Is access to the KRS search engine free? We suggest how to check the number in the National Court Register quickly!

In the Polish legal order we can find at least three large, open databases, to which every citizen has access: NIP, REGON and KRS. There is no shortage of people who claim that the information contained in the National Court Register is extremely accurate, even comprehensive. Can this collection be used for free?

The most important information about the National Court Register

Of the bases mentioned in the introduction, the National Court Register is the youngest. The REGON database has accompanied us since 1975, NIP was launched in January 1996, and the National Court Register was made available on January 1, 2001, i.e. almost 21 years ago.

Work on the National Court Register lasted for a very long time, and their beginning can be considered by the Sejm’s adoption of the Act on the National Court Register. The document was voted on August 20 and was announced in the Journal of Laws at 121.

It is definitely worth pointing out that the National Court Register is a collection that was not created from scratch, such as the NIP base. In the Polish legal order, several other, smaller databases, including a commercial register, the Foundation Register or the MPC (State Enterprise Register).

The legislator came out of the very practical assumption that it makes no sense to keep these databases in the system, since exactly the same information (but much easier accessible) can be found in the National Court Register. Therefore, several smaller databases were liquidated, and the data collected in them became the foundation on which information available in the National Court Register was built.

It is worth appreciating, despite the limited availability of the base, access to it from the beginning was quite simple. A network of 21 district courts was created, where at least one facility fell on each province and was given a jurisdiction to issue write -offs from the KRS database. Some regions in Poland – for example Upper Silesia – have two such courts.

A great breakthrough in the availability of the base, thanks to which we can today view the information collected there, for example BUT ABOUT.com, where there are data on over 3.5 million companies, it was 2011. It was in June this year that the base was “released” and made available on the web. When we use aleo, we can view the data collected there fully for free.

What information is hidden in the National Court Register?

Over the years, its structure has not changed too much. The collection is based on thematic departments, of which there are six. The last one was added in December 2020 and introduced M.in. Information about insolvent debtors and about persons who have been in arrears for at least half a year with the payment of the maintenance awarded.

The first sections include, among others, information about the company: its name, address, contact details, as well as the names of people who are entitled to represent the entity outside. A lot of interesting information can also be extracted from the PKD codes of the business entity. This is one of the best ways to quickly determine the data about the dominant model of activity, which will certainly facilitate the work, for example, to traders.

Subsequent departments give access to information about whether the entity is not in arrears, for example, with transfers to ZUS or taxes. The National Court Register also offers data on whether the company has been launched in the company, whether the company is in liquidation and whether a proxy has been established.

The previously mentioned novelty is Section VI. His legal authorization is Article 55 of the Act on the National Court Register. We will also find data on a possible merger – or on the contrary, separation – companies from several other entities. At every stage of such a process, you can read the IDs of the NIP of such activities.

Whose data can we find in the KRS database?

This is an extremely comprehensive collection. There we will find information about both sole proprietorships, companies (z o.about., civil) as well as about foundations or registration associations. The database also has data on independent public healthcare facilities.

Despite the possibility of downloading an extract from the KRS database online, you can still use the network of 21 district courts that have retained their jurisdiction and can still issue important, binding from a legal perspective, write -offs.

It is also worth remembering that in the event of changes in the company’s structure, the entrepreneur should update the status of his application in the National Court Register. For this purpose, you can use both the NIP-8 form and the S24 court registers portal or S24 website.

It is estimated that we have about 32 million Internet users in Poland. This means that about 85% of the population is able to view the data collected in the National Court Register without leaving your home, using, for example, services such as Aleo.com. The number of smartphone owners is also growing dynamically. There are already about 8.5 million on the Vistula.

Only in 2020, Internet users of the four largest telecoms in the country used as much as 4,950 PB (petabytes) of data. The use of mobile packages is also growing every year. The average transfer that smartphone owners use per month, using the subscription package for this purpose, is 7.9 GB per month.

This is another niche, thanks to which such services as the KRS data search engine online will certainly be more and more popular every year, displacing a traditional, “paper” document issued in district courts.