawów and Skarbowy); EKW mortgage check; MSiG pre-2021 archive search; financial statement review; vehicle history |
| Standard | €470 | All Signal items; Rejestr Zastawów (DW-1 and DW-2 certificates); Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (wypis); MSiG archive search from 1996; financial statements from Repozytorium (last two filed periods) | EKW mortgage check (requires numer KW — path from county land register billed separately if KW not provided); vehicle history; document-level review of filed statements |
| Extended | €960 | All Standard items; EKW mortgage and encumbrance check (numer KW path included); vehicle history where identifiers are available; financial statement analysis across all filed periods; CRBR-to-KRS cross-check; consolidated encumbrance summary with source citations | Legal qualification of findings; advice on enforcement strategy; representation before any authority; verification of self-declared CRBR data beyond register cross-check |
Frequently asked questions
Can a Polish property be checked by address alone?
Not through EKW directly. The land register requires a numer KW. Obtaining that number from the county ewidencja gruntów is a separate step. The Extended tier includes this path.
Does a clean KRZ result confirm no insolvency history?
No. KRZ covers proceedings from 1 December 2021 only. Earlier proceedings appear in MSiG. Both registers must be checked for a complete picture. Standard and Extended tiers include the MSiG archive search.
What does the Biała lista actually establish?
VAT registration status, declared bank accounts, and the history of any deregistration or exclusion — queryable against any past date. Payment to an account absent from the list at the payment date creates joint and several VAT liability for the payer.
Why are two pledge registers necessary?
Civil-law pledges and fiscal pledges are recorded in separate systems under separate ministries. Neither cross-references the other. Fiscal pledges rank ahead of most civil claims, making the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych check material for any secured transaction.
Is CRBR beneficial ownership data reliable?
CRBR entries are self-declared. The register does not verify filings. The report cross-checks CRBR against KRS shareholder data and flags any discrepancy as a finding.
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.