Manufacture of plastic and rubber products

An unqualified (free) trade (field No. 19) for the manufacture and processing of products made of plastics and rubber. No professional qualification is required - meeting the general conditions under Section 6 of the Trade Licensing Act is sufficient. The trade licence comes into existence on the day of notification.

Conditions for operating

Full legal capacity (usually from the age of 18; exceptionally from the age of 16 with the court's consent) - Section 6(1)(a) of the Trade Licensing Act.
Clean criminal record (integrity) - Section 6(1)(b); for Czech citizens the office obtains the extract from the Criminal Records Register itself.
Professional qualification is NOT documented - this is an unqualified (free) trade (Annex No. 4 to Act No. 455/1991 Coll.); no education or experience is proven.
The entrepreneur must not be subject to any obstacle to operating a trade under Section 8 (in particular certain situations connected with bankruptcy or insolvency or a ban on activity imposed by a court). Note: tax arrears, health insurance or social security arrears are not in themselves an obstacle to obtaining a trade licence.
The option to appoint a responsible representative under Section 11 (voluntary for a natural person; a legal person appoints one if it does not have a natural person authorised to act on its behalf who meets the conditions). One person may act as responsible representative for no more than 4 entrepreneurs (Section 11(1)).

Examples of activities

Plastic injection moulding and pressing of plastic parts
Manufacture of rubber seals, gaskets and O-rings
Manufacture of plastic packaging, films, bags and cups
Extrusion of plastic profiles, pipes and hoses
Blow moulding of plastic bottles and hollow bodies
Manufacture of plastic parts for the automotive and engineering industries
Rubber regeneration and processing, manufacture of rubber mats and hoses
Manufacture of plastic windows, doors and building elements from plastics

What the trade is and what it is for

The trade Manufacture of plastic and rubber products is field No. 19 of the unqualified (free) trade under Annex No. 4 to Act No. 455/1991 Coll. (the Trade Licensing Act). It entitles you to manufacture and process products made of plastics (synthetic materials) and rubber. It covers the entire chain from processing the input raw material - granulate, regranulate or rubber compound - through to the finished product or semi-finished product.

Because this is an unqualified (free) trade, you do not need any professional education or experience for it. It is enough to meet the general conditions under Section 6 of the Trade Licensing Act. This makes the field an accessible way to start a business in the processing of plastics and rubber.

What falls under this trade (and what does not)

Field No. 19 covers in particular:

injection moulding, pressing, extrusion and blow moulding of plastic parts, profiles, pipes, films and packaging,
manufacture of plastic packaging, cups, bags, films and consumer goods made of plastic,
manufacture of rubber products - seals, O-rings, gaskets, hoses, mats, technical rubber,
manufacture of plastic windows, doors and other building elements from plastics,
processing and regeneration of rubber and recycling of plastic materials into the form of a product.

The boundary with neighbouring trades. The actual manufacture of chemical substances and chemical mixtures (including the manufacture of plastics as a basic chemical raw material) falls under field No. 17. The manufacture and processing of glass is field No. 20 and the manufacture of building materials, porcelain, ceramic and plaster products is field No. 21. If you carry out assembly, repairs or installation of plastic parts that falls elsewhere, each activity is assessed separately. The content of the fields is precisely defined by Government Regulation No. 278/2008 Coll.; in borderline cases we recommend verifying the classification with the Trade Licensing Office.

Conditions for obtaining it under the law

You must meet the general conditions under Section 6 of the Trade Licensing Act:

full legal capacity (usually 18 years; exceptionally also from 16 years with the court's consent),
clean criminal record - for Czech citizens the office obtains the extract from the Criminal Records Register itself.

At the same time, you must not be subject to an obstacle to operating a trade under Section 8 (in particular certain situations connected with bankruptcy or insolvency or a ban on activity imposed by a court). On the other hand, tax arrears, health insurance or social security arrears are not in themselves an obstacle to obtaining a trade licence.

Professional qualification is not documented for this trade. As with every unqualified (free) trade (Annex No. 4), the law does not require any education, apprenticeship certificate or experience in the field. You do not even have to prove technical knowledge of processing plastics or rubber.

Responsible representative (Section 11): for an unqualified (free) trade you do not have to appoint one. A natural person uses one voluntarily; a legal person appoints one if it does not have a natural person authorised to act on its behalf who meets the conditions. One person may act as responsible representative for no more than 4 entrepreneurs (Section 11(1)).

How to notify or obtain the trade step by step

Fill in the Unified Registration Form (URF) - with a single application you handle the trade notification (Section 45) as well as registration for taxes, social security and health insurance.
Select field No. 19 "Manufacture of plastic and rubber products". You may also add further fields of the unqualified (free) trade at once for a single fee.
Submit the form - in person at any Trade Licensing Office, at a Czech POINT contact point, or electronically via the rzp.gov.cz portal.
Pay the fee - the trade notification costs CZK 1,000, or CZK 800 for electronic submission.
Wait for registration. The Trade Licensing Office makes the entry in the Trade Register within 5 working days of delivery of the notification (Section 47). However, the trade licence comes into existence already on the day of notification (Section 10(1)).

You can find the detailed procedure in the guide How to start a trade.

Documents and fees

Proof of identity (identity card, travel document for foreigners).
Completed URF with the selected field No. 19.
Proof of payment of the administrative fee.
Clean criminal record and capacity - for Czech citizens the office verifies these itself; the qualification is not documented.
Fee: CZK 1,000 (electronically CZK 800). Extending an existing unqualified (free) trade to include this field is free of charge (CZK 0).

Frequently asked questions

Do I need any professional education or experience to manufacture plastics?

No. This is an unqualified (free) trade and the qualification is not documented. The general conditions under Section 6 - legal capacity and a clean criminal record - are sufficient.

I already have an unqualified (free) trade. How much does it cost to add this field?

Nothing. Extending an unqualified (free) trade to include another field is free of charge (CZK 0) according to the schedule of administrative fees. You simply notify the change to the Trade Licensing Office.

Does the manufacture of the plastic itself as a raw material also fall here?

No. The manufacture of plastics as a chemical substance falls under field No. 17 (manufacture of chemical substances and chemical mixtures). Field No. 19 covers only the manufacture of finished products and semi-finished products from plastics and rubber.

When will I be able to start manufacturing?

The licence comes into existence already on the day of notification (Section 10(1)). The office makes the entry in the Trade Register within 5 working days.

Do I have to deal with environmental or safety regulations?

The Trade Licensing Act does not address this for the notification, but during the actual manufacturing you are subject to the general regulations (waste, chemical substances, occupational health and safety). Verify the specific obligations according to the nature of your production.