Recognition of foreign qualification on purpose of entrepreneurship according to the Act on Recognition of Professional Qualifications - professional and permitted trades
Step 1 Make sure that the trade you want to start is permitted or professional
How do I find out if the trade I want to start belongs to the permitted or professional trades?
The directory of all professional trades is included in the supplement no. 2 of the Trade Licensing Act. The directory of all permitted trades is included in the supplement no. 3 of the Trade Licensing Act.
If you are not sure, what is an official name of the trade you want to start with, we recommend to read the contents of trades. The contents of trades are described in the Legislative Decree no. 278/2008 coll. on the contents of trades. According to the description of trades you can easily identify the name of your trade.
Step 2 Make sure if you meet the criteria of competence for performing your trade in the Czech Republic
Under the name of the trade you can find the criteria of competence that need to be met if you want to perform the trade.
These criteria differ for each of professional and permitted trades.
Step 3 Collect all required documents for proving your professional qualification
Documents that are necessary for proving your professional qualification may differ according to the nature of the activity. It may be the document of completed university or high school (secondary school) education and professional experience, a document of a completed requalification course or other requirements according to the specific legal regulations.
Often there are more options to prove the professional qualification for a certain trade. (Your professional qualification might be proved by documents of university education, another type of higher education with practical experience or a requalification course).
In the case of some trades there exists an option (usually mentioned at the end of the paragraph) to prove qualification according to article 7, paragraph 5 of the Trade Licensing Act, specifically the option of automatic recognition. You can take advantage of this option if you have performed the trade in other EU country.
How to proceed when the option of proving professional qualification according to the article 7, paragraph 5 of the Trade Licensing Act applies to my situation.
read more
If there is an option to demonstrate your professional competence according to the article 7, paragraph 5 of the Trade Licensing Act, then you will submit the required documents according to regulation (in the supplement of the Trade Licensing Act) directly to the trade licence office along with your application for the trade licence.
If there is NO option to demonstrate your professional competence according to the article 7, paragraph 5 (automatic recognition option) you need to carefully study the supplement of the Trade Licensing Act, especially the part concerning your trade. Special legal regulations (mentioned in the third column of the supplement) may apply specific requirements to your qualification. You need to read the specific part of the Act and prove your competence in accordance with the law.
If no specific legal regulations are applied to your trade, you can demonstrate your professional qualification by submitting the required documents, which may be:
1. a document of recognition of professional qualification
read more
If you choose this way of demonstrating your professional qualification, you will first need to have your qualification recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech republic.
2. a recognized document of completed education - if there is an option specified in the law to demonstrate professional qualification by submitting a document of completed education
read more
If you choose this way of demonstrating your professional qualification, you need to have your documents (mentioned in the paragraph concerning your trade in supplement no. 2 or no. 3) recognized by the recognition authority. If documents of professional experience are required, they need to be translated into the Czech language. The translation does not have to be done by the court interpreter. If the trade licence office expresses certain doubts about the authenticity of the translation, another version prepared by the court translator may be required.
The document of professional qualification does not have a prescribed form. It must present clear evidence of the length of your qualified performance and your professional position. This type of document is usually issued by your former employer. Not being an official document, this document does not have to be authenticated or notarized. The document of professional experience needs to be translated into the Czech language. If the trade licence office expresses any doubts about the authenticity of the translation, a court translation may be required.
Step 4 Attach a certified copy of your documents to the trade licence application and submit
How do I obtain a certified copy?
read more
You can make a copy of your document on any photocopying machine. Then you need to have it authorized by a notary who knows the language in which the diploma or certificate has been issued.
If you let the notary make the copy, you do not have to worry about his/her language competences.
A list of notaries can be found on the website of the Notarial Chamber of the Czech Republic. The authorization will be done by the notary while you wait. The notary authorization is a paid service. Each notary determines the price for the provided service. For the notary authorization you do not need to be present (in person) nor do you need to prove your identity.
Where do I submit my trade licence application?
read more
The trade licence application may be submitted at any trade licence office.
The directory of the trade licence offices in the Czech Republic may be found here.
