Europe · Company formation

Company formation in Czech Republic

This suits foreign founders who want a low-cost, EU-based operating company with a negligible capital requirement and no obligation to appoint a local director.

Last verified July 2026

At a glance

Entity
Private limited company (s.r.o. — společnost s ručením omezeným)
Corporate tax
21% flat corporate income tax (headline rate, unchanged for 2026 since the 2024 rise from 19%). Qualifying investment funds 5%; certain pension vehicles 0%.
Incorporation time
~5-15 business days; the registry court has 5 working days to act, and direct entry by the notary can be same-day once documents and the trade licence are ready.
Minimum capital
CZK 1 (symbolic legal minimum since 2014); each shareholder's contribution must be at least CZK 1. In practice founders set a higher figure for bank/credibility reasons.
Resident director
No. There is no residency or nationality requirement for the executive director (jednatel) or shareholders; EU and third-country nationals may serve. A foreign director must obtain a Czech identifier and a clean-criminal-record extract during onboarding.
Audit
Statutory audit only for larger entities. From accounting periods starting on/after 1 Jan 2026 an s.r.o. must be audited if it exceeds 2 of 3 thresholds — net turnover CZK 240m, total assets CZK 120m, 50 employees — in two consecutive years. Micro and small entities are exempt.
Remote set-up
Yes. The founding deed must be a Czech notarial deed, but founders can attend remotely via a Czech notary's video-identification (passport with NFC chip + smartphone), or grant an apostilled/consular-certified power of attorney to a Prague representative. All signatures on register filings must be officially certified.
Government fee
Court registration fee CZK 6,000 (INF-222, portal.gov.cz); or ~CZK 2,700 when the notary enters the company directly into the Commercial Register under the simplified procedure. Trade-licence notification CZK 1,000. Notary drafting fees are separate.
Best for
This suits foreign founders who want a low-cost, EU-based operating company with a negligible capital requirement and no obligation to appoint a local director.

The process

  1. Reserve the company name, define the business activity, and secure a registered-office address with the owner's certified consent (dated within 3 months)
  2. Execute the memorandum/founding deed as a Czech notarial deed (in person, by video-identification, or via certified power of attorney) and pay up the share capital
  3. Obtain the trade licence (živnostenské oprávnění) for the intended activities from the Trade Licensing Office
  4. File for entry in the Commercial Register — either through the registry court (CZK 6,000) or directly via the notary (~CZK 2,700); the company exists on registration
What can go wrong
  • CZK 1 minimum capital is legal but signals little substance; banks and counterparties often expect a more realistic figure, and opening a corporate bank account for a foreign-owned s.r.o. can be slow and require in-person KYC.
  • Every director must supply a criminal-record extract; third-country directors' documents need apostille/superlegalisation and certified Czech translation, which drives most of the timeline and cost.
  • Audit thresholds were raised sharply from 1 Jan 2026 — confirm your entity size against the new turnover/assets/employee tests, as prior (lower) thresholds are widely cited online and out of date.

Form a company in Czech Republic?

One named person on the file, an honest read on tax and substance, and a fixed quote before you commit.