General conditions for pursuing a Czech trade

 
The general conditions applying to a natural person pursuing a trade are: to have reached the age of 18 years, to have full legal capacity and a clean criminal record. According to the Act, a person with a clean criminal record is someone who has not been finally convicted of intentionally committing a criminal act, if it was committed in connection with business activities, or with the business object for which they are applying or notifying, unless they are now considered as not having been convicted of such offence.
 

Professional eligibility

 
Alongside the form, in the case of a professional or vocational trade or concession, the notifier or applicant must submit a document attesting its professional eligibility for the relevant trade, or of the appointed responsible representative, together with his/her signed declaration that he/she consents to the appointment. The signature on the declaration must be officially certified. If documents are in a foreign language, they must be translated into Czech by a sworn translator (list of Czech sworn translators), with the exception of documents submitted by nationals of EU Members States or by a legal entity with its registered office, central administration or principal place of business activities in an EU Member State, unless there are doubts as to the translation’s correctness.
 

Other terms and conditions

 
Further, a document attesting the legal basis for use of the premises on which the trader has located its place of business (e.g. a lease contract) must be submitted, and also a receipt for payment of the administrative fee, which is CZK 1,000 (EUR 40) must be submitted. A foreign natural persons, except for nationals of EU Member States or of a State Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation, must attach to their notification of a trade or concession application a document corroborating that they have been granted a visa to stay longer than 90 days or have had their long-term residency permit. A foreign natural person must further provide an extract from the criminal register or equivalent document issued by the relevant court or state authority of the country of which the individual is a national; the extract must not be more than three months old.
 
The Trade Office is obliged to make the entry into the Trade Register within 5 business days of receiving the notification and issue the entrepreneur an extract if the notifier meets the conditions set out in the Trades Licensing Act. Where concessions are concerned, the Trade Office shall decide the matter within 30 days of receiving the application, provided that all of the relevant particulars are met. Subsequently, within 5 business days of the decision granting the concession having come into effect, an entry is made in the Trade Register and an extract is issued to the entrepreneur.
 

List of Czech Permitted Trade Licences

 

Object of business	Professional or other competence required under Section 27(1) and (2)	Conditions requiring fulfilment under Section 27(3)	State administration authority expressing an opinion on an application for a concession	Remarks
1	2	3	4	5
Production and processing of fermented spirits, consumer spirits and other alcoholic beverages (except for beer, fruit wines, other wines and mead, and growers’ own fruit distillates) and the sale of fermented alcohol, drinking alcohol and spirits.	for the production and processing of fermented alcohol, drinking alcohol, spirits and other alcoholic beverages (except for beer, fruit wines, other wines and mead, and growers‘ own fruit distillates) a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on food-processing technology, chemistry, agriculture, pharmacy, medicine or veterinary medicine, or b) higher education in a field of study focusing on food-processing technology, chemistry, agriculture, pharmacy, or veterinary medicine and three years’ professional experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study focusing on food-processing technology, chemistry, agriculture, or in the field of pharmaceutical manufacturing laboratory technician, and three years’ professional experience, or d) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and three years’ professional experience, or e) documents under Section 7(5)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) of the Trade Licensing Act		for the production and processing of fermented alcohol, drinking alcohol, spirits and other alcoholic beverages (except for beer, fruit wines, other wines and mead, and growers‘ own fruit distillates) the Ministry of Agriculture	Act No 61/1997 on spirits and amending Act No 455/1991, the Trade Licensing Act, as amended, and Act No 587/1992 on excise duty, as amended (the Spirits Act), as amended
Production and processing of sulphite or synthetic alcohol	a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on chemistry, or b) higher education in a field of study focusing on chemistry and three years’ professional experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study focusing on chemistry and three years’ professional experience, or d) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and three years’ professional experience, or e) documents under Section 7(5)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) of the Trade Licensing Act		Ministry of Industry and Trade	Act No 61/1997, as amended
Research, development, manufacture, destruction, purchase, sale and storage of explosives and military munitions, processing and degradation of explosives, degradation and delaboration of military munitions and carrying out blasting work	for the research, development, manufacture and processing of explosives and research, development and manufacture of military munitions: university education in a study programme and study field focusing on technical science or technology; for the destruction and degradation of explosives: authorization or certificate of pyrotechnic expert*); for the purchase, sale and storage of explosives: a) authorization or certificate of a pyrotechnic expert or shot-firer*), or b) authorization or certificate of a firework detonator); c) for the degradation, destruction and delaboration of military munitions: a) at least secondary educationwith a school-leaving examination in a field of study with a technical focus and authorization of pyrotechnic expert*), b) a certificate of professional competence of the applicant to issue a certificate to carry out a pyrotechnic survey **) and 3 years of professional experience; or c) a certificate of professional competence of the applicant for the issue of a higher ammunition certificate**) and 5 years of experience in the field; for the purchase, sale and storage of military munitions: a) at least secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study with a technical, economic, military or police focus, b) a certificate of professional competence of the applicant to issue a certificate to carry out a pyrotechnic survey **) and 3 years of professional experience; orc) a certificate of professional competence of the applicant for the issue of a higher ammunition certificate**) and 5 years of experience in the field; for the carrying out of the blasting work: a) authorization or certificate of a pyrotechnic expert or shot-firer*), or b) authorization or certificate of a firework detonator*)	reliability of the entrepreneur or the governing body or members of the governing body ***); research, development, manufacture, degradation, destruction, delaboration, purchase, sale and storage of military munitions may only be operated at the premises specified in the ammunition license ****)	for the research, development, manufacture, processing, destruction, purchase, sale and storage of explosives, the Czech Mining Authority*****)	*) § 35 and 36 of Act No 61/1988 on mining, explosives and the State Mining Authority as amended **) § 70f of Act No. 119/2002 Coll., on firearms and ammunition (the Weapons Act) as amended by Act No. 229/2016 Coll. ***) § 1 paragraph 5 of Act No. 451/1991 Coll., which lays down some other prerequisites for the performance of certain functions in state bodies and organizations of the Czech and the Slovak Federal Republic, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic ****) § 70i of Act No. 119/2002 Coll. as amended by Act No. 229/2016 Coll. *****) § 23 of Act No. 61/1988 Coll. as amended
Development, manufacture, repair, modification, transportation, purchase, sale, rental, storage, disabling and destruction of arms and ammunition	for the development, manufacture, repair, modification, disabling and destruction of arms: a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on technical science or technology and three years’ professional experience, or b) higher education in a field of study focusing on technical sciences or technology and three years’ professional experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examinationin a field of study with a technical focus and three years’ professional experience, or d) secondary education with a certificate of apprenticeship in a field of study for a gunsmith or tool maker and three years’ professional experience, or e) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and four years’ professional experience for the purchase, sale, transportation, rental and storage of arms and ammunition: a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on economics, the military, the police, technical sciences or technology and one year’s professional experience, or b) higher education in a field of study focusing on economics, the military, the police, technical sciences or technology and two years’ professional experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study with a technical, economic, military or police focus and two years’ professional experience, or d) secondary education with a certificate of apprenticeship in a field of study to be a shop assistant specializing in arms and ammunition or in a related field and three years’ experience of business activity involving arms and ammunition, or e) secondary education with a certificate of apprenticeship in a field of study to be a gunsmith or tool maker and three years’ professional experience or one year’s experience of business activity involving arms and ammunition, or f) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and four years’ professional experience; for the manufacture, repair, modification, disabling and destruction of ammunition: professional competence stipulated for the development, manufacture, repair, modification, disabling and destruction of arms, a pyrotechnic authorization or certificate, and age of at least 21 years; for the development of ammunition: university education in a study programme and study field focusing on technical sciences or technology, the study field of explosive theory and technology, and three years’ professional experience	reliability of the entrepreneur or the governing body or members of the governing body*), for the acquisition of explosives**) and the performance of activities involving explosives, the entrepreneur or the entrepreneur’s responsible representative shall comply with the professional competence stipulated for the research, development, destruction, disposal, processing, purchase and sale of explosives consistent with the scope of the trade authorization	for the development, manufacture, destruction, disabling of ammunition, Czech Authority for the Testing of Weapons and Ammunition ***)	*) Section 1(5) of Act No 451/1991 **) Section 21(1) and (2) of Act No 61/1988, as amended by Act No 542/1991 ***) for the development, manufacture, destruction and disabling of ammunition, Section 17 (3) (i) of Act No. 156/2000 Coll., on the verification of firearms, ammunition and pyrotechnical objects, as amended by Act No. 13/1998 Coll., and Act No. 368/1992 Coll., on administrative fees, as amended, as amended by Act No. 155/2010 Coll. and as amended by Act No. 206/2015 Coll., on pyrotechnical products and the handling thereof and on amendments to certain Acts (Act on Pyrotechnics)
Purchase and sale, rental, development, manufacture, repair, modification, storage, transportation, disabling and destruction of security material	a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on technical sciences, economics, the military, or the police, aged at least 21 years, or b) higher education in a field of study focusing on technical sciences, economics, the military or the police, aged at least 21 years, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination or a certificate of apprenticeship in a field of study with a technical, economic, military or police focus, aged at least 21 years, or d) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and one year’s professional experience, and aged at least 21 years	good character of all employees (Section 6(2) of Act No 455/1991, as amended by Act No 155/2010)	approval of the regional directorate of the Police Force of the Czech Republic	Section 3(2) of Act No 310/2006 on the handling of certain items usable for defence and security purposes in the Czech Republic and amending certain other laws (the Act on the Handling of Security Material)
Manufacture and processing of fuels and lubricants and fuel distribution	for the manufacture and processing of fuels and lubricants: a) university education in a study programme and study field focussing on chemistry and one year of professional experience, or b) higher education in a field of study focussing on chemistry and three years of professional experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study focussing on chemistry and three years of professional experience, or d) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the trade is operated falls, and four years of professional experience, or e) a professional qualification to pursue the vocation of chemist to operate devices in accordance with a special legal regulation*) and four years of professional experience, or f) documents in accordance with Section 7 para. 5( a),(b), (c), (d) or (e) of the Trade Licensing Act; for fuel distribution: a) university education and one year of professional experience, or b) higher education and two years of professional experience, or c) secondary education with school-leaving examination and three years of professional experience, or d) secondary education and four years of professional experience, or e) a professional qualification to pursue the vocation of chemist to operate devices in accordance with a special legal regulation*) and four years of professional experience		for fuel distribution, the customs authority	Act No. 311/2006 Coll., on fuels and service stations and on amendments to certain related Acts (Act on Fuels), as amended *) Act No. 179/2006 Coll., as amended
Generation and distribution of heat not subject to a licence*) from heat sources with an installed capacity per source of more than 50 kW	a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on technical sciences and three years’ professional experience, or b) higher education in a field of study with a technical focus and six years’ professional experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study with a technical focus and six years’ professional experience; for heat sources with an installed capacity of up to 1MW inclusive and a separate heat distribution facility with an installed capacity of up to 1 MW inclusive, the following shall suffice: a) secondary education with a certificate of apprenticeship in a field of study with a technical focus and three years’ professional experience, or b) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the operation of small energy sources, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls	a natural or legal person who applies for a concession and does not hold a licence to produce heat and a licence to distribute heat*) must prove that he/it has the technical attributes required to ensure the performance of the permitted activities**) and that this activity will not endanger the lives and activities of persons, property or interests in environmental protection. A natural or legal person who applies for a concession must have liability insurance.	State Energy Inspectorate	*) Act No 458/2000 on conditions of business and on State administration in the energy sectors and amending certain laws (the Energy Act), as amended **) Section 9 of Decree No 426/2005 on the details of granting licences for business in energy sectors
Road transport - haulage operated by means of motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum permissible weight above 3.5 tonnes, where intended for animal and goods transport; - passenger transport operated by means of vehicles designed for carrying more than 9 persons including the driver, - haulage operated by means of motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum permissible weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes, where intended for animal and goods transport, - passenger transport operated by means of vehicles designed for carrying not more than 9 persons including the driver.	professional competence in accordance with Section 8a of Act No 111/1994 for road haulage operated by means of motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum permissible weight above 3.5 tonnes, where intended for animal and goods transport, as well as for passenger transport operated by means of vehicles designed for carrying more than 9 persons including the driver.		transport authority	Act No 111/1994 on road transport, as amended Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repealing Council Directive 96/26/EC.
Inland water transport	Section 33a of Act No 114/1995 on inland waterways, as amended by Act No 358/1999		Ministry of Transport	Act No 114/1995 on inland waterways, as amended
Check testing of professional equipment for the application of preparations	a) at least secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of plant health, plant protection, cultivation, gardening, hop growing, viticulture, forestry, agricultural or forestry equipment, or general agriculture and three years’ professional experience in the operation and adjustment of product application equipment, or b) at lease secondary education with a school-leaving examination and four years’ experience in the operation and adjustment of product application equipment.	approval of establishment	Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture	Section 65 of Act No 326/2004 on plant health and amending certain related laws, as amended by Act No 199/2012
Pyrotechnical research	a) pyrotechnic authorization*) issued by the district mining authority or b) a certificate of professional competence of the applicant to issue a certificate to carry out a pyrotechnic survey **)	reliability of the entrepreneur or the governing body or members of the governing body***)		*) § 35 and 36 of Act No. 61/1988 Coll. as amended **) § 70f of Act No. 119/2002 Coll. as amended by Act No. 229/2016 Coll. ***) § 1 paragraph 5 of Act No. 451/1991 Coll.
Public auctions - voluntary - compulsory	for voluntary public auctions: a) university education and one year’s experience of auctions or real estate activity, or b) higher education and three years’ experience of auctions or real estate activity, or c) secondary education and five year’s experience of auctions or real estate activity, or d) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and nine years’ experience of auctions or real estate activities, or e) documents under Section 7(5)(j), (k), (l) or (m) of the Trade Licensing Act; for compulsory public auctions: a) university education and three year’s experience of auctions or real estate activity, or b) higher education and four years’ experience of auctions or real estate activity, or c) secondary education and six year’s experience of auctions or real estate activity, or d) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and ten years’ experience of auctions or real estate activities, or e) documents under Section 7(5)(j), (k), (l) or (m) of the Trade Licensing Act		Ministry of Regional Development	Section 6 of Act No 26/2000 on public auctions, as amended by Act No 315/2006
Tour operators - organisation of packages, - – facilitation of linked travel arrangement	a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on tourism, or b) higher education in a field of education focusing on tourism, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of education focusing on tourism, or d) university education and one year’s professional experience, or e) higher education and three years’ professional experience, or f) secondary education with a school-leaving examination and six years’ professional experience, or g) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and six years’ professional experience, or h) evidence of professional qualifications to act as a tour operator in accordance with specific legislation*) and two years’ professional experience i) documents under Section 7(5)(b), (c), (f), (g), (h) or (i) of the Trade Licensing Act		Ministry of Regional Development**)	*) Act No 179/2006 on the certification and recognition of the results of further education and amending certain laws (the Act on the Recognition of Further Education Results) **) Act No 159/1999 on certain conditions for engaging in business in tourism as amended
Security of property and persons	a) university education, or b) higher education in law, security or other similar specialisations, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in security or law and 3 years of professional experience, or d) secondary education with a school-leaving examination, 3 years of professional experience in the field and a certificate of retraining or another document of professional qualification for the relevant work activity issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports or by the ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, or e) secondary education with a school-leaving examination, 3 years of professional experience in the field and professional qualification for the activities of a guard under specific legislation*)	“reliability of the entrepreneur or the governing body or members of the governing body**) and good character of all of the persons carrying out the activity concerned for the entrepreneur (Section 6 (2) of Act No 455/1991, as amended by Act No 155/2010)		*) Act No 179/2006, as amended, **) Section 1(5) of Act No 451/1991.
Private detective services	a) university education and one year’s professional experience, or b) higher education in law, security or other similar specialisations and one year of professional experience in the field, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in security or law and 3 years of professional experience, or d) secondary education with a school-leaving examination, 3 years of professional experience in the field and a certificate of retraining or another document of professional qualification for the relevant work activity issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports or by the ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, or e) secondary education with a school-leaving examination, 3 years of professional experience in the field and professional qualification for the activities of a detective in training under specific legislation*)	“reliability of the entrepreneur or the governing body or members of the governing body**) and good character of all of the persons carrying out the activity concerned for the entrepreneur (Section 6 (2) of Act No 455/1991, as amended by Act No 155/2010)		*) Act No 179/2006, as amended, **) Section 1(5) of Act No 451/1991.
Provision of technical services for the protection of property and persons	a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, telecommunications or information technology and one year’s professional experience, or b) higher education in a field of study focusing on mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, telecommunications or information technology and two years’ professional experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study focusing on mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, telecommunications or information technology and two years’ professional experience, or d) secondary education with a certificate of apprenticeship in a field of study focusing on mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, telecommunications or information technology and three years’ professional experience, or e) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and four years’ professional experience;	the good character of all persons who carry out the relevant activity for the entrepreneur (Section 6 (2) of Act No 455/1991, as amended by Act No 155/2010 Sb.)
Registry management	a) university education and one year’s administrative experience, or b) higher education and two years’ administrative experience, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination and three years’ administrative experience, or d) a retraining certificate or other evidence of professional qualifications for the relevant work activities, issued by an establishment accredited in accordance with specific legislation, or by an establishment accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, or by a ministry in whose purview the sector in which the trade is operated falls, and four years’ administrative experience	approval of an establishment and the good character of all employees (Section 6(2) of Act No 455/1991, as amended by Act No 155/2010)	State Area Archives in the location of the establishment	Section 68(4) of Act No 499/2004 on archiving and the registry service and amending certain laws
Operation of shooting ranges and shooting courses	a) university education in a study programme and study field focusing on the military, the police, or physical culture, physical education and sport and two years’ experience of managing shooting or operating shooting ranges, or b) higher education in a study field focusing on the military, the police, or physical culture, physical education and sport and two years’ experience of managing shooting or operating shooting ranges, or c) secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a field of study focusing on the military or the police and two years’ experience of managing shooting or operating shooting ranges, or d) a shooting judge or trainer certificate and three years’ experience of managing shooting or operating shooting ranges	reliability of the entrepreneur or the governing body or members of the governing body*)		*) Section 1(5) of Act No 451/1991
Operation of funeral establishments	Section 6(2) of Act No 256/2001 on funeral services and amending certain laws, as amended		regional hygiene stations	Section 6(3) of Act No 256/2001 on funeral services and amending certain laws, as amended
Embalming and conserving	Section 10(2) of Act No 256/2001 on funeral services and amending certain laws, as amended		regional hygiene stations	Section 10(4) of Act No 256/2001 on funeral services and amending certain laws, as amended
Operation of crematoriums	Section 13(2) of Act No 256/2001 on funeral services and amending certain laws, as amended		regional hygiene stations	Section 13(3) of Act No 256/2001 on funeral services and amending certain laws, as amended

 
For more information, please contact:
 
JUDr. Mojmír Ježek, Ph.D.
Managing partner
 
ECOVIS ježek, advokátní kancelář s.r.o.
Betlémské nám. 6
110 00 Prague 1
e-mail: mojmir.jezek@ecovislegal.cz
www.ecovislegal.cz/en
 
About ECOVIS ježek advokátní kancelář s.r.o.
The Czech law office in Prague ECOVIS ježek practices mainly in the area of Czech commercial law, Czech real estate law, representation at Czech courts, administrative bodies and arbitration courts, as well as Czech finance and banking law, and provides full-fledged advice in all areas, making it a suitable alternative for clients of international law offices. The international dimension of the Czech legal services provided is ensured through past experience and through co-operation with leading legal offices in most European countries, the US, and other jurisdictions. The Czech lawyers of the ECOVIS ježek team have many years of experience from leading international law offices and tax companies, in providing legal advice to multinational corporations, large Czech companies, but also to medium-sized companies and individual clients. For more information, go to www.ecovislegal.cz/en.

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