Are you planning to start a business but are not sure whether registration in the Commercial Register applies to you at all? Or do you want to check out a company before you start working with it? Read on to find out important information and avoid making mistakes.
The Commercial Register (sometimes called the Companies Register) is a public list that includes all the statutory details of companies and certain natural persons. The Commercial Register and the information entered in it are freely accessible and serve to obtain transparent information about business entities.
It can be useful, for example, when you are about to start a business relationship with a company and would like to do a little checking, when you want to apply for a business/corporate bank account as a business entity, or when you want to check who can act for the company.
Not every business entity is obliged to enter its data in the Commercial Register. However, if it belongs to one of the following groups, it should not be missing from the register:
Interesting fact: Unlike natural persons, legal entities that have not been ordered to register in the commercial register by the justice system cannot fall asleep voluntarily. These include municipalities, churches, religious societies, political parties and political movements.
Do you need to prepare detailed documents for a change of registration in the register? Or do you want to know the exact instructions on how to implement and register the changes? We have a wealth of experience with registrations and are happy to help.
I want to help with the enrollment
In addition to the subjects with the obligation to register, the law precisely defines the facts to be recorded. Simply put, all important facts about the company and its bodies must be recorded. Specifically, the following information is recorded:
Are you dealing with the opposite situation where you need to delete data from the Commercial Register? Read our guide.
In addition to the publicly accessible list, the Commercial Register also includes the Collection of Deeds. As the name suggests, the Collection of Deeds records all important documents related to a registered entity. As a rule, these are documents confirming the information entered in the register (e.g. articles of incorporation) and some other important documents (e.g. annual reports or financial statements).
The collection of deeds is part of the Commercial Register. What is required by law to be published and what are the penalties for violation? Important answers can be found in our article.
The Commercial Register and the Collection of Deeds fall under the competence of the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic and are freely accessible in the online version. You can search by the ID number, the name of the entity, or the file mark, if you know it. After entering any of the above-mentioned data, you will get an overview of all entities that match your search. In addition to the name, ID number and file mark, you will also find the registered office, date of registration or information on whether the business entity is in liquidation in the basic overview.
At the same time, you can view a list of all other data (not only the currently valid data, but also all previously entered data) or consult the Collection of Deeds and browse through individual documents. In addition to all of the above-mentioned mandatory data, you will also find information on any insolvencies and foreclosures on shares and liquidations in the extended listing, including important contacts on whom to contact. You can then print out all the information that can be found in the register or save it to your computer as a PDF file.
The Czech Business Register is part of the BRIS (Business Registers Interconnection System) platform, which interconnects the business registers of the EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This information could be useful for readers, especially if they are interested in international business relations.
You may now be wondering what the difference is between the commercial register and the trade register, because at first glance some of the information entered may be similar. Like the commercial register, the trade register is available online. It also records basic information about the business entity, such as the name, registered office, identification number or the subject of the business.
However, the basic difference lies in the entities that are entered in the register. Unlike the Commercial Register, the Trade Register, or more precisely the Register (portal) of Trade Enterprise (RŽP), contains records of all holders of trade licenses, i.e. self-employed persons (self-employed persons). This also applies to those self-employed persons who have terminated their trade or currently have it suspended. Anyone who is granted a trade licence is automatically entered in the trade register. There is therefore no need to apply for registration, as is the case with the commercial register.
The Trade Register, unlike the Commercial Register, is administered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic represented by the Trade Licensing Office of the Czech Republic – and the content, which is publicly available, also differs. You can also consult the Trade Register at any time, but some data will remain confidential. These include, for example, the entrepreneur’s birth number (usually an ID number) or information on fines imposed.
Read also what the Trade Register is and what it is for.
What if you are planning to work with a foreign company and want to get basic information about it? Many other countries offer a company register. Due to the frequent cooperation with our closest neighbours, you may find the Slovak Business Register useful, which is very similar to the Czech one and can also be found online on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic.
The Ministry of Justice also manages the commercial register in Poland. If you are planning to enter the German market, the national company register will be useful. You will have a slightly worse time with our last neighbours. In Austria, access to the commercial register is subject to a fee. The alternative here is commercial databases, which, however, operate on the principle of voluntary entries and therefore do not contain data on all companies.
If your company is taking off and becoming well-known, you shouldn’t underestimate trademark registration.
Incorrect or even incomplete entries in the register can bring you not only a lot of inconvenience, but also a fine. We will be happy to help you with the preparation of the documents and with the actual registration in the Commercial Register so that everything goes legally without any complications. We can handle it online and tailor it to your exact needs.
Learn how corporate criminal liability works and how corporate punishment is carried out.
The Public Commercial Register is a key tool for tracking information about companies, entrepreneurs and other entities that must be entered in it. It allows anyone to verify, for example, the ownership structure of a company, its statutory bodies or its financial statements. Entries in the register are subject to statutory rules and can be made either by a court or by a notary.
Correct entry and verification of the data in the register are important not only for entrepreneurs, but also for business partners, investors or the public. If you are not sure how to proceed with the registration or change of data, it is worth contacting a professional to help you with the process.
The registry court generally has to make a decision within 5 working days of the filing (or payment of the fee or receipt of the amended petition). In the case of “direct” registrations by a notary public, the registration takes place without proceedings, the notary checks the documents and registers.
Yes, if the average of their revenues/income (excluding VAT) for 2 consecutive accounting periods reaches or exceeds 120 million CZK. CZK. They must then submit the entry without undue delay, no later than 15 days from the date on which the obligation arose.
You can check the insolvency in the official Insolvency Register (ISIR) at justice.cz.
“Valid data” = current status only; “full listing” = complete change history. You can get both online.
Typically, long-term failure to file financial statements in the Collection of Documents (fines of up to CZK 100,000 and, in extreme cases, initiation of annulment proceedings), inconsistency of data with the facts (authorities, manner of conduct) or ignoring court summonses.
We will enter the Commercial Register or arrange any changes for you. With us, you can be sure that the registration will go smoothly and on the first try. We act quickly, professionally and at upfront prices. You can only pay after the service has been provided.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
In person and online. Just choose the appropriate service or opt for an independent consultation when you are unsure.
