The apartment is ready, the photos are done and one task remains before listing: ‘get a business ID’. But registering a trade does not settle the premises, insurance or foreign platform commissions. Before filing, decide who will provide the accommodation and when you will actually start.
For an ordinary accommodation business, you need the appropriate field of the Czech unqualified trade, volná živnost. Registration, actually commencing self-employment and having a ready apartment are different matters. Plan them together, but do not confuse their dates or obligations.
Start with what you will actually do
Will you repeatedly offer nightly or weekly stays, welcome different guests and service the accommodation? Do not assume calling the listing a ‘rental’ settles its business status. Equally, long-term letting cannot automatically be treated the same just because you found the tenant online. The actual circumstances matter.
Accommodation services are field 55 of the unqualified trade. The Prague 1 trade-office guidance explains the classification. No professional qualification is required for this trade, but general eligibility conditions and disqualifications still apply. See the Trade Register guide.
Have borderline cases assessed before starting. This guide covers registration as an individual, not a complete comparison of self-employment and an s.r.o., or automatic approval of particular premises.
What to prepare before filing
If you already run a business, read your register extract first. You may need to add a field rather than obtain a ‘second IČO’. A new company needs its own authorisation, not merely your existing personal trade licence.
Where to file and what it costs
You can file at a trade licensing office or electronically. Use an official route and check the applicant’s identity; an advertisement for a paid registration service is not a government form.
| Route for entering business | Verified administrative fee | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| In-person or paper notification | CZK 1,000. | Complete information and the documents needed for your circumstances. |
| Electronic filing meeting the discount conditions | CZK 800 according to the Public Administration Portal. | Use the qualifying official filing route; not every message automatically qualifies for the discount. |
| Already in business | Depends on the requested action. | Adding a field and further notifications are not all treated as first-time registration. |
The Public Administration Portal lists the fees and electronic procedure. If the conditions are met, the office enters the registration and issues an extract within five working days. Check the person, address and field on it. Do not carry an error into invoices or platform profiles.
One form can pass on information, but does not replace checking
The Unified Registration Form, JRF, can convey notifications to other institutions. Complete the relevant sections and keep the filing. Do not assume every authority automatically knows everything because you received an IČO business identification number.
| Area | What you arrange | Deadline or trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Health insurer | Notification of actually commencing self-employment. | Within 8 days of commencement; VZP explains that merely obtaining authorisation does not itself constitute starting. |
| Social Security Administration | Commencement notification on the prescribed form, or through the relevant JRF route. | ČSSZ currently states within 15 days of commencement. |
| Tax obligations | Assess income, expense treatment and VAT, including services received from abroad. | Depends on the particular obligation; do not assume trade registration settles everything. |
Check directly with your health insurer and ČSSZ. Do not use an old deadline just because an article’s headline has a new year. Set your main or secondary self-employment status and contributions according to your circumstances, not just booking numbers.
A trade licence does not authorise every apartment
The registered business address identifies the business. Operating premises are where you carry out the activity. The apartment lease, owner’s consent and permitted use need separate checks. Notify and mark the premises under the relevant rules; a trade-register extract does not replace a building-law assessment.
Before your first booking, also address waste, local stay fees, guest records and, where relevant, access for foreign-guest reporting. You need not squeeze every guide into your trade notification. The full sequence is in our getting-started guide for hosts.
When you can mark the paperwork complete
- The register extract matches the actual operator and activity.
- You have saved the filings and know what was passed to your insurer and ČSSZ.
- You know the date you actually commence the activity.
- You can access your data box and monitor incoming messages.
- Your documents and platform details identify the correct person or entity.
- The premises and first guest’s arrival have been arranged separately.
For expense treatment and the difference between a VAT identified person and a full VAT payer, see our tax overview. An IČO does not choose your tax regime for you.