Polish company extract: how to verify a company with the KRS

In short: the Polish equivalent of the company extract (visura camerale) is the KRS (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy, National Court Register), the judicial register of companies, access to which is free. Sole traders are instead in the CEIDG. Before paying a Polish invoice, check the bank account on the biała lista (white list) of VAT taxpayers, free of charge and kept by the tax administration: it is the most practical defence against fraudulent IBAN changes. For sanctions, PEPs and negative media there is the Veryfy foreign company check at 14.90€.

KRS or CEIDG: where do I look for my Polish counterparty?

It depends on the legal form. According to the European e-Justice portal, the KRS includes commercial companies, foundations and associations; the CEIDG (central register of economic activity) includes individual entrepreneurs, that is, natural persons and partners of civil partnerships. The KRS has existed since 1 January 2001 and has three parts: the register of entrepreneurs, the register of associations and foundations and, until 1 December 2021, the register of insolvent debtors, replaced by the Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ).

If the counterparty is a sp. z o.o. (limited liability company) or an S.A. (joint-stock company), you will find it in the KRS. If it is a person with a VAT number and a personal name, look at the CEIDG.

Is the KRS free?

Yes. The e-Justice portal states that access to the KRS is free, and that financial documents can be consulted free of charge in the Repozytorium Dokumentów Finansowych. Registration files filed from 1 July 2021 are free in the file repertory; earlier ones are available only in paper form at the court of the competent register. From 1 July 2021 registration in the KRS takes place entirely online. The Ministry of Justice indicates the Portal of judicial registers (prs.ms.gov.pl) as the access point to its systems.

How do I verify a Polish company, step by step?

1. Ask the counterparty for its full business name, registered office, KRS number (10 digits), NIP (10 digits) and REGON (9 or 14 digits).
2. Search the KRS: e-Justice indicates that you can search by KRS number, NIP, REGON or name. Check that the name and registered office match the invoice and contract.
3. Read who represents the company and whether the financial documents are filed.
4. If the counterparty is a sole trader, search the CEIDG.
5. Check the NIP on the biała lista (see below) and the intra-EU VAT number (PL + NIP) on the European Commission's VIES service.
6. Search the company in the Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych.
7. For sanctions, PEPs and negative media use the foreign company check.

What do you want to know, where do you find it, free or paid?

What is the biała lista and why is it needed against IBAN fraud?

It is the wykaz podatników VAT (VAT taxpayer register): a single, public and free database, kept electronically by the head of the National Revenue Administration (KAS), according to a tax explanatory note. It is based on art. 96b of the Polish VAT Act. It contains the name, NIP, REGON and KRS, addresses, representatives and bank accounts of registered or reactivated taxpayers; the accounts are the settlement accounts. It can be consulted on the website of the Ministry of Finance and also through the CEIDG; it makes it possible to check the status of an entity as at a past date, up to 5 years back.

Why you need it: if a Polish supplier communicates a new IBAN to you, search for it on the list associated with its NIP. An account that does not appear is a warning sign. The same note reminds that, for Polish taxpayers, paying an account not included in the list can lead to the loss of deductibility of costs and to joint liability for the supplier's VAT: these are Polish tax rules that concern payments between Polish operators, but the check remains a good filter also for those who export. See also fake supplier and IBAN change scam.

How do I check whether a Polish company is insolvent?

You use the Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych (KRZ). The Ministry of Justice describes it as public and freely accessible and declares its access "fully free of charge", with some information reserved for the parties to the proceedings; accessible from krz.ms.gov.pl and prs.ms.gov.pl. It contains only information on proceedings started after 1 December 2021: for earlier facts another source is needed. The Ministry does not indicate on the page consulted whether search by name or KRS number is available: the confirmed fields include PESEL and file number.

For the Italian parallel see how to know whether a company has gone bankrupt.

Who is the beneficial owner of a Polish company?

It is indicated in the CRBR (Centralny Rejestr Beneficjentów Rzeczywistych, Central Register of Beneficial Owners). Following the judgments of the EU Court of Justice of 22 November 2022 (joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20), which invalidated universal public access to beneficial owner data, Polish law has long remained unchanged. A contribution by KPMG (around July 2025) reports that the CRBR was still publicly accessible and that an amendment bill of 7 April 2025 proposes to repeal public access, replacing it with a reasoned request and a legitimate interest. We have not been able to verify today whether the amendment has entered into force: before relying on the CRBR, open the register and check the current conditions. To understand who really controls a company see how to verify who controls a company.

Which risk signals should I look for?

• NIP or KRS that do not match the name on the invoice;
• bank account not on the biała lista or recently changed IBAN;
• financial documents not filed or out of date;
• presence in the KRZ or an open procedure;
• requests for advances without the company having a verifiable history.

For the overall picture read how to check a foreign client before exporting. The same logic applies to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Germany and Spain.

What does the foreign company check add?

The foreign company check for Poland accepts NIP (10 digits), KRS number (10 digits) or REGON (9 or 14 digits) and returns data from the KRS, NACE sector and contacts if registered, summary financial statements where available (employees, revenues, net equity, total assets) and the search of the name on international sanctions lists, politically exposed persons and negative media, in Italian and without reading Polish.

For accountants. If your client exports to Poland or buys from Polish suppliers, attach to the file a check on the counterparty, without subscription and without registration: you pay for the single check, for example the foreign company check at 14.90€ before an important supply or a change of bank details.

Sources

• European e-Justice portal, Business registers: Poland (accessed 11/11/2026)
• e-Justice portal, factsheet on the KRS and the register of debtors (accessed 11/11/2026)
• Ministry of Justice, FAQ on the National Register of Debtors (Krajowy Rejestr Zadłużonych) (accessed 11/11/2026)
• Podatki.biz, Tax explanations: VAT taxpayer register (biała lista) (accessed 11/11/2026)
• KPMG Polska, Restricting the transparency of beneficial owner registers in the EU (accessed 11/11/2026)

Veryfy is not affiliated with the registers and institutions cited.