Activities of information and news agencies

The activities of information and news agencies is field no. 57 of the unqualified (free) trade. It requires no professional qualification; it is enough to meet the general conditions under Section 6 of the Trade Licensing Act and the licence arises on the very day of notification (Section 10(1)(a) of Act No. 455/1991 Coll.).

Conditions for operating

Full legal capacity (Section 6(1)(a) of Act No. 455/1991 Coll.; may be substituted by the court's approval of the legal representative's consent for a minor).
A clean criminal record (Section 6(1)(b) and Section 6(2) of the Trade Licensing Act; evidenced by an extract from the Criminal Records Register, which the office obtains itself).
Professional qualification is NOT evidenced - this is an unqualified (free) trade under Annex 4 to the Trade Licensing Act.
Absence of obstacles to operating a trade under Section 8 of the Trade Licensing Act (e.g. a court-imposed ban on activity or the statutory consequences of insolvency).
For legal entities and where the entrepreneur does not personally meet one of the conditions, a responsible representative may be appointed under Section 11 (one person may perform this function for at most 4 entrepreneurs).
For foreigners and persons without permanent residence in the Czech Republic, a clean criminal record is also proven by a document from the home state (Section 6(3) in conjunction with Section 46(1) of the Trade Licensing Act).

Examples of activities

Operating an information office providing information to the public and to entrepreneurs
Operating a news (press) agency that collects and disseminates news
Collecting, sorting and processing information from public and open sources
Providing overviews, research summaries and digests of information to order
Brokering and reselling a news service to subscribers
Providing supporting administrative activities related to running the office
Media monitoring and compiling press overviews from available sources
Operating an information desk or a tourist information centre

What the trade is and what it is for

The trade Activities of information and news agencies (field no. 57 of the unqualified trade) covers the operation of information and news agencies, including the provision of supporting administrative activities related to their running. It involves the collection, sorting, processing and dissemination of information and news from publicly available sources and its provision to customers - individuals, firms and subscribers to a news service.

This trade serves anyone who wishes to operate an information office, a press or news agency, an information desk, or to provide research summaries and overviews of information to order. Because it is an unqualified (free) trade (Annex 4 to the Trade Licensing Act), no education or experience is proven for its performance.

What falls under this trade (and what does not)

The trade includes in particular:

the operation of information and news (press) agencies and offices,
the collection, sorting and processing of information from publicly available sources,
the provision of overviews, research summaries and digests of information to order,
the brokering and reselling of a news service to subscribers,
supporting administrative activities connected with running the office.

What does not fall under this trade: the activity does not include radio and television news coverage, nor the work of journalists in the sense of the use of the results of intellectual creative activity by their originators and authors. One's own authorial creation (writing articles, reportages) is the exercise of intellectual-property rights, not a trade. The operation of radio and television broadcasting is subject to separate regulation under special legislation. If you wished to operate a detective service or the tracing of persons and property, that is a separate licensed (concession) trade (Annex 3 to the Trade Licensing Act), not this field.

Conditions for obtaining the trade under the law

As this is an unqualified (free) trade (Annex 4 to the Trade Licensing Act), it is enough to meet only the general conditions under Section 6 of Act No. 455/1991 Coll.:

full legal capacity (Section 6(1)(a)) - may be substituted by the court's approval of the legal representative's consent for a minor,
a clean criminal record (Section 6(1)(b) and Section 6(2)) - assessed on the basis of an extract from the Criminal Records Register, which the office obtains itself. For foreigners and persons without permanent residence in the Czech Republic it is also proven by a document from the home state (Section 6(3)).

In addition, there must be no obstacle to operating the trade under Section 8 of the Trade Licensing Act (e.g. a ban on activity in the field imposed by a court or administrative body, or the statutory consequences of insolvency).

Professional qualification is not evidenced - for an unqualified trade the law requires neither education nor experience. That is the main advantage of this field.

Responsible representative (Section 11): a legal entity and a natural person who cannot or does not wish to carry out the trade personally may appoint a responsible representative. They must meet the general conditions under Section 6; for an unqualified trade they need not evidence professional qualification. One person may perform the function of responsible representative for at most 4 entrepreneurs.

How to notify or obtain the trade step by step

An unqualified trade is notified and the licence arises on the day of notification (Section 10(1)(a) of the Trade Licensing Act), provided the statutory conditions are met.

Fill in the Unified Registration Form (URF). With a single form you arrange the notification of the trade as well as registration for tax, social and health insurance.
Submit the notification. The options are: any Trade Licensing Office (municipal trade licensing office), electronically via the rzp.gov.cz portal, or at a Czech POINT contact point.
Provide the necessary details - identity and, where applicable, a document relating to the registered office or business premises; the office verifies the clean criminal record itself. For an unqualified trade you state in the notification the specific fields of activity you will carry out (Section 45(4)).
Pay the administrative fee - CZK 1,000 for notification, or CZK 800 for electronic submission.
Await the entry. The Trade Licensing Office makes the entry in the Trade Register within 5 working days of delivery of the notification.

Important: the trade licence for an unqualified trade arises already on the day of notification (Section 10(1)(a)) if you meet the conditions, not only upon the entry. You will find a detailed procedure in the guide How to set up a trade.

Documents and fees

Unified Registration Form (URF) - notification of the trade.
Identity document (identity card; a travel document for foreigners).
Document relating to the registered office / business premises, if the office requires it.
Clean criminal record - the office obtains the extract from the Criminal Records Register itself (for foreigners and persons without permanent residence, a document from the home state).
Administrative fee: CZK 1,000 for notification, CZK 800 electronically.
Extension by a further field of the unqualified trade is free of charge (CZK 0) - several fields may also be notified at once for a single fee.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need any education or experience for this trade?

No. This is an unqualified (free) trade, for which professional qualification is not evidenced. It is enough to meet the general conditions under Section 6 - full legal capacity and a clean criminal record.

May I add other fields of the unqualified trade to this field?

Yes. The unqualified trade is a single trade with 80 fields of activity. Several fields may be notified at once for one administrative fee, and a later extension by a further field is free of charge (CZK 0).

When may I start doing business?

For an unqualified trade the licence arises already on the day of notification (Section 10(1)(a) of the Trade Licensing Act) if you meet the conditions. For the entry in the register itself the office has a time limit of 5 working days.

May I write my own newspaper articles under this field?

One's own journalistic and authorial creation is not the substance of this trade - it is the exercise of intellectual-property rights. This field covers the operation of an information/news agency and the dissemination of information, not authorial creation.

Does detective tracing or the monitoring of persons fall under this field?

No. The tracing of persons and property is a separate licensed (concession) trade (Annex 3 to the Trade Licensing Act). This field concerns information from publicly available sources, not private investigation.