Before a foreign buyer or lender commits to commercial property in Poland, the collateral picture must be assembled from multiple official registers. No single source shows the complete encumbrance profile. This page maps which registers exist, what each discloses, what each costs, and where the chain stops.
- What KRS discloses
- Corporate status, registered capital, management board, statutory charges, and filed financial statements — by entity name or KRS number. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy · retrieved 2026-07-16
- Cost of KRS access
- Free search and free online extract. Certified paper odpis: approximately 30–60 PLN per entity. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy · retrieved 2026-07-16
- Pledge registers
- Two separate systems: Rejestr Zastawów (Ministry of Justice) and Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (Ministry of Finance). A full pledge profile requires both. Source: Centralna Informacja / e-Urząd Skarbowy · retrieved 2026-07-16
- Insolvency register
- KRZ (krz.ms.gov.pl): public, free, no login. Covers proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. Earlier proceedings are not shown. Source: Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych · retrieved 2026-07-16
- Land register
- EKW: free to read, but only by KW number. Search by owner name is not permitted for private parties. Source: Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste · retrieved 2026-07-16
What the collateral picture requires in Poland
Polish law separates encumbrances across at least five distinct registers. KRS records the corporate existence of the entity that owns or charges the asset. The land register (EKW) records mortgages over the property itself. Two pledge registers record charges over movables and receivables. KRZ records insolvency and restructuring proceedings. Checking only KRS misses the mortgage. Checking only EKW misses the pledges. A lender relying on one register has an incomplete picture.
This is not a procedural inconvenience. It is a structural feature of Polish secured transactions law. Each register was built by a different ministry under different legislation. The verification path must cross all of them in sequence.
| Register | What it records | Access cost | Access condition | Key limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KRS | Corporate status, capital, management, filed financials | Free (online extract); ~30–60 PLN certified copy | No registration required | Does not show pledges or mortgages |
| EKW | Title, mortgages, easements over real property | Free | KW number required; name search not permitted for private parties | KW number must be sourced from land survey register (ewidencja gruntów) |
| Rejestr Zastawów | Registered pledges over movables and rights | DW-1 (pledgor): 20 PLN · DW-2 (subject): 20 PLN · odpis DW-4: 15 PLN | Via Centralna Informacja, Ministry of Justice | Covers only registered pledges, not financial collateral arrangements |
| Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych | Tax-authority pledges securing tax liabilities | Free search; wypis/zaświadczenie: 50 PLN via e-Urząd Skarbowy | Search by subject; e-Urząd Skarbowy portal | Separate from civil pledge register; both must be checked |
| KRZ | Insolvency, restructuring, debt proceedings | Free; no login | Search by NIP, KRS, PESEL, or case signature | Covers proceedings from 1 December 2021 only |
| MSiG | Official gazette: older insolvency notices, corporate announcements | Free (wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl) | No registration required | Insolvency notices from December 2021 moved to KRZ; MSiG covers earlier period |
| Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych | Filed annual financial statements | Free | Accessible via KRS portal | Filing obligation does not guarantee accuracy of filed documents |
| Biała lista (VAT whitelist) | VAT status, declared bank accounts, registration history | Free; no login; API available | podatki.gov.pl, search by NIP or account number | Payment to an account not on the list creates joint VAT liability for the payer |
| CRBR | Beneficial ownership (UBO) of Polish legal entities | Free; no login | crbr.podatki.gov.pl | Data is self-reported by the entity; register does not independently verify |
KRS in detail: what it shows and what it does not
KRS is the central companies register for Poland. It records: entity type and registration number, registered address, share capital, management board composition, supervisory board, registered proxy holders (prokurenci), and pending court proceedings entered in the register. Filed financial statements are accessible via the linked Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych at no charge.
KRS does not record mortgages over real property owned by the entity. It does not record pledges. It does not record tax liabilities or enforcement orders. A clean KRS entry is consistent with a heavily encumbered asset. The register is a corporate identity document, not a security register.
This register is public and free of charge. What a verification engagement pays for is the removed path: identifying the correct KRS number from partial information, navigating the Polish-language interface, cross-referencing the filed financials, and integrating the KRS picture with the four other registers that must be checked in parallel.
The pledge layer: two registers, one check
Polish law provides two separate pledge registers that operate under different ministries and different legal regimes. The Rejestr Zastawów (civil pledge register, Ministry of Justice) records registered pledges under the Act on Registered Pledge and the Pledge Register. A certificate confirming no pledge over a named pledgor (DW-1) costs 20 PLN. A certificate confirming no pledge over a named subject (DW-2) costs 20 PLN. A certified extract (odpis DW-4) costs 15 PLN.
The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych (tax pledge register, Ministry of Finance) records charges created by tax authorities to secure unpaid tax liabilities. Search by subject is free. A formal wypis or zaświadczenie costs 50 PLN via the e-Urząd Skarbowy portal. A property or equipment item can appear in one register, both, or neither. Checking only one register is not a complete pledge search.
Insolvency: KRZ and MSiG together
From 1 December 2021, insolvency and restructuring proceedings are published in KRZ (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych). The register is public, free, and requires no login. Search is possible by NIP, KRS number, PESEL, or case signature. KRZ replaced the former Rejestr Dłużników Niewypłacalnych for new proceedings.
Proceedings opened before 1 December 2021 were announced in MSiG (Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy). The MSiG search interface at wyszukiwarka-msig.ms.gov.pl is free and covers the archive from 1996. A negative result in KRZ alone does not confirm the absence of an earlier proceeding. Both sources must be checked, and the cutoff date must be documented in any report.
The land register path
Mortgages over Polish real property are recorded in the electronic land and mortgage register (EKW). The register is free to read. The access condition is structural: search requires the KW (księga wieczysta) number. Search by owner name is not permitted for private parties. The KW number is typically obtained from the ewidencja gruntów i budynków (land and buildings survey register), which is maintained at the district (powiat) level.
This means the collateral check for a property cannot begin at EKW. It begins at the survey register, which yields the KW number, which then unlocks the mortgage picture. The two-step path is not optional.
VAT whitelist and its collateral relevance
The Biała lista (VAT whitelist) records VAT registration status, declared bank accounts, and the history of registration, deregistration, and reinstatement with dates. It is maintained by the Head of the National Revenue Administration (szef KAS) and is accessible free of charge at podatki.gov.pl without login. A historical check on any past date is available.
The collateral relevance is direct. Payment to a bank account not declared on the whitelist creates joint and several VAT liability for the paying party. In a property transaction, verifying the seller's declared accounts before transfer is not administrative hygiene — it is a condition of limiting the buyer's VAT exposure.
Beneficial ownership: CRBR
The Central Register of Beneficial Owners (CRBR) is public, free, and requires no account. It records the natural persons who ultimately own or control Polish legal entities. Data is self-reported by the entity under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The register does not independently verify the accuracy of declarations. A lender assessing the ownership structure of the counterparty must treat CRBR data as a starting point, not a confirmed fact.
The limit of what the sources allow
No Polish register shows the complete encumbrance profile of a commercial asset in a single query. The structural limits are fixed and cannot be overcome by more thorough searching within any single register.
KRZ covers insolvency proceedings from 1 December 2021 only. Earlier proceedings remain in MSiG and in physical court files. A negative KRZ result is not a clean bill of health for entities with operating history before that date. EKW requires a KW number — without it, the mortgage register cannot be searched at all. The KW number path runs through a district-level register that has no national online search. The two pledge registers are independent systems. A charge recorded in one does not appear in the other. CRBR data is self-declared; the register contains no mechanism for cross-checking declarations against shareholding agreements or trust arrangements. Filed financial statements in the Repozytorium are those submitted by the entity. Filing does not equal accuracy. The register does not audit the content.
These limits are stated before payment. The report documents what each source showed, on what date, under what access conditions — and identifies the points at which the chain stops.
Where the sources disagree
Divergence between sources is itself a finding. KRS may show a company as active while KRZ shows an open restructuring proceeding. Filed financials may show equity while the pledge registers show charges over substantially all assets. CRBR may name one beneficial owner while the shareholder list filed with KRS names a corporate intermediary with no disclosed UBO. When sources conflict, the report records each source's statement separately and identifies the point of divergence. No source is treated as overriding another by default.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price (EUR) | Included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €710 | KRS extract and status check · Repozytorium financial statements (last two filed years) · KRZ insolvency check with MSiG cross-reference · Biała lista VAT status and declared accounts · CRBR beneficial ownership record · Written summary with source badges and verification dates | EKW mortgage search · Pledge register searches (civil and tax) · Physical court file check · Document translation · Legal qualification of findings |
| Standard | €1,500 | All Signal items · EKW land register check (requires KW number; path via ewidencja gruntów included) · Rejestr Zastawów search: DW-1 (pledgor) and DW-2 (subject) certificates · Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych search · Three years of filed financial statements · Divergence analysis across all sources · Structured summary table of encumbrances found | Physical court file review · Valuation · Legal qualification of findings · Proceedings opened before 1 December 2021 not appearing in MSiG search results |
| Extended | €3,400 | All Standard items · Physical court file review at competent court · Certified copies of pledge register entries (odpis DW-4) and tax pledge wypis · Five years of filed financial statements with ratio summary · MSiG archive search covering pre-2021 period · CRBR cross-reference against KRS shareholder filings · Full written report in English with source-by-source encumbrance schedule · One follow-up query within 30 days of delivery | Valuation or appraisal · Legal advice on enforceability of charges · Proceedings in jurisdictions outside Poland · Representation before any authority |
Frequently asked questions
Does a clean KRS entry mean the asset is unencumbered?
No. KRS does not record mortgages or pledges. An entity can have a clean KRS entry while carrying registered charges over all its assets. Encumbrance verification requires EKW and both pledge registers in addition to KRS.
What if the KW number for the property is not available?
The EKW search cannot proceed without it. The Standard and Extended tiers include the path via the district-level ewidencja gruntów i budynków to retrieve the KW number. If the property parcel number is also unavailable, the report documents the gap and identifies what information would be needed to complete the search.
Does a negative result in KRZ confirm no insolvency history?
Only for proceedings opened from 1 December 2021. Earlier proceedings were published in MSiG. The Standard and Extended tiers include an MSiG archive search to cover the pre-2021 period. The report states explicitly which period each source covers.
Why are there two pledge registers?
The Rejestr Zastawów records civil pledges under the Registered Pledge Act. The Rejestr Zastawów Skarbowych records charges created by tax authorities under tax enforcement law. They operate under different ministries. A charge in one does not appear in the other. Both must be searched for a complete pledge picture.
What does the CRBR entry actually confirm?
It confirms what the entity declared as of the date of the entry. The register does not verify declarations against underlying ownership documents. Discrepancies between CRBR and KRS shareholder filings are a flag, not a resolution. The Extended tier includes a cross-reference analysis.
How is the report delivered?
As a written report in English, with a source schedule listing each register checked, the date of retrieval, the result, and the applicable limit. Certified copies and official certificates are attached as sourced at the applicable tier. Delivery is by email to the address provided at the time of instruction.
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.