Check the uniqueness of the company’s name
Agency: Ministry of Justice
Business founders can verify the uniqueness of their company’s name on a database on the Ministry of Justice’s Website (www.justice.cz).
Time and cost: Less than 1 day (online procedure), no charge
Notarize Articles of Association and Lease Agreement
Agency: Public Notary
The notary prepares the articles of association according to the founders’ requirements, and the notary is responsible for the compliance of the contents of the company’s articles of association with Czech law.
Certain notaries require the following documents before executing the articles of association:
- An affidavit from the company managers.
- Building lease agreement, or ownership extract from the Real Estate Register, for the premises of the company’s headquarters.
For the articles of association of a simple limited liability company, the cost of notarization is CZK 2,000.
In addition, if each founder wants their own original copy, then the cost is CZK 100 per page. Alternatively, instead of original copy a founder can ask for a certified copy and the cost would be 30 CZK per page. These costs are optional, and up to each founder to incur.
The company must also certify its building lease agreement by a public notary. The cost to certify the lease agreement is CKZ 30 +21% VAT with a notary.
Time and cost: 1 day, see procedure details
Obtain confirmation of the administrator of the capital contribution of the company, along with the confirmation of the bank that the capital contribution is held in the company’s special bank account
Agency: Bank
Until the company is registered, the paid-in capital is typically blocked in the special bank account. Opening a special bank account can costs as much as CZK 5,000, though most banks open special accounts for free on the condition that the company will continue to bank with them after the incorporation. Banks typically require notarized articles of association to open a corporate bank account.
Time and cost: 2 days, no charge
Register with the Trade Licensing Office and obtain extract of the trade license
Agency: Trade License Office
The company must register its business activities with the Trade License Office to obtain an extract of its trade license. The required documents are as follows:
- Application for registration;
- Memorandum of association if the company has been founded but not yet established (i.e. registered with the Commercial Register);
- Proof of legal use of premises (i.e. a notarized copy of the premises lease agreement);
- Proof of payment of the administrative fee.
The application form may be accessed online at: http://www.rzp.cz/elpod.html
The Trade License Office must complete the registration process within 5 working days from the day when all required documents were submitted, and typically does so in 1-2 days. After the completion of the registration process, the Trade License Office issues the excerpt of the trade license register which is either picked-up personally by the applicant at the Trade License Office, delivered by post mail, or delivered to an electronic data box.
Time and cost: 2 days, CZK 1000
Register in the Business Registry of the Regional Commercial Court through a notary
Agency: Business (Commercial) Registry of the Regional Commercial Court
To register a new company in the Commercial Register, an application must be submitted to the relevant court administering the register. This can be done in person or through a notary.
Notaries are able to register a limited liability company’s (s.r.o.) information into the commercial register online, at the cost of CZK 2700. The cost of notary services is about CSK 1300 for this procedure.
Registering the business in person is more costly and takes more time. The registration has a cost of CZK 6000 paid in the form of stamps. The time limit for the court to decide on registration is 5 business days, which stretches to 7 calendar days in the event application is filed after Monday.This application must be completed on a standard form (accessed at: http://www.rzp.cz/elpod.html http://epodatelna.justice.cz/ePodatelna/epo1200new/technicke_parametry.jsp) and signed by all first directors of the company (or their proxy, if applicable) before a notary.
The required documents are as follows:
- Application form;
- Notarized articles of association;
- Notarized lease of the premises in which company headquarters are located;
- A confirmation from the administrator of the contributions into the company’s registered capital confirming that each founder paid up at least 30% of his or her monetary capital contribution and that the total paid up capital contribution is at least CZK 1;
- A confirmation from the relevant bank that the capital contributions are held in the company’s special bank account for the registered capital;
- Biographic data on the company managers/executive.
Time and cost: 1 day, CZK 1,300 for the notary fee about registration.
No court fee for simple limited liability companies (CZK 2,700 registration fee at the court applies for other limited liability companies).
Register for income tax and VAT
Agency: Tax Office
The deadline for income tax registration is 15 days from the company incorporation. Other deadlines are as follows:
- Withholding tax and payroll tax registration: 8 days;
- VAT obligatory registration: 15 days following the end of month in which the conditions are met, or in certain cases, within 15 days following the date when the company automatically becomes a VAT payer;
- VAT voluntary registration: submit the registration at any time.
Upon submitting the application for income tax registration, the company receives a tax identification number (same number as for the VAT and the income tax).
In accordance with Section 6(1) of Act No. 235/2004, on Value Added Tax, a company must register to pay VAT exceeds it its turnover exceeds CZK 1,000,000 over the last 12 months.
Pursuant to the amendment to Section 72 (4) of the Tax Code, starting January 1, 2015 companies are required to submit tax registration and tax returns (for income tax and VAT) via the electronic data box. Previously online tax registration was not compulsory. The tax form is accessible online at: https://adisepo.mfcr.cz/adistc/adis/idpr_pub/dpr/uvod.faces
Time and cost: 2-3 weeks, no charge
Register beneficial owners with the local registry court
Agency: Local court registry
As of 1 January 2018, a limited liability company has to register its beneficial owner in the respective registration court. The application has to be filed with a specific form. It can either be submitted in electronic form, or it can be printed and sent to the Registry Court in paper form. After filling in and saving the form, the user also gets a unique identifier for the real owner. The completed form must be addressed to the local court of registry – in which district the registered entity is located. The court has a time limit of 5 business days for the registration. Until the end of year 2018, there was no administrative / court registration fee; however, since 2019 the registration for legal entities that are registered in the commercial register is subject to administrative registration fee of CZK 1,000. For other entities and trusts, the registration is free. More information is accessible through: https://issm,justice.cz/
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure), CZK 1,000
Register for social security
Agency: Social Security Administration
The company must register for the social security registration (which is referred to in Czech law as “the Register of Employers”) within 8 days of the date when the first employee starts work. Application for the Register of Employers may be submitted either online through a data box or in person. After the registration is completed, most of the further documents which are required by the Social Security administration may be submitted online through a data box or a different online platform. The application form is available on the following website: http://www.cssz.cz/cz/tiskopisy/nemocenske-pojisteni.htm
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure), no charge
Register for health insurance
Agency: Health Insurance companies
The company must register for the health insurance registration within 8 days of the date when the first employee starts work. It is possible to do so online, although each health insurance company has its own website. Applications can be submitted through the data box, or in person.
the most common (state-owned) Health Insurance Provide in the Czech Republic:
http://www.vzp.cz/platci/tiskopisy/prihlaska-a-evidencni-list-zamestnavatele
http://www.vzp.cz/platci/tiskopisy/hromadne-oznameni-zamestnavatele
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure), no charge
