Currently in Poland, the problems associated with changes in the functioning of the institutions of the cadastre are becoming very topical. These include the problem of cadastre’s location within the structures of the State, the definition of its role and significance in the context of the functions and tasks that it should perform. When introducing the legal concept of real estate cadastre into circulation, the legislator stipulated that until the transformation of the existing land and buildings register is completed, the term cadastre is to signify precisely these land and buildings register. Therefore, a problem arises, concerning the consequences of the parallel use, and the interchangeability of the two terms: ‘land and buildings register’, and ‘cadastre’, each of which have their historical, legal and technical references and implications. In this publication, we carry out an analysis of historical and current conditions for the functioning of the land and buildings register, and the real estate cadastre, in terms of the current legislation.