🇨🇿 Public registers in the Czech Republic

Overview

The Czech Republic maintains a multi-layered and interconnected ecosystem of official registers, with both generic and domain-specific systems.

At its center are the Public Register (Veřejný rejstřík) and the Trade Licensing Register (RŽP), complemented by specialized registers, related for instance to insolvency, VAT, or beneficial owners.

Transparency on legal entities information is relatively high: company constitutions, governance, and annual financial statements are filed publicly and searchable online, and information is generally free to access. As is often the case, following EU-wide developments, access to UBO data is restricted.

Official Registers

Public Register (Veřejný rejstřík)

The Public Register is the umbrella system of official registers, maintained electronically by the registry courts and published on Justice.cz. It is governed by Act No. 304/2013 on Public Registers of Legal and Natural Persons.

It includes several sub-registers:

• Collection of Deeds (Sbírka listin) – repository of underlying legal documents (articles of association, financial accounts, minutes, notarial deeds, transformation projects, pledges).
• Business Register (Obchodní rejstřík) – covers commercial companies (s.r.o., a.s., cooperatives, partnerships).
• Register of Associations (Spolkový rejstřík) – non-profit associations and unions.
• Register of Foundations (Nadační rejstřík) – foundations and endowment funds.
• Register of Institutes (Rejstřík ústavů) – public-benefit institutes.
• Register of Unit Owners’ Associations (Rejstřík společenství vlastníků jednotek, SVJ) – homeowners’ associations.
• Register of Public Benefit Corporations (rejstřík o.p.s.) – legacy form that remain accessible.

The Public Register offers a free online search for any entity by IČO, name, or file number. All filed documents, including annual accounts, are viewable free of charge. Certified extracts (výpis) are available for a modest fee via Czech POINT branches or registry courts.

A principle of material publicity applies to the Public Register and its components: third parties may rely on information published in the register, and companies are bound by what is disclosed there.

Trade Licensing Register (RŽP – Živnostenský rejstřík)

The RŽP records all entrepreneurs (natural and legal persons) operating under the Czech Trade Licensing Act. It is managed by local Trade Licensing Offices and coordinated centrally by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. It is searchable for free at rzp.gov.cz.

The Trade Licensing Register includes:

• Identification of the sole trader or entity.
• Scope of licensed trades (free, craft, regulated).
• Establishments (addresses, branch details).
• Licence validity, suspensions, or cancellations.

Basic Registers (Základní registry)

The Basic Registers form the digital backbone of Czech public administration, ensuring consistent, authoritative reference data across systems. Operated locally under the Ministry of the Interior, they feed data automatically into other registers (including the Public Register and RŽP).

Key basic registers relevant to company data:

• ROS – Register of Persons (Registr osob): authoritative list of legal and natural persons.
• RÚIAN – Register of Territorial Identification, Addresses and Real Estate (Registr územní identifikace, adres a nemovitostí): provides standardised addresses and territorial codes.
• ROB – Register of Inhabitants (Registr obyvatel): identification data on natural persons; relevant when they are statutory representatives of a business.

As examples: (1) when a company changes its seat or address, it is updated automatically from RÚIAN into the Public Register; (2) when a legal representative changes their personal data, the update propagates from ROB into the Public Register without requiring manual filings.

Such a tightly integrated register backbone is an asset for Czech Republic, as it reduces inconsistency and ensures legal certainty across databases.

Other Notable Registers

• ARES (Administrative Register of Economic Entities) – aggregator website operated by the Ministry of Finance that consolidates data from the Public Register, RŽP, VAT records, and basic registers. Free to search; APIs available.
• UBO Register (Evidence skutečných majitelů) – mandatory for all legal entities, but full access restricted to obliged entities or those with legitimate interest.
• VAT Registers – maintained by the Tax Administration; provide VAT status, “unreliable payer” listings, and published bank accounts.
• Insolvency Register (ISIR) – Ministry of Justice portal for insolvency proceedings, updated in near real time.

Registration and publication requirements

Business registration obligations

Commercial companies (s.r.o., a.s., k.s., v.o.s., družstvo) must be registered in the Business Register.

As for sole traders (živnostníci), those operating under a trade licence are listed in RŽP, not in the Business Register, unless they opt in or are required to register because of size, e.g. exceeding thresholds, VAT payer with accounting obligations.

Micro-entrepreneurs without a trade activity, e.g., agricultural or liberal professions outside the trade regime, may not appear in either RŽP or the Public Register.

Financial reporting

Private limited companies (s.r.o.) and joint-stock companies (a.s.) have a general obligation to prepare and file annual accounts with the Collection of Deeds (Act on Accounting + Act on Public Registers). This also applies to cooperatives and many other legal entities.

Notably: micro-entities can file in a simplified form; while sole traders unregistered in the Public Register do not file accounts there.

Annual accounts of registered legal entities are public. Anyone can view them in the Collection of Deeds online at Justice.cz; certified copies are available via Czech POINT.

Non-filing is not uncommon among small and medium enterprises, but courts can impose fines or dissolve dormant companies.

Obligations for not-for profits entities

The general rule is that non-commercial entities must register in their respective sub-registers under the umbrella Public Register:

• Associations (spolky): must register in the Register of Associations (sub-register of Public Register).
• Foundations and endowment funds: registered in the Nadační rejstřík.
• Institutes (ústavy): in the Rejstřík ústavů.
• Homeowners’ associations (SVJ): in their own register.

Those entities must file annual accounts: if they are accounting units under the Accounting Act. In this case, accounts are then filed into the Collection of Deeds and are public.

UBO Obligations

All legal entities registered in the Public Register must also register their ultimate beneficial owners in the Beneficial Owners Register (Evidence skutečných majitelů).

Sole traders without employees or complex ownership are generally out of scope. For not-for profits, UBO registration applies if the entity has a beneficial owner (e.g. foundation controllers).

Since a 2022 CJEU judgment, public access is restricted:

• Public can see only very limited details (name, month/year of birth, country of residence).
• Full details are available only to obliged persons or with a “legitimate interest”.

With Topograph

Topograph integrates with Czech registers, consolidating data from ARES, Justice.cz and RŽP, enabling real-time KYB coverage and automated compliance workflows. Topograph company information is available through an API and a web app.

Available data

Company profile

• Company name and commercial name
• Company address
• Registation number (dic, ico)
• Legal form
• Registration status and date of registration
• Capital
• Activity sector (ISIC / NACE) when provided (depends on legal form)

Legal representatives

• Names of directors / statutory bodies
• Roles and manner of representation

Ultimate beneficial owners (UBO)

• Names and identifiers (restricted)
• Nature and extent of ownership/control (full data only for entitled users)

Access is subject to individual requests for legitimate interest.

Available documents

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