How to check a person in the debtor register

Before renting a home, lending money, buying a used car, or starting a joint venture, many people want to make sure someone has no unpaid financial obligations being enforced through the enforcement service. In Ukraine there is an open tool for this — the Unified Register of Debtors (URD), maintained by the Ministry of Justice. Here is how to use it and how to read the result correctly.

What the Unified Register of Debtors is

The Unified Register of Debtors is a public database that lists natural and legal persons against whom enforcement proceedings have been opened and who have not complied with a decision voluntarily. It may include alimony, loan debts, utility bills, fines, and other enforcement claims.

It is important to understand that the register shows the status at the time of the check. When a debt is paid and the proceedings are closed, the record is removed. So the absence of a record today does not guarantee that nothing will appear tomorrow, and vice versa.

What data you can see

A record usually includes the debtor’s full name, date of birth, enforcement category, the authority or enforcement officer handling the case, and the officer’s contacts. The debt amount is generally not shown in the register — you can clarify it with the enforcement officer.

Step-by-step: checking on the official website

1. Open the official register website: https://erb.minjust.gov.ua.
2. Choose search by natural person (or legal entity if you are checking a company).
3. Enter the surname and first name. Add the patronymic and date of birth if you know them — this significantly narrows the results.
4. Pass the “I am not a robot” check and click Search.
5. Review the list. If there are several records, compare the date of birth and the enforcement category.
6. If needed, contact the enforcement officer listed in the record to clarify details.

Search on the Ministry of Justice website is free and does not require registration.

Checking via open data

The Ministry of Justice also publishes the debtor register dataset on the open data portal https://data.gov.ua. Find it through the portal search using “Unified Register of Debtors”. The dataset suits those who work with large volumes of data or build their own services, but for a one-off check of one person the official website is more convenient.

Remember: a copy of the dataset is current as of its update date, so do the final check on erb.minjust.gov.ua.

How to interpret the result correctly

A matching name is not yet proof

In Ukraine thousands of people share the same surnames and first names. If the search finds a record, that does not mean it is the same person. Always compare the date of birth and, where possible, other details. Do not draw conclusions or accuse someone based only on a name match.

No record found

If there are no records, it only means that at the time of the check no open enforcement proceedings entered in the register were found. This is not a person’s full financial history: credit histories, debts without open proceedings, and other matters are not shown in the register.

Ethical and legal points

The register data are open, but use them responsibly: do not share information about someone else’s debts to pressure or insult them. If you find yourself in the register by mistake, contact the enforcement officer listed in the record or the state enforcement service.

A faster way: RiskChek

If you need to check a person across several open datasets at once, you can use the unofficial free service RiskChek https://riskchek.info or the Telegram bot @riskchek_bot https://t.me/riskchek_bot. It searches copies of open datasets from data.gov.ua (debtor register, MIA wanted list, missing persons, traffic fines) and gives a link to the primary source for each result so you can verify the record on the official website. RiskChek is not a government service and does not replace official registers.

FAQ

Is checking the debtor register free?

Yes, search on erb.minjust.gov.ua is free and requires no registration.

Does the register show the debt amount?

Generally no. You can clarify the amount with the enforcement officer listed in the record.

A record with the same full name was found. Is it the same person?

Not necessarily. Compare the date of birth and other data before drawing conclusions.

How quickly is a record removed after the debt is paid?

After enforcement proceedings end, the record is removed from the register; ask the enforcement officer for exact timing.