Živnostenský list is the everyday name for your entry in the Czech trade register, which makes you a self-employed person (OSVČ). You can then invoice people and companies for your work. This is how most handymen, cleaners, tutors and other freelancers in Czechia work.
This guide explains the basics in plain words and links to the official sources. It is general information, not legal or tax advice: rules and amounts change, so check the official pages or ask a trade office (živnostenský úřad) about your own situation.
Do you need one?
You need a trade licence when you work systematically, independently and to earn money: in other words, when it is your business, even a small one next to a job. What decides it is doing it regularly, not how much you earn.
You don't need one for truly occasional help, such as helping a neighbour move once. Occasional income that isn't a business is tax-free up to 50 000 Kč a year (since 2024); above that, the whole amount is taxed.
Work for a company on a short agreement (dohoda o provedení práce, DPP) is a kind of employment, so it doesn't need a trade licence either.
Which kind of trade?
Most work people do through SkillNav is a free trade (živnost volná): cleaning, help with moving, gardening, assembling furniture, tutoring, babysitting and much more. You don't have to prove any qualification, and one free trade can cover many activities.
Some trades need proof of training or experience, for example electrical work, plumbing and heating, or hairdressing (craft and regulated trades). If you are not sure where your work belongs, any trade office will tell you.
What you need
- Age 18 or over
- Full legal capacity
- A clean criminal record. The office checks the Czech record itself; foreigners without permanent residence also bring a record from their own country, no older than three months
- An ID card or passport, and an address in Czechia for your business (it can be your home)
- From outside the EU: a residence permit that allows you to do business
How to get it, step by step
- Choose your field from the list of free trades.
- Fill in the single registration form (jednotný registrační formulář, JRF). The same form also registers you with the tax office, social security and your health insurer, so you do it all at once.
- Hand it in at any trade office or Czech POINT, or file it online on the trade licensing portal (Portál živnostenského podnikání), signing in with your bank identity or another eID.
- Pay the fee: 1 000 Kč for your first trade and 500 Kč for each one you add later.
- With a free trade you may start working on the day you register. The office enters you in the trade register within five working days.
After you register: tax, social and health insurance
As a self-employed person you pay income tax and social and health insurance yourself. If you used the single registration form, the offices already know about you; otherwise tell them yourself:
- Health insurer: within 8 days of starting.
- Social security (ČSSZ): by the 8th day of the month after the month you started.
- Tax office (finanční úřad): register for income tax and file a tax return every year.
- Data box (datová schránka): self-employed people get one automatically. Check it, because official letters arrive there.
The flat-rate tax (paušální daň)
Many people with smaller incomes choose the flat-rate tax: one monthly payment covers income tax, social and health insurance, and there is no yearly tax return. In 2026 it is available for income up to 2 million Kč a year, in three bands; the lowest band is 9 984 Kč a month.
If you start during the year, you must sign up no later than the day you start. Otherwise you can join each year by 10 January. Work out whether it pays off: with a small income, or next to a job, the regular way can be cheaper.
If you are a foreigner
EU citizens get a trade licence the same way as Czechs. People from outside the EU need a residence permit that allows business. Ukrainians with temporary protection are treated like EU citizens for trade licences, and the licence lasts as long as their permitted stay.
Integration centres in every region give free advice in several languages, and the Ministry of the Interior's portal for foreigners explains the rules on residence and work.
Official links
- Trade licensing portal (rzp.gov.cz) – register a trade online and search the trade register
- BusinessInfo.cz: free trade step by step – Ministry of Industry and Trade guide, in Czech
- Citizen portal (Portál občana) – your account for online government services
- Electronic identity – sign in with your bank identity or an eID card
- Notice of starting self-employment (ČSSZ) – in Czech
- ČSSZ ePortal – social security online
- VZP: starting self-employment – the largest health insurer; others have similar pages
- Signing up for the flat-rate tax – in Czech
- Financial Administration (Finanční správa) – taxes and the online tax office
- Czech POINT – offices where you can hand in the form
- Data boxes (datové schránky) – in Czech
Other useful resources
- Portal for foreigners (Ministry of the Interior) – residence, work and temporary protection
- Integration centres – free advice for foreigners in every region
- Labour Office (Úřad práce) – if you are registered as a job seeker, check the rules before you start earning
- BusinessInfo.cz: occasional income up to 50 000 Kč – the difference between a business and occasional work, in Czech