Basic information for notifying a vocational trade

Who must meet the general and specific conditions for carrying on a trade

A natural person must meet the general and specific conditions for carrying on the trade themselves. If the natural person does not meet the specific conditions for carrying on the trade, they must appoint a responsible representative who will meet both the general and specific conditions for carrying on the trade.

In the case of a legal person, the general and special conditions must be met by a responsible representative. A person who is its statutory body or a member of its statutory body and who meets the conditions for performing the function of a responsible representative under the Trade Licensing Act is to be appointed as a responsible representative; if no such person can be appointed as a responsible representative, the entrepreneur appoints another person as a responsible representative.

General conditions for carrying on a trade

The general conditions for carrying on a trade are:

• Full legal capacity, which may be replaced by judicial approval of the consent of a minor’s legal guardian to the independent operation of business
• Good character

Specific conditions for carrying on a trade

Professional competence for vocational trades is to be documented by proof of:

1. Due completion of secondary education with a certificate of apprenticeship in a relevant field of education
2. Due completion of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a relevant field of education, or with vocational training subjects in a relevant field
3. Due completion of higher vocational education in a relevant field of education
4. Due completion of higher education in a relevant degree programme and study field
5. Recognition of professional qualifications issued by the recognition authority pursuant to the Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications
6. Verification or recognition of a full qualification for the relevant field pursuant to the Act on verification and recognition of further education results.

Citizens of the Czech Republic or another Member State of the European Union, as well as persons referred to in Section 70(1) of the Trade Licensing Act, may also prove professional competence:

1. In respect of the trades listed in Part A of Annex 1 to the Trade Licensing Act, by means of the documents specified in Section 7(5)(b), (c) or (e) of the Trade Licensing Act
2. In respect of the trades listed in Part B of Annex 1 to the Trade Licensing Act, by means of the documents specified in Section 7(5)(b), (c), (f) or (h) of the Trade Licensing Act
3. In respect of the trades referred to in Part C of Annex 1 to the Trade Licensing Act, by means of the documents specified in Section 7(5)(j), (k), (l) or (m) of the Trade Licensing Act

Documents proving professional competence pursuant to Section 21 may be replaced by proof of

1. Due completion of secondary education with a certificate of apprenticeship in a related field of education and proof of one year’s experience in the field
2. Due completion of secondary education with a school-leaving examination in a related field of education and proof of one year’s experience in the field
3. Due completion of higher vocational education in a related field of education and proof of one year’s experience in the field
4. Due completion of higher education in a relevant related degree programme and study field
5. Due completion of retraining for 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 carried on falls, and proof of one year’s experience in the field
6. Six years’ experience in the field

Impediments to carrying on a trade

The entrepreneur and their responsible representative (Section 11(3) of the Trade Licensing Act) must not be subject to any of the impediments to carrying on a trade referred to in Section 8 or Section 8a of the Trade Licensing Act (e.g. the penalty or sanction of the prohibition of activity imposed by a court or other administrative authority that relates to carrying on a trade in the field or in a related field for the duration of the penalty).

Administrative fees

• CZK 1 000 for the notification of a trade upon entry into licensed trade.
• CZK 500 for an additional notification of a trade, regardless of how many trades are being notified at the same time.

The fee is charged only once, even if a trade is being notified and a concession is being applied for at the same time. The fee may be paid in cash at the seat of the municipal trade licensing office, by postal order or by bank transfer.

• CZK 50 for the receipt of the submission by the contact point, if the application is submitted through a public administration contact point (the amount of the fee for the notification of a trade or, if relevant, the fee for an additional notification of a trade, remains unchanged).

Time limits

If the conditions that are specified in the Trade Licensing Act for notifying a trade are met, the trade licensing office will make registration in the trade licensing register and issue the entrepreneur an extract within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the notification.

Required particulars of submissions

The required particulars of the notification of a trade and the documents that must be attached to the notification of a trade vary depending on the type of business entity. If you don’t know which part of the required particulars of a submission applies to you, you can determine your business entity type using the link to the guide to determining the type of business entity below.

The required particulars of a submission, broken down by type of entity, are provided under the Required particulars of submissions link.