Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) is Poland's central court register for legal entities. For a foreign buyer or lender assessing collateral, it is the starting point — not the finishing point. The register shows corporate structure and registered charges. It does not show the full encumbrance picture: two separate pledge systems operate in parallel, and land security sits in a different registry entirely.
- What it shows
- Legal status, registered address, management board, share capital, and any charges registered against the entity. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (krrs.gov.pl) · verified 12 August 2026.
- Cost
- KRS search is free of charge. A certified extract (odpis) costs approximately 30–60 PLN.
- Access condition
- No registration required for the public search interface.
- What it does not show
- Fiscal pledges (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych), civil-law pledges on movables (Rejestr Zastawów), land and mortgage charges (Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste), and insolvency proceedings opened before 1 December 2021.
What the KRS record contains
The KRS entry for a Polish entity records its legal form, date of incorporation, registered seat, REGON and NIP numbers, share capital, and the composition of its management and supervisory boards. It also records any annotations entered by the registration court — including enforcement notices and winding-up orders.
Financial statements filed with the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych are accessible free of charge and without registration. These cover balance sheets, profit-and-loss accounts, and audit reports where filing is mandatory. The filing obligation applies to most capital companies; sole traders and civil partnerships are outside scope.
The pledge landscape: two registers, not one
Polish law maintains two distinct pledge registries. A collateral review that checks only one of them is incomplete.
| Register | Administered by | What it records | Search cost | Certified output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice (Centralna Informacja) | Registered pledges on movables and rights under civil law | DW-1 (by pledgor): 20 PLN · DW-2 (by subject): 20 PLN | DW-4 certified extract: 15 PLN |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance (e-Urząd Skarbowy) | Fiscal pledges arising from unpaid tax liabilities | Free search by subject | Wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN |
A full pledge profile of any Polish entity requires both searches. The Rejestr Zastawów search by pledgor (DW-1) covers the entity as a whole. The search by subject (DW-2) is run against specific assets. Both are separate orders at the Centralna Informacja office of the Ministry of Justice.
Land and mortgage charges
Mortgage security over Polish real property is recorded in the Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) — the electronic land and mortgage register. Section IV of each land register book lists all encumbrances, including mortgages, their amounts, and the creditors holding them.
The EKW is publicly accessible and free of charge. The access constraint is structural: the system requires the land register number (numer księgi wieczystej). That number does not appear in the KRS. It is found in the cadastral records (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), which are held at the district level (starostwo powiatowe). Reaching the mortgage picture therefore requires a two-step path: cadastral records first, then EKW.
Insolvency status
Since 1 December 2021, Polish insolvency and restructuring proceedings are published in the Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ). The register is public, free, and requires no login. Search parameters include NIP, KRS number, PESEL, and case signature.
The KRZ replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych. Proceedings opened before 1 December 2021 are not migrated into KRZ. A clean KRZ result does not exclude an earlier insolvency. Pre-2021 proceedings were published in the Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG), whose archive is searchable from 1996 at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl.
VAT status and bank accounts
The Biała lista podatników VAT (White List), maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration (Szef KAS), records VAT status, registered bank accounts, and the reasons and dates for any deregistration, exclusion, or reinstatement. The list is free, requires no login, and can be queried for any past date.
The bank account check carries direct legal consequence. A payment made to an account not appearing on the White List on the payment date triggers joint and several VAT liability for the payer. This makes the White List check procedurally mandatory before any significant payment to a Polish counterparty.
Beneficial ownership
The Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR) is Poland's beneficial ownership register. It is public, free of charge, and accessible without an account. The register records individuals who ultimately own or control a Polish entity, with ownership thresholds and the basis for the determination.
The CRBR record reflects what the entity itself has declared. Cross-verification against KRS shareholding data, corporate documents, and financial statements is required to assess whether the declared structure is consistent with the registered one.
The limit of what the sources allow
Each Polish register is authoritative within its own scope. None of them communicates with the others automatically. The KRS does not pull mortgage data from EKW. The EKW does not flag an insolvency recorded in KRZ. The Rejestr Zastawów does not show fiscal pledges recorded by the Ministry of Finance. A collateral picture assembled from any single register is structurally incomplete.
Three specific gaps are procedurally significant for a foreign buyer or lender. First, the EKW is only searchable by land register number — a number that is not publicly indexed by entity name. Obtaining it requires a prior cadastral query at the relevant district office. Second, the KRZ covers insolvency proceedings from 1 December 2021 only. Earlier proceedings require a separate MSiG archive search, and the MSiG issues are PDF documents with no structured data extraction. Third, the Rejestr Zastawów search by pledgor covers the entity; a search by subject requires identifying the specific asset and running a separate DW-2 query. An asset not identified in advance will not appear in a pledgor-only search.
The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated here before any engagement. These registers establish what is recorded. They do not establish what is not recorded — an unregistered arrangement, an asset held through a separate vehicle, or a liability that has not yet crystallised into a registered charge.
Where the sources disagree
The most common discrepancy in Polish collateral reviews is between the CRBR beneficial ownership declaration and the KRS shareholding structure. The CRBR records what the entity has self-reported. The KRS records what the registration court has accepted. Where these differ — for example, where a KRS shareholder list shows an intermediate holding company but the CRBR names the same individual as both direct and indirect beneficiary — the discrepancy itself is a finding that warrants further document-level review.
A second common gap arises between filed financial statements and the registered share capital. Where the balance sheet shows liabilities significantly in excess of registered capital, and no pledge appears in either the Rejestr Zastawów or the Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, the question of unsecured creditor exposure is open. The registers do not resolve it; they define where the documented picture ends.
Frequently asked questions
Is the KRS search free for foreign users?
The KRS public search interface is free and requires no registration, regardless of the user's country. A certified extract (odpis) carries a fee of approximately 30–60 PLN and must be ordered through the Centralna Informacja Krajowego Rejestru Sądowego.
Does a clean KRZ result confirm solvency?
No. The KRZ contains proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. A company with no KRZ entry may have been subject to insolvency proceedings before that date. The MSiG archive covers the period from 1996 and must be searched separately.
How is the land register number obtained?
The land register number (numer księgi wieczystej) is held in the cadastral records (ewidencja gruntów i budynków) maintained by the district office (starostwo powiatowe) for the location of the property. It does not appear in the KRS or in any other national entity register.
What is the consequence of a pledge appearing in only one of the two registers?
The two pledge registers are legally independent. A fiscal pledge (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) and a civil-law registered pledge (Rejestr Zastawów) can coexist on the same asset. Priority between them follows separate statutory rules. A review of only one register does not establish the full encumbrance on the asset.
Can the beneficial ownership register be relied on without cross-checking?
The CRBR records self-declared information. Polish law requires entities to keep the declaration accurate and up to date, but the register is not independently verified at the time of filing. Cross-referencing with KRS documents, shareholder agreements, and financial statements is standard practice in a collateral review.
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.