Notification of an unqualified trade by foreign nationals
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holders of a Czech permanent residence permit
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holders of a Czech residence permit card of an asylum beneficiary or a beneficiary of subsidiary protection and their family members
Foreign nationals who have been granted permanent residence in Czechia (both EU citizens and third-country nationals) are considered to be Czech natural persons for the purposes of the Trade Licensing Act. The same applies to persons who have been granted international protection and their family members.
Why is a trade licence needed?
Persons wanting to run a business in Czechia are legally required to obtain a licence before they start (for exceptions see below).
Most business activities are ‘trades‘ (živnosti) which are licensed by trade licensing offices (živnostenské úřady).
The trade licence most frequently used is the licence for an ‘unqualified trade’ (volná živnost).
To obtain a licence for an unqualified trade, it is necessary to make a notification of the trade at the trade licensing office.
What is an unqualified trade and what is not?
In order to obtain a licence for an unqualified trade, no proof of professional competence is required.
Within the scope of an unqualified trade, the following activities may typically be carried out:
- intermediation in trade and services (except for intermediation of consumer credit or employment),
- wholesale and retail trade (except for purchase and sale of arms, toxic substances or spirits),
- manufacture of food products (except for manufacture of bakery and confectionery products, ice-creams, beer or preparation and sale of meals and drinks for immediate consumption in the facility in which they are sold),
- software services,
- advisory and consulting activities (except for tax and accounting advisory, legal advice or psychological counselling),
- design (except for construction design),
- translation and interpreting (except for activities of registered interpreters),
- teaching languages,
- bicycle courier services.
The areas/fields of activity pertaining to an unqualified trade are listed in Annex No. 4 of the Trade Licensing Act, detailed descriptions of each area’s content is to be found in Annex No. 4 of the Government Decree on the content of trades.
The activities mentioned in brackets and a number of others either fall within other trades where a proof of professional competence is a condition of getting the licence (e.g. catering services, building construction, sports coaching, massages or truck transport) or they are activities licensed by other authorities (e.g. health and social services, agriculture or generation of and trade in electricity).
No licence is required for:
- letting of property,
- use of the results of intellectual creativity (e.g. artists, journalists or authors of computer programs or databases),
- temporary or occasional (cross-border) provision of services by entrepreneurs from other EU member states.
If you need information on activities licensed by other authorities or on cross-border provision of services, you can learn more from our colleagues at the Point of Single Contact.
How to notify an unqualified trade
The easiest way to submit a notification is to visit any municipal trade licensing office in Czechia.
At the trade licensing office, an officer usually fills in the Single Registration Form electronically. Then the form is printed and the person making the notification (the notifier) checks and signs it.
What documents must be presented to the trade licensing office?
- a proof of identity (identity card, passport, residence permit card),
- a document proving a legal right to use premises in which the registered office of the business (sídlo) in Czechia is located, e.g. a contract of lease (unless it states that the premises cannot be used as a business address) or a written consent of the owner of the premises – to download the specimen of the consent see Živnostenský úřad města Brna (ŽÚmB) => Formuláře a vzory => Specimen – Consent for Registering a Business Address (Registered Office), bilingual CZ-EN; this document is not needed if the registered office address is identical to the address of permanent residence (except when the address of the permanent residence is identical to the address of a resident registration office, a special civil registry or an office of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior),
- a proof of payment of the administrative fee of 1 000 Czech crowns (CZK); after signing the form, the notifier pays the fee at the cash desk of the authority (by cash or card) and presents the receipt to the officer,
- a power of attorney if the notification is made by the notifier’s attorney.
Documents not issued in the Czech language (except for the proofs of identity) must be translated.
An official translation (choose Tlumočníci a překladatelé => Soudní překladatel) will be required only if accuracy of the translation should be questioned. The same applies to the requirements for the verification of signatures and stamp imprints authenticity.
Paper documents should be presented in originals or verified copies, electronic documents should contain either a qualified electronic signature of the person who issued it or an authentication clause on conversion of a paper document into electronic form. Electronic documents can be sent by e-mail directly to the officer at the counter.
What are the time limits for the processing of the notification?
The trade licensing office shall make an entry in the trade licensing register within five working days of making the submission of the notification.
The trade licence becomes effective as of the date of the notification and is valid for an unlimited period of time.
The trade licensing office shall issue the notifier/entrepreneur with an extract from the register (proof of the licence) which includes the unique identification number of the entrepreneur (identifikační číslo osoby – IČO).
The record of the entrepreneur is available on the register’s website immediately after the entry in the register has been made (see www.rzp.cz/portal/en/rejstrik => Find an entrepreneur).
One-stop shop service of Central Registration Point (centrální registrační místo – CRM):
Besides having to get a trade licence, the entrepreneur is also required to make other registrations and notifications related to the day when the entrepreneur decides to start using the trade licence. This day can be identical with the date of making the notification or it can be any following day.
These registrations and notifications are free of charge and can be made together with the notification of a trade licence or anytime later via trade licensing office. The essential obligations are as follows:
- to notify the relevant social security administration of the day of commencing a self-employed activity within 15 days of commencing the activity,
- to notify the relevant public health insurance company of the day of commencing a self-employed activity within 8 days of commencing the activity,
- those who choose to enter the flat-rate tax regime (“paušální režim” or “paušální daň”) must make the above-mentioned notifications as well as notify the relevant tax authority of entering the flat-rate tax regime at latest on the day of commencing the activity.
What to do if I want to stop using the licence?
When the entrepreneur decides not to use the trade licence, he/she can notify the trade licensing office of suspension/interruption of the trade or he/she can request/apply for revocation/termination/cancellation of the trade licence, both of these including compulsory notifications towards other authorities (see “Trade Suspension and Revocation”).
Do you need to learn more? Please see “Useful Links” or contact our employees:
Ms Vendula Podlipná, podlipna.vendula@brno.cz, phone +420 542 173 326
Mr Lukáš Lysoněk, lysonek.lukas@brno.cz, phone +420 542 173 056
Mr Ctirad Los, los.ctirad@brno.cz, phone +420 542 173 344
Ms Adéla Nečasová, necasova.adela@brno.cz, phone +420 542 173 565
Magistrát města Brna (Brno City Municipality)
Živnostenský úřad města Brna (Trade Licensing Office of Brno City)
Malinovského nám. 3, 601 67 Brno, 4th floor
E-mail: zu@brno.cz
Czech website: Živnostenský úřad města Brna (ŽÚmB)
Appointments can be made via www.brno.cz/w/online-objednani-zu => English-speaking clients.