How to set up a trade licence online from home

A trade licence from the sofa: today it really works

Say that on Sunday evening you get an idea: you will start an e-shop with hand-knitted baskets. Ten years ago you would have had to take time off work, find the Trade Licensing Office opening hours and stand in a queue. Today, you open a laptop, log in with bank identity and notify the trade before your tea gets cold.

Online notification works thanks to three connected things: the Trade Business Portal (RŽP), the Single Registration Form (JRF) and electronic proof of identity. When they fit together, one filing handles the trade licence, social security and health insurance at once.

What to prepare before you start

You need one thing above all: the ability to prove your identity electronically. Citizen Identity (the NIA system) is used for this. Choose one of the tools:

• Bank identity (Bank iD) - you log in as to internet banking. This is the simplest route for most people.
• Mobile Key of eGovernment - a phone app in which you confirm login.
• NIA ID - username, password and SMS code. It works, but is slower.
• eObčanka - a new identity card with a chip (issued after 1 July 2018) plus a card reader.

Note: mojeID from CZ.NIC used to be a popular Citizen Identity method. Before online filing, check at rzp.gov.cz which methods are currently supported; the offer changes occasionally.

Also prepare:

1. Object of business. Will it be an unrestricted trade (over 80 fields, no qualification proven), or a craft, regulated or concession trade? For the non-unrestricted types you document professional competence: apprenticeship certificate, diploma, practice.
2. Registered seat (sídlo). If it is somewhere other than your permanent residence, you need a document proving the legal reason for using the premises. For someone else's property, the owner's written consent to placing the seat is enough. For a self-employed person's notification, Section 46 of the Trade Licensing Act does not require the owner's officially verified signature or a maximum age of 3 months; that applies only to entry of a seat in a public register (Section 14 of Act No. 304/2013 Coll.), typically for legal persons. You do not document consent for the address on your ID card.
3. Start date. You can start immediately or choose a later date.

What about the data box (datová schránka)? This is a common misunderstanding. The data box for an entrepreneurial natural person is created automatically only after you receive IČO. For the very first notification you therefore usually do not have it yet; rely on Citizen Identity. The data box comes later: authorities will deliver to it preferentially and you will use it to report changes.

Step by step: online notification through RŽP

1. Log in at rzp.gov.cz, or through the Citizen Portal, using Citizen Identity.
2. Open the service "Trade notification or change". The electronic JRF starts.
3. Fill in personal details and object(s) of business. For the unrestricted trade, choose fields from the list; you can tick several at once and the fee stays the same.
4. Enter the registered seat and start date.
5. Fill in the ČSSZ and health insurance sections too. This is the point of JRF: you notify commencement of independent gainful activity and register for insurance at the same time.
6. Submit the filing, either directly from the application or by downloading the form and sending it by data box to the office.
7. Pay the administrative fee. For electronic filing it is 800 Kč (1,000 Kč minus the 20 % discount). The office usually sends payment details.
8. Wait for entry. If the notification is defect-free, the office enters you in the Trade Register within 5 working days and assigns IČO.
9. Download the extract from the Trade Register. It is publicly available at rzp.gov.cz and proves your authorisation; it replaced the old "živnostenský list".

Tip: For a Czech citizen, the office verifies good standing itself in the Criminal Register. You do not submit the extract.

Why online and not in person? Three clear reasons

You save money. Electronic filing in JRF format means a 20 % discount from the administrative fee. From 1,000 Kč it becomes 800 Kč.

You save time and nerves. No queue and no opening hours. You can fill in the form at ten in the evening or at the weekend, and return to it the next day if unsure.

You handle more things at once. Through JRF, you deal with the trade licence, ČSSZ and health insurance company in one filing. The office passes the data on.

For comparison, CzechPOINT contact points (post office, municipal office, notary) also accept filings, but you pay an extra 50 Kč for acceptance at the contact point and do not receive the electronic-form discount.

What to watch out for

Deadlines still apply. Even if you register social security and health insurance through JRF, watch the statutory deadlines. Commencement of activity must be notified to ČSSZ by the 8th day of the following month and to the health insurance company within 8 days. If for some reason the JRF notification does not transfer, you must notify the institution directly.

You no longer deal with income tax registration. Registration of self-employed people for income tax was abolished from 1 January 2024. A beginning sole trader does not register for income tax at the tax office; they only file a tax return later. VAT and flat-rate tax have separate regimes.

Watch the data box. Once it is created after IČO assignment, authorities begin delivering there. Deemed delivery applies: if you do not log in, a message is deemed delivered on the tenth day even if you have not read it. Turn on e-mail or SMS notifications.

Advance payments start immediately. For main activity, minimum advances are paid from the start. For 2026, the minimum social insurance advance is 5,005 Kč/month (from 1 July 2026; until 30 June 2026 it was 5,720 Kč) and health insurance is 3,306 Kč/month. Verify current amounts with ČSSZ and your health insurance company. A beginning self-employed person has a lower social advance in the first years.

For crafts, allow for attachments. An unrestricted trade can be notified in a few clicks. For craft, regulated or concession trades, you attach documents proving professional competence, and preparation takes more time.

Summary

Online trade notification is now the fastest and cheapest route. You need Citizen Identity, ideally bank identity, a prepared object of business and a resolved registered seat. You fill in one form, JRF, at rzp.gov.cz, pay 800 Kč with the discount and within 5 working days receive IČO and an extract. The data box comes automatically later.