Manufacture of food and starch products
Field of activity No. 7 under the Trade Licensing Act.
What you need: No professional qualification needed — general conditions and a notification suffice.
- Volná živnost
- Field No. 7
- See conditions below
- 10 activity examples
Manufacture of food and starch products is field no. 7 of the unqualified (free) trade. It covers the processing of plant and animal raw materials into food (other than craft fields such as dairying, baking or butchery) and the manufacture of starch. No professional qualification is required; you only need to meet the general conditions under Section 6 of the Trade Licensing Act.
It is enough to meet only the general conditions under Section 6 of the Trade Licensing Act:
- full legal capacity (usually reaching the age of 18, or with the consent of a court),
- a clean criminal record (proven by an extract from the Criminal Records Register, which the office obtains itself for Czech citizens).
The trade licence arises under Section 10(1)(a) on the day of notification (provided the statutory conditions are met), not only once the extract is issued.
No education, apprenticeship certificate or work experience in the field is required.
You do not need to appoint a responsible representative (Section 11) here on grounds of expertise; it is used only in special situations (e.g. a legal person, which must appoint one, or carrying on the activity on behalf of another entrepreneur). One person may act as responsible representative for at most 4 entrepreneurs.
Note: the operation of food production is always governed by further regulations (food hygiene, registration with the State Veterinary Administration/public health protection authority, HACCP).
Examples of activities
- Manufacture of delicatessen goods and chilled ready meals
- Processing of fruit and vegetables, production of fruit and vegetable juices and concentrates
- Manufacture of confectionery, chocolate and cocoa products
- Manufacture of starch, dextrins and starch adhesives
- Processing of potatoes (manufacture of crisps and semi-finished products)
- Roasting and packaging of coffee, production of tea and spices
- Manufacture of edible fats and oils
- Manufacture of food supplements and foods for particular nutritional uses (infant and dietetic nutrition)
- Manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages and bottling of packaged waters
- Manufacture of wine, fruit wines and mead
What the trade is and what it is for
The trade Manufacture of food and starch products is field of activity no. 7 within the single unqualified (free) trade (the line of business "Manufacturing, trade and services not listed in Annexes 1 to 3 to the Trade Licensing Act"). It entitles you to manufacture food by processing both plant and animal raw materials and to produce starch products.
The content of the field is defined by Government Regulation No. 278/2008 Coll. It includes a wide range of food production that does not fall under separate craft trades (dairying, baking, milling, butchery, brewing). The field is therefore suitable for makers of delicatessen goods, processors of fruit and vegetables, makers of confectionery, coffee, spices, food supplements, non-alcoholic beverages, and also for producers of starch and starch adhesives.
What falls under this trade (and what does not)
Field no. 7 covers in particular:
- processing of poultry, rabbits, game, fish and aquatic animals, eggs and honey,
- processing of fruit, vegetables, potatoes and mushrooms, production of fruit and vegetable juices and concentrates,
- manufacture of edible fats and oils, sugar and natural sweeteners,
- manufacture of cocoa powder, chocolate, chocolate sweets and confectionery,
- processing of rice and pulses, roasting of coffee, processing of tea and spices,
- manufacture of food supplements, additives and processing aids, flavourings and foods for particular nutritional uses (infant and baby food, gluten-free foods, meal replacements for weight reduction),
- manufacture of fermentation vinegar and yeast, pasta, muesli and cereal mixes, preserved and dehydrated products,
- manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages, bottling and treatment of packaged waters,
- manufacture of wine, fruit wines and mead (these are expressly excluded from the spirits concession and therefore belong here),
- manufacture of starch and starch products, including dextrins and starch adhesives for non-food purposes.
The following, by contrast, do NOT belong here (they are separate craft trades under Annex 1 to the Trade Licensing Act, for which professional qualification is documented under Sections 21 and 22):
| Activity | Correct trade |
|---|---|
| Processing of meat of slaughter animals and meat products | Butchery and meat-processing |
| Processing of milk and manufacture of dairy products | Dairying |
| Milling of grain into flour and milled products | Milling |
| Bakery and confectionery products, ice cream | Baking, confectionery |
| Manufacture of beer and malt | Brewing and malting |
The manufacture of fermentation spirit, drinking spirit, distillates and spirit drinks (with the exception of fruit wines, other wines, mead, beer and fruit distillates from growers' distilling) is among the licensed (concession) trades (Annex 3 to the Trade Licensing Act). So if you want to make these products as well, in addition to field no. 7 you also need the relevant craft trade (beer, milk, meat) or a concession (spirits and spirit drinks).
Statutory conditions for obtaining it
Because this is an unqualified (free) trade, professional qualification is not documented - you do not need any education, apprenticeship certificate or work experience in the field. It is enough to meet the general conditions under Section 6 of the Trade Licensing Act:
- full legal capacity (usually the age of 18, or this may be replaced by the consent of a court),
- a clean criminal record - proven by an extract from the Criminal Records Register, which the office obtains itself for Czech citizens.
You do not need to appoint a responsible representative under Section 11 here on grounds of expertise. You will use one only in special cases (e.g. a legal person, or carrying on the trade on behalf of another entrepreneur). One person may act as responsible representative for at most 4 entrepreneurs.
Important: Meeting the trade conditions is only the first step. The actual production of food is subject to hygiene and food regulations - registration of the premises with the State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority or the relevant public health protection authority and the introduction of a HACCP system are usually required. These obligations are dealt with by special laws, not by the Trade Licensing Office.
How to notify or obtain the trade step by step
- Complete the Unified Registration Form (URF). A single submission lets you simultaneously notify the trade, register for income tax, notify the start of activity to the Czech Social Security Administration and register with a health insurance company.
- Submit the notification under Section 45 of the Trade Licensing Act at any municipal Trade Licensing Office, electronically via the rzp.gov.cz portal, or at a Czech POINT contact point. There is no restriction on local jurisdiction.
- Prove your identity and pay the administrative fee. For an unqualified trade, expertise is not documented.
- Entry in the Trade Register is made by the office within 5 working days of delivery of the notification, and it issues you an extract under Section 47. The licence, however, arises already on the day of notification (Section 10).
A detailed universal procedure can be found in the guide /jak-zalozit-zivnost.
Documents and fees
- Identity document (identity card / passport).
- Completed URF stating field no. 7 (and possibly further fields of the free trade).
- Professional qualification is not documented - this is an unqualified (free) trade.
- Fee for notification: CZK 1,000 (electronically CZK 800).
- In a single notification you may state several fields of the free trade for one fee; a later extension by a further field is free of charge (CZK 0).
- Entry deadline: within 5 working days.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an apprenticeship or work experience to produce food?
No. From the point of view of the Trade Licensing Act this is an unqualified (free) trade, so you do not document any professional qualification. You must, however, comply with hygiene and food regulations and register the premises with the supervisory authority.
Can I produce bakery goods, yoghurts or sausages under this field?
No. Bakery and confectionery products, dairy products and meat products belong under separate craft trades (Baking, confectionery; Dairying; Butchery and meat-processing), which require professional qualification under Sections 21 and 22.
How much will the notification cost me if I register several fields at once?
Still just one fee of CZK 1,000 (electronically CZK 800). The free trade is a single trade, it merely has 80 fields - stating further fields in the same notification carries no surcharge, and a later extension by a further field is also free of charge (CZK 0).
When can I start producing?
The trade licence arises on the day of notification. Before you start production, however, you must have the registration of the premises arranged and the hygiene requirements met.
Does the manufacture of starch concern me even though it is not a food?
Yes. The field also covers the manufacture of starch, dextrins and starch adhesives for technical (non-food) purposes.
Can I make wine or mead in this field?
Yes. The manufacture of wine, fruit wines and mead is expressly excluded from the spirits concession and therefore falls under field no. 7 of the free trade. By contrast, the manufacture of distillates and spirit drinks requires a concession.