Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG) is Poland's official state gazette for corporate and insolvency announcements. A foreign buyer or lender verifying Polish collateral must understand one structural fact immediately: since December 2021, bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings are published in a separate system — Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) — not in MSiG. Reading only the gazette produces an incomplete insolvency picture.
- What MSiG shows
- Mandatory corporate announcements: KRS changes, liquidations, mergers, calls to creditors, and pre-December 2021 insolvency notices. Source: wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl · archive from 1996 · verified 2026-06-30.
- What KRZ shows
- All bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings opened on or after 1 December 2021. Source: krz.ms.gov.pl · public, free, no login · verified 2026-06-30.
- Cost of access
- Both MSiG search and KRZ are free of charge. Issues are published as PDF; no machine-readable structured data is available.
- Collateral encumbrances
- Neither MSiG nor KRZ shows registered pledges. Two separate systems apply: Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance). Both must be checked to establish a full pledge profile.
What MSiG and KRZ together establish
MSiG search criteria include entity name, KRS number, NIP, text fragment, case signature, announcement type, and date range. The archive runs from 1996. KRZ search accepts PESEL, NIP, KRS number, or case signature. KRZ is fully public and requires no registration or declared interest. Together, the two systems cover the full timeline of insolvency and restructuring announcements — provided the correct system is queried for the correct period.
For collateral purposes, the operative questions are: Has the debtor been placed in bankruptcy? Is a restructuring moratorium in force? Have creditors been called to file claims? MSiG answers these for events before December 2021. KRZ answers them for events from December 2021 onward. A lender relying on only one system may miss a material proceeding.
| Event type | Pre-December 2021 | December 2021 onward |
|---|---|---|
| Bankruptcy declaration | MSiG | KRZ |
| Restructuring opening | MSiG | KRZ |
| Creditor call (wezwanie wierzycieli) | MSiG | KRZ |
| KRS corporate changes | MSiG | MSiG (KRS changes remain in MSiG) |
| Liquidation announcement | MSiG | MSiG |
| Pledge registration | Neither — Rejestr Zastawów / Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | |
The pledge layer: what MSiG does not show
Registered pledges over movable assets and receivables do not appear in MSiG or KRZ. Poland operates two parallel pledge registries. The Rejestr Zastawów, administered by the Ministry of Justice through Centralna Informacja, covers contractual pledges. A certificate on a pledgor (form DW-1) costs 20 PLN; a certificate on a specific asset (form DW-2) costs 20 PLN; a certified extract (form DW-4) costs 15 PLN.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych, administered by the Ministry of Finance, covers fiscal pledges arising by operation of tax law. Search by asset is free. A formal wypis or zaświadczenie costs 50 PLN and is obtained through e-Urząd Skarbowy. A complete pledge profile for a Polish asset requires both registries. Checking only one produces a partial picture.
| Registry | Administrator | Search basis | Certificate fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rejestr Zastawów | Ministry of Justice · Centralna Informacja | Pledgor name or asset description | DW-1/DW-2: 20 PLN each; DW-4: 15 PLN |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Ministry of Finance · e-Urząd Skarbowy | Asset (free search); formal certificate | Wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN |
The KRS and financial statements layer
Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) is free of charge. It shows the entity's legal form, registered seat, management board, supervisory board, share capital, and filed amendments. A certified odpis costs approximately 30–60 PLN. Filed financial statements are available without charge through Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych, linked directly from the KRS entry. No login is required for either system.
The VAT register — Biała lista — is maintained by the Head of KAS and is free without login. It shows VAT status, declared bank accounts, and the dates and reasons for any exclusion or reinstatement. It permits verification against a past date. A payment made to an account not on the list at the payment date triggers joint and several VAT liability for the payer. This is a material collateral consideration for trade receivables.
Real property: the access barrier
Electronic land and mortgage registers (EKW) are accessible free of charge — but only by KW number (księga wieczysta number). Search by owner name is not available to private parties. The standard path is: obtain the cadastral record (ewidencja gruntów i budynków), extract the KW number from it, then query EKW. A foreign buyer without the KW number cannot directly search by entity name. This is a structural access barrier, not a temporary technical limitation.
Vehicle and movable asset history
historiapojazdu.gov.pl (CEPiK) provides vehicle history free of charge and without login. However, three data points are required simultaneously: registration number, VIN, and the date of first registration. The date of first registration appears only in the vehicle registration certificate (dowód rejestracyjny), which the seller holds. This design is deliberate: it limits bulk verification. The system does not disclose the owner's name — it shows only the count of previous owners. For imported vehicles, the history begins from Polish registration, not from the original registration date abroad.
The limit of what the sources allow
MSiG shows corporate and insolvency announcements published up to November 2021. KRZ shows proceedings from December 2021 onward. A clean result in both confirms no published insolvency event — it does not confirm that no proceeding has been filed or that no proceeding exists under a different case number not yet published. The registries reflect what has been formally announced, not what has been filed and not yet processed.
Neither MSiG nor KRZ shows registered pledges, mortgage encumbrances, tax liens, or beneficial ownership. CRBR (Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych) is public and free, but the entries reflect declarations made by the entity — not verified ownership chains. Discrepancies between CRBR and KRS shareholding structures are themselves a finding. The land register requires the KW number as an entry point; without it, the real property layer cannot be queried directly. The pledge registries require separate applications to two different ministries.
Issues in MSiG are PDF documents. KRZ provides structured case data but not the underlying court orders in machine-readable form. There is no single integrated portal that aggregates insolvency status, pledge status, land encumbrances, and tax liens into one result. A complete collateral picture requires sequential queries across at least five separate systems, each with its own access condition and output format.
Where the sources disagree
The KRS share structure and the CRBR beneficial ownership declaration are filed independently. A change in shareholding recorded in KRS does not automatically update CRBR, and the update deadlines differ. Where the two records show different ownership percentages or different ultimate beneficiaries, the discrepancy is itself a material finding — it does not resolve automatically in favour of either source.
Financial statements filed in Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych may lag the KRS record by the statutory filing deadline. An entity with a KRS record showing recent share capital changes may not yet have filed the corresponding balance sheet. The absence of a filed statement is visible in the repository; it is not the same as a clean financial record.
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean MSiG result mean the entity is not insolvent?
No. MSiG covers announcements through November 2021. Proceedings opened from December 2021 onward appear only in KRZ. Both systems must be checked. A clean result in both confirms no published announcement — not the absence of a proceeding.
Is the beneficial ownership register in Poland publicly accessible?
CRBR is public and free, without registration. It reflects declarations submitted by the entity. Where the declared beneficiary differs from the KRS shareholder structure, that discrepancy requires explanation — the register does not resolve it.
Can the land register be searched by owner name?
No. EKW requires the KW number. The standard path to obtain it runs through the cadastral register (ewidencja gruntów). Without the KW number, the land and mortgage record cannot be queried directly by a private party.
Are pledges visible in MSiG or KRZ?
No. Pledges are registered in Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance). These are separate systems. Both must be queried to establish a complete pledge profile for a Polish asset.
What does Biała lista show that is relevant to collateral?
Biała lista shows VAT status and declared bank accounts. A payment to an account not on the list at the payment date triggers joint and several VAT liability. For a lender assessing trade receivables as collateral, this is a direct credit risk factor.
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.