Czech Republic Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Czech Business

TL;DR. The Czech Republic’s official company register, the Obchodni rejstrik (Public Register), is freely accessible at or.justice.cz without an account or Czech identity. Basic searches are free. Certified extracts cost CZK 100-500 (~USD 5-23). The portal offers partial English, covering search navigation and some field labels while company records remain in Czech.

What is the official Czech Republic business registry?

The Czech Republic operates a unified public register system covering companies, associations, foundations, and other legal entities. The primary register for commercial entities is the Obchodni rejstrik (Commercial Register), part of a broader Verejny rejstrik (Public Register) system. Both are administered by the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic and accessible through a single online portal at or.justice.cz.

The statutory basis for the Commercial Register is the Czech Civil Code (Obcansky zakonik, Act No. 89/2012 Coll.) and the Business Corporations Act (Zakon o obchodnich korporacich, Act No. 90/2012 Coll.), which came into force in January 2014 and reformed the prior regime substantially. Registration and filing obligations are processed through regional courts (krajske soudy), with the Municipal Court in Prague handling registrations for entities headquartered in Prague.

The Obchodni rejstrik covers: spolecnost s rucenim omezenym (s.r.o., equivalent to a private limited company), akciova spolecnost (a.s., public joint-stock company), verejna obchodni spolecnost (v.o.s., general partnership), komanditni spolecnost (k.s., limited partnership), European companies (SE), branches of foreign companies, and cooperative societies. The related Spolkovy rejstrik (Associations Register) and Nadacni rejstrik (Foundation Register) cover non-profit entities at the same portal.

The register has been in electronic, publicly searchable form since the early 2000s and was considerably upgraded in 2014-2015 when the Czech government digitized historical filings.

What can you search?

The or.justice.cz portal allows the following search queries without an account or fee:

• Company name (full or partial)
• Identification number (ICO, Identifikacni cislo osoby), the primary entity identifier
• Registered seat municipality
• Court district
• Type of register (commercial, associations, foundations, etc.)

Results from a free search include:

• ICO, legal form, registration date, registered seat, current status (active, in liquidation, dissolved)
• Statutory bodies: jednatel (managing director for s.r.o.) or predstavenstvo (board of directors for a.s.)
• Share capital amount
• Filed documents list (accessible as individual PDFs)
• Financial statements filed with the register (where applicable)
• Full filing history with dates and document types

The or.justice.cz portal also hosts the Sbirka listin (Document Collection), a repository of all filed documents associated with each company entry. Most documents in the collection are publicly viewable as PDF downloads at no charge, including articles of association, financial statements, and shareholder resolutions.

Data is updated on a court-acceptance basis, typically within 1-5 business days of a filing being accepted by the registration court.

How much does it cost?

CZK/USD conversion used: 1 CZK = ~USD 0.046 (approximate, May 2026; verify at point of purchase). Certified extracts are ordered through the Czech POINT system (czechpoint.cz) at authorized contact points (Czech POINT terminals at post offices, municipal offices, and notaries) or ordered online. Payment accepts credit card and bank transfer.

One practical advantage: unlike many EU registers, the Czech system makes most underlying documents in the Sbirka listin free to view and download. The cost for certified extracts is relatively low by EU standards.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No local Czech identity document or residential address is required to search the register or download documents from the Sbirka listin.

The or.justice.cz portal is fully open for searching and document viewing without any account. No registration is needed.

To obtain a certified extract (official certified copy of the register entry), a visit to a Czech POINT terminal is the traditional route. Since 2021, certified extracts can also be ordered online through the Czech POINT portal with payment by credit card, and this process does not require Czech citizenship or a Czech eID. The extract is delivered electronically with a court digital signature.

Foreign buyers can access the register and order certified documents without a local intermediary.

Is the website in English?

Partial. The or.justice.cz portal has an English-language interface option for navigation and field labels, but company records themselves are in Czech. Clicking the “EN” toggle translates menu items, search field labels, and status descriptions, while the actual data in company profiles (names, addresses, purpose descriptions) remains in Czech.

Czech uses Latin script with diacritical marks (a, c, d, e, e, i, n, o, r, s, t, u, u, y and their capitalized forms). Name searches without diacritics usually work due to the portal’s search normalization, but precision searches should use the correct characters.

The Czech Republic participates in the EU Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS), which provides English-language access to basic company name, status, and ICO data for Czech companies through the European Business Register portal.

What’s the turnaround time?

For free searches and Sbirka listin document downloads, access is instant. No waiting period applies.

For certified extracts ordered online through Czech POINT, the electronic extract is typically available within minutes to a few hours after payment. The extract is delivered as a PDF with a qualified electronic signature valid under EU eIDAS regulation.

For paper-certified extracts obtained at Czech POINT terminals in person, the extract is produced immediately on-site.

Court processing time for changes to the register (new filings, amendments) is typically 1-5 business days after the court accepts a submission. The register is not updated in real time as filings are made; the update occurs when the court formally processes the entry.

Is there an API?

No public API is available for the Obchodni rejstrik or the or.justice.cz portal as of May 2026. The Ministry of Justice does not offer a documented programmatic interface for third-party queries.

The Czech government’s open data portal (data.gov.cz) publishes periodic bulk exports of register data under open license conditions, but these are static exports rather than live query APIs.

For programmatic access to Czech company data, the options are third-party data resellers who maintain normalized Czech company databases, or EU BRIS cross-border access for basic company status data.

The Administrativni registr ekonomickych subjektu (ARES) at ares.gov.cz is operated by the Ministry of Finance and aggregates data from multiple Czech registries (Obchodni rejstrik, CEIDG equivalent, VAT register). ARES provides a documented XML/JSON API that is free and publicly accessible. The ARES API is a practical option for basic ICO validation and status checks at scale.

What you legally cannot do

The Czech register data is public, but the terms of the or.justice.cz system and Czech and EU law impose limits. For the full due diligence framework covering Czech and other EU registries, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

• Automated bulk scraping of the portal is prohibited under the terms of use. The or.justice.cz system is intended for individual query use; systematic replication of the register database through the portal interface is not permitted.
• GDPR constraints on personal data: Natural persons (managing directors, shareholders, partners) appearing in register entries are data subjects under the EU General Data Protection Regulation as implemented in Czech law (Zakon o zpracovani osobnich udaju, Act No. 110/2019 Coll.). Reusing their personal data for marketing or contact list purposes is not a valid legal basis.
• Certified extract authenticity: Certified extracts carry a court digital signature. Presenting an altered certified extract, or using the extract outside its stated verification purpose, creates legal liability under Czech law.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• ICO is the anchor identifier. The ICO (Identifikacni cislo osoby, 8-digit numerical) is the primary identifier for all entities in the Czech register. When you receive a Czech company’s VAT number (DIC), it typically contains the ICO prefixed with “CZ” (e.g., CZ12345678). Verifying both ICO and DIC against the register is standard for invoice compliance.
• ARES is the fastest validation tool. The ARES API at ares.gov.cz/ekonomicke-subjekty returns basic company status, name, and registered address in JSON format. It is faster and more automation-friendly than the or.justice.cz portal for high-volume checks.
• Sbirka listin for free financial data. Czech s.r.o. and a.s. companies are required to file annual financial statements with the register. These are publicly accessible in the Sbirka listin at no cost. A gap in financial filing history is a meaningful due diligence signal.
• Status field: “aktivni” vs. “v likvidaci” vs. “zanikla”. Active companies show “aktivni.” Companies in liquidation show “v likvidaci.” Dissolved companies show “zanikla” or “vymazana.” Always verify the current status before treating the entry as confirming an active counterparty.
• Branch vs. subsidiary distinction. Foreign companies can register either a branch (organizacni slozka) or a Czech subsidiary (s.r.o. or a.s.). Both appear in the Obchodni rejstrik but carry different liability and disclosure implications. A branch’s legal obligations are tied to the parent entity abroad.
• UBO reporting obligations under Czech AML law: Czech companies are required to register their beneficial owners under the Act on the Register of Beneficial Owners (Zakon o evidenci skutecnych majitelu, Act No. 37/2021 Coll.), implementing EU 5AMLD. This is a separate register from the Obchodni rejstrik.

For a comparison with neighboring jurisdictions, see the Germany Company Search Guide for an overview of the Handelsregister system.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

The partial-English interface and Czech-language company records create friction for some foreign buyers, but workable alternatives exist:

• ARES API (ares.gov.cz): Free JSON/XML API for basic ICO validation, company name, and status. The most practical programmatic alternative for Czech company checks.
• EU BRIS portal: Basic company name and status for Czech companies is available in English through the European Business Register network. Free, no account required, suitable for initial screening.
• Aggregator search: OpenCorporates indexes Czech Obchodni rejstrik filings. Data lags official records by days to weeks; not suitable for compliance-grade verification.

Local data suppliers

• Creditinfo Czech Republic (creditinfo.cz). Part of the Creditinfo Group, operating across Central and Eastern Europe. Provides credit reports, company financial summaries, payment behavior scores, and monitoring services for Czech entities. Widely used by local banks and trade creditors.
• CRIF Czech Republic (crif.cz). The Czech subsidiary of the Italian CRIF group. Delivers credit bureau reports combining Obchodni rejstrik data with banking and trade credit information. Serves financial institutions and corporate credit teams.
• Coface Czech Republic (coface.com/cz). Credit insurance and commercial information provider. Covers Czech companies with credit opinions and financial risk assessments drawing on registry and payment data.

Use the Obchodni rejstrik for the authoritative legal extract. Use a commercial credit bureau when you need payment behavior, credit risk scoring, or ongoing monitoring.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Czech Obchodni rejstrik directly?

Yes. The or.justice.cz portal is publicly accessible without a Czech identity document, account, or local representative. Basic searches and document downloads from the Sbirka listin are free. Certified extracts can be ordered online through Czech POINT without Czech eID. Foreign credit cards are accepted for payment.

What is the ICO number in the Czech Republic?

The ICO (Identifikacni cislo osoby) is an 8-digit identifier assigned to every registered legal entity and entrepreneur in the Czech Republic. It appears on all official documents, VAT registrations (DIC = CZ + ICO), and register entries. The ICO is the primary lookup key for the Obchodni rejstrik and the ARES aggregation service. Always confirm the ICO directly from the register rather than relying on documents supplied by the counterparty.

What entity types are registered with the Obchodni rejstrik?

The Obchodni rejstrik covers: s.r.o. (private limited), a.s. (joint-stock), v.o.s. (general partnership), k.s. (limited partnership), European company (SE), branch offices of foreign companies, and cooperative societies. Sole traders (OSVC, osoba samostatne vydelecne cinna) are registered in ARES / the trade licensing register rather than the Obchodni rejstrik. Non-profit associations are in the Spolkovy rejstrik at the same or.justice.cz portal.

Does the Czech Republic have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Yes. The Register of Beneficial Owners (Evidence skutecnych majitelu) has been operational since January 2018 and was considerably strengthened by Act No. 37/2021 Coll., implementing EU 5AMLD. The register is publicly searchable at esm.justice.cz. Czech companies (s.r.o., a.s., and others) must register their UBOs with supporting documentation. The register aligns with FATF Recommendation 24 on transparency of legal persons and EU 6AMLD requirements. Public access covers basic UBO name and nationality; detailed documentation requires legitimate interest.

How current is the Obchodni rejstrik data?

The register is updated on a court-acceptance basis. Regional courts process new filings and amendments within 1-5 business days of receipt. The record on or.justice.cz reflects the court’s current accepted state. The Sbirka listin may take slightly longer to reflect newly filed documents as they go through court processing. ARES aggregates data across multiple registers and may have slightly different update cadences from the underlying Obchodni rejstrik.

Is the Czech Republic on the FATF grey list?

No. The Czech Republic is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. The Czech Republic is a FATF member and has implemented EU 5AMLD and 6AMLD. For current country standings, consult fatf-gafi.org.

What is the difference between the Obchodni rejstrik and ARES?

The Obchodni rejstrik is the official court-maintained commercial register. ARES (Administrativni registr ekonomickych subjektu) is a Ministry of Finance aggregation service that pulls data from the Obchodni rejstrik and several other Czech administrative registers (trade licensing, VAT, agriculture, etc.) into a single lookup. ARES is faster for basic validation and offers a free API, but ARES data is secondary to the Obchodni rejstrik for legal verification purposes. For certified extracts and compliance-grade documentation, use or.justice.cz directly.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: Obchodni rejstrik portal (or.justice.cz), ARES (ares.gov.cz), Evidence skutecnych majitelu (esm.justice.cz), FATF (fatf-gafi.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.