Court Fees When Buying a Flat in Poland 2026
Author: Tacjana MasiukiewiczCosts and taxes~14 min read
Court fees when buying a flat are fixed amounts set by the act on court costs in civil cases: 200 zł for entering ownership, 100 zł for opening a land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta), 200 zł for entering a mortgage and 100 zł for deleting it. They don't depend on the flat's price, and at the notarial deed they are collected by the notary. Below you'll find the full fee table, four scenarios with calculations, the prices of register extracts in force since 31 March 2026, and an explanation of what the waiting time for an entry depends on.
Key facts
- Entering ownership or a mortgage in the land and mortgage register costs 200 zł, opening a new register — 100 zł, entering the buyer's claim from a developer agreement — 150 zł.
- Deleting an entry costs half of the fee for entering it — after repaying the mortgage, deleting it costs 100 zł.
- The notary collects the court fee before signing the deed and, at the latest on the day of the deed, files the electronic application for the entry with the court.
- Court costs linked to the developer agreement are split with the developer fifty-fifty.
- Since 31 March 2026, an ordinary extract from the register ordered online costs 30 zł, a full extract — 75 zł; browsing the register is free.
Court fees for entries in the land and mortgage register — 2026 table
In land and mortgage register proceedings, the court collects fixed fees. For a flat worth 500 thousand zł and one worth 2 million zł you pay the same for entries. The rates come from art. 42–46 of the act on court costs in civil cases and haven't changed in the 2025 and 2026 amendments.
| Application to the register court | Fee | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Entering ownership (also a limited property right, e.g. a mortgage) | 200 zł | art. 42(1) |
| Entering a share in ownership (e.g. a share in an underground garage) | part of the fee proportional to the share, min. 100 zł | art. 42(2) |
| Entering a mortgage | 200 zł | art. 42(1) |
| Entering a joint mortgage (e.g. a flat and a parking space in two registers) | one fee — 200 zł | art. 45(3) |
| Entering the buyer's claim from a developer agreement | 150 zł | art. 43(3) |
| Opening a land and mortgage register | 100 zł | art. 44(1)(1) |
| Opening a register when a unit is separated from the developer's register | one fee — 100 zł | art. 44(2) |
| Entering a warning that the register doesn't match the actual legal status | 100 zł | art. 44(1)(5) |
| Deleting a mortgage | 100 zł (half of 200 zł) | art. 46 |
| Deleting a claim | 75 zł (half of 150 zł) | art. 46 |
The fee for opening a register is charged independently of the fee for entering ownership (art. 45(1)), and fees for entries are charged separately for each right (art. 45(2)). That's why, when buying a new flat, you usually pay 100 zł + 200 zł, not a single amount.
Who collects court fees — the notary or the court?
If the entry follows from a notarial deed (a developer agreement, a transfer-of-ownership agreement, a resale-market sale agreement, a statement establishing a mortgage), the court fee is collected by the notary. Under art. 7 §2 of the Notaries Act, the notary collects it from the applicant, states the amount in the application and passes it to the relevant district court. Without paying the fee, the notary will not draw up the deed. On the notary's bill, court fees therefore sit alongside the notary's fee, but are not part of their remuneration.
The notary files the application for the entry through the teleinformation system no later than on the day the deed is drawn up (art. 92 §4 of the Notaries Act). This filing counts as if you had filed the application yourself. You go to court yourself (or send an application on the official KW-WPIS form) mainly when the entry doesn't follow from a notarial deed — a typical example being deleting a mortgage after repaying the loan. How much the notary itself costs, we calculate separately in the article Notary fees 2026.
Primary vs. secondary market — a new register or an existing one?
A flat from a developer
The developer has a land and mortgage register for the whole property (the plot with the building). Under the developer agreement, that register records your claim for the building to be built, for a separate ownership of the unit to be established and transferred to you (art. 38 of the developer act). Entering the claim costs 150 zł, and under art. 40(2) of that act, court costs in land and mortgage register proceedings linked to the developer agreement are split equally between the developer and the buyer — so you pay 75 zł.
After the handover inspection, you sign an agreement establishing separate ownership of the unit and transferring it to you. A new land and mortgage register is opened for the unit (separated from the developer's register — one fee of 100 zł) and you are entered as owner (200 zł). If the deed also includes an application to delete your claim from the developer's register, half the fee for entering it is added, i.e. 75 zł. We describe the details of the agreement itself in the guide Developer Agreement 2026, and the full cost breakdown of the purchase in the article Costs of buying a flat from a developer.
A flat from the secondary market
A flat with separate ownership already has its own land and mortgage register. You don't pay to open it — only 200 zł to enter ownership and, with a mortgage, 200 zł to enter the mortgage. If the seller's bank has a mortgage on the flat, it has to be deleted (100 zł); who covers this fee depends on what's agreed in the contract — usually it's the seller. The secondary market also brings the PCC tax — we explain the rules and the exemption for a first flat in the article PCC tax when buying a flat.
Want to buy a new flat without overpaying on formalities? We'll help you choose a flat from a developer and guide you through the agreements — the buyer usually pays us no commission, as the developer normally pays our fee.
How much do court fees cost when buying a flat — 4 scenarios
Below we calculate only the court fees. There's no notary fee, VAT on the notary fee, copies of the deed or PCC tax here. Assumptions: one flat with no separate register for the parking space, the buyers are spouses with joint marital property or a single person (in which case entering ownership is one fee).
| Item | From a developer, cash (flat under construction) | From a developer, mortgage (flat under construction) | Secondary market, mortgage | Repaying the mortgage and deleting it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entering the claim — your half | 75 zł | 75 zł | – | – |
| Opening the register for the unit | 100 zł | 100 zł | – | – |
| Entering ownership | 200 zł | 200 zł | 200 zł | – |
| Entering the bank's mortgage | – | 200 zł | 200 zł | – |
| Deleting the mortgage | – | – | – | 100 zł |
| Total court fees | 375 zł | 575 zł | 400 zł | 100 zł |
An example on data from our offer. According to TM Invest's offer as of 27.09.2026, the median price of a 2-room flat in Warsaw is 755 824 zł, and in Wrocław 662 405 zł. Buying with a mortgage from a developer, the court fees come to 575 zł — that's about 0,08% of the price in Warsaw (575 / 755 824) and about 0,09% in Wrocław (575 / 662 405). For a 4-room flat in Warsaw (median 1 602 764 zł), the amount is the same, so its share falls to about 0,04%. You'll pay more for the notary fee, and on the secondary market for the PCC. You'll find current flat prices in the catalogue of new homes in Warsaw and Wrocław.
Parking space. If you buy a share in a garage unit that has its own register, entering the share is added — a fee proportional to the share, but no less than 100 zł. With a mortgage secured on the flat and the parking space, the bank usually enters a joint mortgage, for which you pay one fee of 200 zł, even though it covers two registers.
Entering a mortgage and deleting it after repaying the loan
A mortgage only arises once it's entered in the land and mortgage register (art. 67 of the act on land and mortgage registers and mortgages), but the entry is retroactive to the moment the application was filed (art. 29). The fee for entering a mortgage is 200 zł and is paid by the borrower, usually at the notary's when signing the transfer-of-ownership agreement or the sale agreement. For a flat under construction, the register for the unit is only created with the transfer-of-ownership agreement, so until then the bank may apply interim security — check the terms in your mortgage agreement. We describe the whole process in the guide Mortgage in Poland step by step.
After repaying the mortgage, it doesn't disappear from the register on its own. The bank issues a document consenting to the deletion, and you file an application with the court on the KW-WPIS form, with a fee of 100 zł (half of the entry fee). Do this straight away — an outdated mortgage makes a later sale harder. We describe what selling a flat that still has a mortgage on it looks like in the article Selling a flat with a mortgage.
Buying with a mortgage? Book a consultation with our mortgage expert — we'll compare offers from several banks, including the terms of security during construction and the ancillary costs.
How long does an entry in the land and mortgage register take, and what's a note?
The law doesn't set a deadline by which the court must make the entry, and the waiting time depends on how busy the particular land and mortgage register division is. It's best to ask the notary about the current practice of the court responsible for your flat.
While you wait, you're protected by a note on the application. When the application is filed electronically by the notary, the note appears in the register automatically, from the moment the application is placed in the system (art. 6267 §2 of the Code of Civil Procedure). The note removes the protection of public faith in the land and mortgage register (art. 8 of the act on land and mortgage registers and mortgages) — nobody can claim they didn't know about your application. Once the entry is made, the court deletes the note on its own initiative, and an entry appears in the relevant section.
How do you check whether the entry has already been made? The simplest way is to browse the register in the Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste service (ekw.ms.gov.pl) — anyone who knows the register number can browse it free of charge (art. 364(6) of the act). As long as you see the note on the application, the case is in progress; once the note disappears and your name appears in section II, the entry has been made. The court also notifies the parties to the proceedings about the entry made, unless you waived notification in the deed.
Land and mortgage register extract — price since 31 March 2026
An extract has the force of a document issued by the court — a bank, a buyer or an office may require it. A printout from free browsing has no such force. Since 31 March 2026, new rates apply from the Minister of Justice's regulation on fees for the activities of the Central Information Service of Land and Mortgage Registers:
| Document | Online (self-printed) | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary extract (current status of entries) | 30 zł | 45 zł |
| Full extract (deleted entries too) | 75 zł | 90 zł |
| Excerpt from section 1 | 10 zł | 25 zł |
| Excerpt from 2 sections | 15 zł | 30 zł |
| Excerpt from 3 sections | 25 zł | 40 zł |
| Excerpt from 4 sections | 40 zł | 45 zł |
| Certificate that the register is closed | 10 zł | 15 zł |
| Searching registers in the central database | 30 zł | |
| Browsing the register (no force of a document) | free | |
What to check in sections I–IV of the land and mortgage register?
- Section I — the property description: address, plots, area. Check whether it matches what you're buying.
- Section II — the owner or perpetual usufructuary. On the secondary market this must be the seller; when buying from a developer — the developer (or the landowner who agreed to the entry of claims).
- Section III — limited property rights (other than mortgages), claims, restrictions on disposal, e.g. easements, a life annuity, other buyers' claims, enforcement proceedings under way.
- Section IV — mortgages. On the secondary market, plan in the contract how the seller's mortgage will be repaid and deleted.
- Notes in every section — mean applications that haven't been resolved yet. Each one is worth clarifying before signing the contract.
How to assess the developer itself (KRS, the information prospectus, the land register), we describe in the article How to check a developer before buying.
Frequently asked questions
How much does opening a land and mortgage register for a flat cost?
The court fee for opening a land and mortgage register is 100 zł. For a flat from a developer, you pay it together with the 200 zł fee for entering ownership, because the two fees are charged independently. When the unit's register is created by separating it from the developer's register, only one fee of 100 zł is charged.
How much does entering a mortgage in the register cost?
The court fee for entering a mortgage is 200 zł, regardless of the loan amount. If the mortgage covers several registers (e.g. a flat and a parking space), as a joint mortgage it costs one fee of 200 zł.
How much does deleting a mortgage after repaying the loan cost?
100 zł — half of the entry fee is charged for the deletion application, and entering a mortgage costs 200 zł. You attach the bank's consent to deleting the mortgage to the application on the KW-WPIS form.
How long does an entry in the land and mortgage register take?
The law doesn't set the court a deadline, so the time depends on the particular land and mortgage register division. Until the entry is made, your rights are protected by the note on the application, which appears in the register automatically when the notary files it, and the entry itself is retroactive to the day the application was filed.
How much does an extract from the land and mortgage register cost in 2026?
Since 31 March 2026, an ordinary extract ordered online costs 30 zł, and a full extract 75 zł. The paper version costs 45 zł and 90 zł, while simply browsing the register in the EKW service is free.
Who pays the court fees under a developer agreement?
The developer and the buyer, fifty-fifty — that's what art. 40(2) of the developer act provides. For entering the claim, which costs 150 zł, your share is 75 zł. Fees under the transfer-of-ownership agreement (opening the register, entering ownership, the mortgage) are usually borne by the buyer — check this in your own agreement.
Summary
Court fees when buying a flat are low and fixed: from a developer for cash it's usually 375 zł, with a mortgage 575 zł, on the secondary market with a mortgage 400 zł, and after repaying the mortgage — 100 zł to delete it. They're collected by the notary at the deed, and the application reaches the court the same day. More important than the amounts is what the register shows before and after the purchase.
Looking for a flat from a developer in Warsaw or Wrocław? We'll find you a flat within your budget and guide you through the agreements — usually no commission for the buyer, as the developer normally pays our fee. If you're buying with a mortgage, our mortgage expert will compare offers from several banks.
Legal status as of September 2026. The calculations are illustrative and do not constitute legal or tax advice.
Sources
- Act on court costs in civil cases — consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 1228, as amended (art. 42–46).
- Act on land and mortgage registers and mortgages — consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 1066 (art. 8, 25, 29, 364, 365, 67).
- Notaries Act — consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 614 (art. 7 §2, art. 92 §4).
- Code of Civil Procedure — consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 468 (art. 6262, 6267, 6268, 62610).
- Act on the protection of the rights of buyers of a residential unit or single-family house and the Developer Guarantee Fund — consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880 (art. 38, art. 40(2)).
- Minister of Justice's regulation of 24 March 2026 on fees for the activities of the Central Information Service of Land and Mortgage Registers — Dz.U. 2026 item 410.
- Ministry of Justice — land and mortgage register application forms (KW-WPIS, KW-ZAL).
- Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste — browsing registers and ordering extracts.
- Flat prices: TM Invest's catalogue of new homes, as of 27.09.2026.
