Public succession register

Inheritance Register is a public register in which information about documents confirming inheritance is collected. It has been operating under the Register of Certificates of Inheritance since September 8, 2016.

Entries in the Register are made by notaries and courts. This is to prevent the acquisition of an inheritance from the same deceased several times and to improve the search for information on the location of the document stating who the heir is.

The Inheritance Register consists of two parts. They contain information about:

• files of succession certificate (APD) - prepared by notaries;
• decisions on confirmation of acquisition of an inheritance - issued by courts;
• European Certificate of Succession (EPS) - drawn up by notaries or issued by the courts.

The Inheritance Register does not contain documents confirming the right to inheritance, but information about where these documents can be found. Access to information about documents registered in the Inheritance Register can be obtained free of charge by completing the electronic form. Provide the testator's PESEL number or identification data.

To receive a copy of a registered act of inheritance certificate or a copy of a court order confirming the acquisition of an inheritance, you must be a party to the act or a person for whom the right to receive the extract has been reserved. This also applies to their legal successors and persons who demonstrate a legal interest.

Acts of inheritance certification drawn up by notaries upon registration in the Register acquire legal force of final decisions on confirmation of inheritance acquisition. In this situation, the proceedings for the determination of the rights to inheritance can also be carried out in a notary's office - the procedure then takes much less time than court proceedings.

The fee charged by courts and notaries for entries in the Inheritance Register is PLN 5.

The notary public refuses to issue an inheritance certificate:

• § in relation to the inheritance, for which an inheritance certificate has already been drawn up or a decision has been issued confirming the acquisition of the inheritance;
• § if during the preparation of the inheritance report circumstances appear that during its preparation were not present all persons who may be considered as heirs to a statute or will, or persons on whose behalf the testator made vindication records, or there are or existed wills that have not been opened or announced;
• § in a case in which no national jurisdiction applies.