Before a foreign buyer or lender can assess collateral value on a Polish commercial property, one question must be answered first: what already encumbers it. Poland maintains separate registers for land charges, registered pledges, fiscal liens, insolvency proceedings, and beneficial ownership. Each register has a different access path, a different coverage cut-off, and a different blind spot. This report maps those sources, states what each one shows and does not show, and sets out what a structured ownership and encumbrance check costs at three scope levels.
- What the land register shows
- Mortgage holders, easements, and encumbrances — searchable by KW number only. Access is free via ekw.ms.gov.pl. Source: Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste · verified 2026-07-03
- What the pledge register shows
- Registered pledges over movable assets and rights, searchable by debtor or subject. Certificate DW-1 costs PLN 20 per subject; DW-2 by subject of pledge also PLN 20. Source: Rejestr Zastawów, Centralna Informacja · verified 2026-07-03
- What the insolvency register shows
- Restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings opened after 1 December 2021. Free, no login required. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (krz.ms.gov.pl) · verified 2026-07-03
- Critical cut-off
- KRZ contains only proceedings opened after 1 December 2021. An absence of a KRZ record does not confirm the absence of an earlier insolvency proceeding.
What encumbers the asset: the register map
Polish law distributes encumbrance information across at least five separate systems. No single query covers all of them. A collateral assessment that omits any one register is incomplete by design — not by oversight.
| Register | What it records | Access path | Cost | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (EKW) | Mortgages, easements, land encumbrances | KW number required; name search not available to private parties | Free | KW number must be sourced separately — typically from the land cadastre (ewidencja gruntów) |
| Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) | Registered pledges over movables and rights | Centralna Informacja; certificate DW-1 (by debtor) or DW-2 (by subject) | PLN 20 per certificate; certified extract DW-4 PLN 15 | Covers only registered pledges — not fiscal liens or undisclosed security interests |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance) | Fiscal liens securing unpaid tax liabilities | Free search by subject via e-Urząd Skarbowy; wypis/zaświadczenie PLN 50 | Free search; PLN 50 for certified statement | Separate system from the civil pledge register — both must be queried |
| Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ) | Bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings; enforcement suspensions; consumer insolvency | krz.ms.gov.pl; free, no login; searchable by PESEL / NIP / KRS / case reference | Free | Coverage starts 1 December 2021 only; earlier proceedings in MSiG or court files |
| Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy (MSiG) | Insolvency announcements and restructuring notices before December 2021; liquidation notices | wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl; free, searchable by name, KRS, NIP, or text fragment | Free | Outputs are PDF issues, not structured data; post-December 2021 insolvency moved to KRZ |
| Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych (CRBR) | Declared ultimate beneficial owners of Polish legal entities | crbr.podatki.gov.pl; free, no account required | Free | Based on entity self-declaration; CRBR does not verify accuracy against share registers or notarial deeds |
| Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS) | Corporate structure, officers, share capital, filed financial statements | ekrs.ms.gov.pl; free; certified extract approximately PLN 30–60 | Free (uncertified); approx. PLN 30–60 (certified) | Reflects registered state, not necessarily current factual control |
| Biała Lista (White List of VAT payers) | VAT status, declared bank accounts, grounds for exclusion or suspension with dates | podatki.gov.pl; free, no login; searchable on any historical date | Free | Bank accounts shown are only those declared to the tax authority — undeclared accounts are not visible |
The collateral angle: what the registers do and do not establish
A collateral assessment on a Polish commercial property requires reading across all the systems above in sequence. The land register establishes whether a mortgage exists and, if so, its rank, currency, and maximum secured amount. The two pledge registers — civil and fiscal — establish whether movable assets or receivables tied to the property are already encumbered. KRZ establishes whether any party in the ownership chain is currently subject to insolvency or restructuring, which affects the validity of disposals. MSiG fills the gap for proceedings opened before December 2021.
The KRS and the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych (financial statements repository) establish whether the entity selling or pledging the asset had legal capacity and sufficient net assets at the relevant time. CRBR identifies the declared ultimate beneficial owner — relevant when the buyer or lender is subject to anti-money-laundering obligations or sanctions screening requirements. The Biała Lista establishes VAT registration status and declared bank accounts, which affects transaction structuring.
None of these registers communicates with the others in real time. A mortgage recorded in EKW does not trigger an entry in KRZ. A pledge in the fiscal register does not appear in the civil pledge register. The encumbrance picture is only complete when all relevant registers have been queried and the results compared against each other and against the transaction documents.
The access barrier for a foreign party
Several of these registers are technically free and publicly accessible. The barrier for a foreign buyer or lender is not the fee — it is the path. EKW requires the KW number, which is embedded in Polish cadastral records and not retrievable by property address or owner name. The civil pledge register requires the Polish entity identifier (PESEL or NIP) of the pledgor. KRZ and MSiG searches require the same identifiers, plus knowledge of which system covers which date range. CRBR returns data in Polish, in a format that assumes familiarity with Polish corporate law concepts.
This register is public and free of charge. What the report fee covers is the removed path: identifying the correct national identifiers, navigating the cadastre to extract the KW number, querying both pledge registers, cross-referencing KRZ and MSiG across the relevant time window, and delivering the results in English with a structured summary of what each source showed and where each source stopped.
The limit of what the sources allow
The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated before payment, not after. The following limitations apply regardless of the scope tier ordered.
KRZ covers only proceedings opened after 1 December 2021. An earlier insolvency or restructuring will appear in MSiG if it was publicly announced, or in court files that are not publicly accessible online. MSiG outputs are PDF issues — there is no structured data export. A negative result in both KRZ and MSiG means no public announcement was found; it does not confirm that no proceeding was ever filed.
The EKW land register is searchable only by KW number. If the KW number cannot be established from the cadastre or the transaction documents, the mortgage search cannot be completed. The civil pledge register and the fiscal pledge register are separate systems — a query to one does not cover the other. CRBR reflects declared beneficial ownership, not verified ownership; the accuracy of the declaration depends on the entity's compliance with its filing obligation. KRS reflects the registered state of corporate structure, which may lag behind actual changes if a filing has not yet been processed.
- Undisclosed security interests not entered in any public register are outside the scope of any source-based report.
- Contractual pledges that have not been registered do not appear in the pledge registers.
- Court enforcement proceedings that have not yet generated a KRZ or MSiG entry are not visible from public sources.
- Ownership held through non-Polish entities requires separate checks in those jurisdictions — not covered by this report.
- This report does not constitute a legal opinion on the validity, priority, or enforceability of any encumbrance identified.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between sources are a result in themselves, not a data quality problem to be smoothed over. The most common divergences on Polish commercial property transactions are the following.
The KRS may show a shareholder structure that differs from the CRBR beneficial ownership declaration. This can reflect a legitimate holding structure or a compliance gap in the CRBR filing. The financial statements filed in the Repozytorium may show net asset values inconsistent with the property valuation presented in the transaction. The EKW mortgage entry may show a maximum secured amount that differs from the outstanding loan balance stated in the vendor's disclosure — the register records the ceiling, not the current balance. When any of these divergences appear, the report identifies the gap and states which source was queried on which date.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €590 | KRZ insolvency check (post-December 2021 window); MSiG search (pre-December 2021 window); KRS corporate structure and officer extract; CRBR beneficial ownership declaration; Biała Lista VAT status and declared bank accounts; English-language summary stating what each source showed and where each source stopped | EKW mortgage search; civil pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów) certificates; fiscal pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) statement; financial statements analysis; cadastral identifier research to obtain KW number |
| Standard | €990 | Everything in Signal; EKW mortgage search (subject to KW number being available or obtainable from cadastre); civil pledge register certificates DW-1 and DW-2 for the owning entity; fiscal pledge register search and certified statement; basic financial statements review (last two filed years: net assets, major liability items); discrepancy table comparing KRS, CRBR, and EKW data | Pledges over assets held by entities other than the direct owner; court enforcement proceedings not yet generating a public register entry; non-Polish entities in the ownership chain; legal qualification of encumbrances identified |
| Extended | €2 200 | Everything in Standard; pledge register checks extended to subsidiaries and direct parent entities identified in KRS; MSiG archive review for any restructuring or liquidation announcements involving entities in the ownership chain; financial statements review extended to three filed years with trend commentary; full discrepancy analysis across all sources with explicit statement of each gap; delivery of all source documents in original Polish with English translation of key entries | Legal opinion on validity or priority of any encumbrance; enforcement strategy or advice; checks on non-Polish entities in the ownership chain beyond what Polish registers disclose; undisclosed or unregistered security interests |
Frequently asked questions
Does a negative KRZ result confirm the entity is solvent?
No. KRZ covers proceedings opened after 1 December 2021. A proceeding opened before that date will not appear in KRZ. MSiG covers earlier announcements but its archive is not exhaustive for all proceeding types. A negative result in both registers means no public announcement was found in those systems on the date of the search.
Can the mortgage search be run without the KW number?
EKW does not allow name-based searches for private parties. The KW number must be obtained from the land cadastre (ewidencja gruntów i budynków) using the property's plot identifier (numer działki). Standard and Extended tiers include this cadastral step. Signal tier does not.
Are the two pledge registers linked?
They are not. The civil pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów) is administered by the Ministry of Justice. The fiscal pledge register (Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych) is administered by the Ministry of Finance. A query to one does not retrieve entries from the other. Both must be searched separately to establish the full pledge profile of an entity or asset.
What does CRBR actually verify?
CRBR records what the obligated entity declared. The register does not independently verify the declaration against notarial deeds, shareholder agreements, or share registers. Where the KRS shareholder list and the CRBR declaration diverge, the report identifies the gap — it does not resolve which version is legally accurate.
How long does the report take?
Signal: typically three to five business days from receipt of the entity identifiers. Standard and Extended: five to ten business days, depending on cadastral response time and the complexity of the ownership chain identified during the search.
What identifiers are needed to start?
For the owning entity: KRS number and NIP. For the property: plot number (numer działki) and commune (gmina), or the KW number if already known. If the KW number is unknown, the cadastral step is included in Standard and Extended tiers.
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.