Register as self-employed in Czechia, correctly the first time.
A trade licence is quick to file and slow to correct. The work is in picking the right trade and completing the registrations that follow it.
Who this is for
- 01Freelancers and independent professionals invoicing Czech or foreign clients
- 02People whose residence application depends on a registered business activity
- 03Contractors moving from employment to self-employment in Czechia
- 04Founders testing an activity before committing to an s.r.o.
What Valtier handles
- Trade classification review — free, vocational or regulated, and what each one requires of you
- Document checklist prepared for your nationality and residence status
- Preparation and filing of the trade office notification
- Registered business address coordination where you do not have a suitable one
- Tax registration follow-through with the Financial Administration
- Social security and health insurance registration follow-through
- A written summary of your recurring obligations and their deadlines
What you will need to do
- Describe the work you will actually invoice for, in practical terms
- Obtain a criminal record extract from your country of citizenship
- Provide proof of qualification if the trade you need is not a free trade
- Choose a health insurance provider — the registration is yours to hold
How it runs
- 01
Activity review
We look at what you will invoice for and map it onto the trade categories, including whether anything you do falls outside a free trade.
- 02
Documents
One checklist, with the items that have to come from abroad flagged first because they take the longest.
- 03
Trade office filing
The notification is prepared, submitted and followed until the entry appears in the Trade Licensing Register.
- 04
Downstream registrations
Tax, social security and health insurance — the step most people discover late, handled as part of the same case.
Typical documents and requirements
Indicative only. Requirements differ between free, vocational and regulated trades, and between nationalities — confirm before ordering documents.
- Passport and, where you already hold one, your Czech residence document
- Criminal record extract from your country of citizenship
- Proof of the business address, with the property owner's consent
- Evidence of qualification or practice for vocational and regulated trades
- Certified Czech translation of documents issued abroad
What is not included
- Bookkeeping, tax returns and the annual social and health statements
- Legal or tax advice on how you should structure your invoicing
- Administrative fees charged by the trade office and other authorities
- Any assurance about how a residence authority will treat the activity
Fees
Some services carry a fixed price. Others start from a base and depend on scope. Project work is quoted per project. You receive scope and fee in writing before any work begins.
Questions about this service
01Is a trade licence enough to live in Czechia?
A trade licence is a business registration, not a residence title. Non-EU nationals need a residence permit in their own right, and the business registration is usually one input into that application rather than a substitute for it.
02How long does the registration itself take?
The trade office filing is generally the fastest part of the process. What sets the real timeline is document procurement abroad — criminal record extracts, translations and, where required, apostilles. We start those first for that reason.
Official sources
Procedures change. These are the authorities to check anything on this page against.
Related services
- 01
Business Setup
Structure, incorporation, trade licensing and the registrations that follow — run as one sequence.
Read more - 02
Residence & Mobility
Administrative support and case management across residence applications, renewals and family members.
Read more - 03
Relocation
Housing, registrations, insurance, banking and schooling — the practical side of arriving.
Read more
Start with your situation, not a service page.
Tell us what you are trying to accomplish. If this is the right service we will confirm the scope. If it is not, we will say so.