The Disabled Persons’ Card, a card for people with particularly severe disabilities, can be a vital tool for many people with disabilities to make life easier. It allows for certain benefits, from free transport to mobility allowances, but there are several conditions that must be met to obtain it and it is certainly not automatic. In this article, we explain in detail who is eligible for a disability card, how it is processed and what is needed to apply.
Do you need to check your application, complete the supporting documents or lodge an appeal? As part of our socio-legal advice service, we will assess your situation, prepare the way forward and assist you in the subsequent administrative or legal proceedings.
A ZTP (Severely Disabled Persons) card is a type of card for a person with a disability (PWD). The Czech legal system recognizes three types of these cards. The division reflects the degree of limitation in mobility or orientation, and has a direct impact on the benefits that the card holder receives. These passes replace the former designation of ‘Extraordinary Benefits Pass’. Since 2014, they have taken the form of a plastic card with security features. It is issued by the Labour Office of the Czech Republic.
| Type of card | To whom it typically corresponds | Practical impact |
|---|---|---|
| TP | moderate functional impairment of mobility or orientation | reserved seating, priority for face-to-face discussion of longer matters |
| DISABILITY | severe functional mobility or orientation impairment | tP benefits + free local public transport + 75% discount on selected national trains and buses |
| DISABILITY/P | particularly severe or total mobility/orientation impairment requiring a guide | disability benefits + free transport of a guide or guide dog within the legal limits |
The Disabled Persons’ Permit is granted to people with severe disabilities that substantially limit their ability to move or orient themselves. This may include:
The decisive factor is the assessment of the medical condition according to the Decree on the implementation of certain provisions of the Act on the provision of benefits to disabled persons. The latter defines the degree of functional impairment of each organ system. It is therefore not a question of a specific diagnosis, but of the extent to which the condition limits the ability to move or orient oneself independently.
The condition is that the impairment lasts for more than one year or is intended to remain permanently. The Institute assesses the condition on the basis of expert medical documentation to determine whether the condition is actually severe enough.
As part of our socio-legal counselling service, we will assess your situation, prepare the way forward and assist you in the subsequent administrative or court proceedings.
Getting a disability card is an administrative process that starts with an application for a disability card at the labour office of your place of residence. The process is not completed immediately; how long it takes to obtain a disability card depends on the individual case and the quality of the documentation provided. It usually takes several weeks to several months.
The application for a disability card is made on a prescribed form, which can be obtained in person at a branch of the Labour Office or downloaded online from the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
We recommend that you attach medical reports and up-to-date opinions from specialist doctors (e.g. neurologist, psychiatrist, orthopaedic surgeon, etc.) and other documents that prove your disability and the extent of your limitations in everyday life.
It is definitely worthwhile to include the disability diagnoses, i.e. the specific health problems for which you are applying. These include severe mobility problems, neurological conditions, sensory impairments, intellectual disabilities or a combination of multiple impairments.
If you are unsure which medical reports to include and how to describe the medical limitations in your application, it is worth having your submission reviewed by an attorney beforehand. With a disability card, it is often not just the medical condition itself that determines whether the supporting documents are properly ordered, up-to-date and sufficiently specific. This is what our socio-legal advice helps with.
The regional branch of the Labour Office will request an assessment from the Institute for Health Assessment for the procedure for the PWD card. The latter will assess whether the criteria for granting the card are met and what level is appropriate – TP (severe disability), ZTP (particularly severe disability) or ZTP/P (particularly severe disability with the need for a guide).
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The doctor will assess the medical condition based on the documentation provided, but may also request additional medical examinations. He or she will then decide whether you are entitled to a disability card and, if so, for how long (for example, 1-5 years, or, in exceptional cases, permanently). The card itself has a maximum validity of 5 years for people under 18 and 10 years for adults.
On the basis of the assessment , the Labour Office will issue a decision to grant the TP, ZTP or ZTP/P card or to reject the application. In the event of a refusal, you have the right to appeal within 15 days of the date of receipt of the decision. The appeal is sent via the Labour Board to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which will decide in the second instance.
If the office issues a positive decision, you will receive a plastic disability card, which replaces the previous paper versions. For people with disabilities, it is also possible to apply for a parking card, which allows the use of reserved parking spaces.
The process usually takes between 60 and 90 days from the date of application. However, the time limit can be extended, for example if documentation is missing or if further medical examination is needed. In exceptional cases, the card may be granted temporarily, usually for a period of several years, after which you must apply for a review and renew the card.
The Disabled Persons’ Card is issued for an administrative fee of CZK 30 and the parking card is issued free of charge.
In many cases, the card is issued for a certain period of time, most often between 1 and 5 years. This applies mainly to medical conditions that may improve over time with treatment or rehabilitation, or worsen, and the degree of disability needs to be reassessed periodically. The card itself has a maximum validity of 5 years for persons under 18 and 10 years for adults.
Typical examples of diagnoses with temporary validity are: multiple sclerosis (with varying courses), cancer (before and after treatment), rheumatoid arthritis (in the most severe stages), severe injuries or post-surgical conditions (where the long-term outlook is unknown), mental illnesses whose stability may vary.
Typical examples of diagnoses with permanent validity: amputation of limbs without the possibility of replacement, paraplegia and quadriplegia (permanent paralysis), congenital or severe combined defects, total blindness or deafness, severe intellectual disability that makes independent living impossible.
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If your application for a disabled person’s card is refused, you can appeal. The time limit for filing an appeal is 15 days from the date of receipt of the decision. The appeal must be submitted to the Labour Office, which will forward the application to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which will carry out a review.
The appeal should include new medical reports or point out omissions. If the review fails, the matter can still be resolved by an administrative action before the regional court. We will be happy to help you with your appeal and appeal.
Mrs. Nováková contacted us after her Disability Disability Card was denied, even though she had been treated for a neurological condition for a long time and could only manage to move very short distances and with support outdoors. Her original application had included basic medical reports but lacked a clear description of the practical effects of the condition on her mobility and orientation.
We first reviewed with the client what documentation was already on file and identified what was missing. We then recommended the addition of up-to-date specialist reports and prepared the appeal so that it was clear that this was not just a ‘diagnosis on paper’ but a specific limitation in her ability to move about routinely outside the home. In cases like this, the problem most often turns out not to be that the client objectively does not meet the conditions, but that the supporting documentation is not convincing or specific enough.
Accessible Advocate Recommendation:
A disability licence is not an automatic entitlement based on diagnosis, but the result of an administrative process that assesses the actual impact of the condition on mobility and orientation. The basic rules are based on Act No 329/2011 Coll., the implementing decree and current information from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Labour Office. The application should therefore be prepared carefully, with an emphasis on up-to-date expert reports and a specific description of practical limitations.
A person over 1 year of age whose long-term adverse health condition substantially limits mobility or orientation.
It’s not enough. What is crucial is the functional impact of the condition on normal movement and orientation.
At the contact office of the regional branch of the Labour Office according to the place of permanent residence, or electronically according to the instructions of the MLSA.
An administrative fee of CZK 30 is charged for the issuance of the card.
For example, free local public transport and a 75% discount on selected national train and bus services.
File a timely appeal and ideally complete new or more accurate medical reports. This may be followed by an administrative action.
Have you applied for sickness, maternity, parental allowance or other benefit and instead of the expected support, you received a rejection? Or were you awarded a benefit in a lower amount than is appropriate for your situation?
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