Go through four Czech sources: the commercial register with the collection of deeds (statutory bodies, changes, filed financial statements), the insolvency register, the central record of enforcement proceedings and the list of unreliable VAT payers. The insolvency register is publicly accessible; data from the record of enforcements is charged for. What you find determines the terms of the transaction (advance payment, retention of title, shorter payment terms) and, before an action, whether the company has anything to pay with.
A Slovak supplier receives an order from a Czech company it does not know, or is already waiting for payment of several invoices and considering an action. We described the approach to the Slovak registers in the question on how to check a new customer. With a Czech company the sources are different and some of them are charged for, but the logic of the check remains the same: who stands behind the company, whether it files financial statements, whether it is in insolvency or subject to enforcement, and whether it has problems with the tax authority.
The commercial register and the collection of deeds
Basic information on Czech legal persons, including the registered office, the date of incorporation, any dissolution and the members of the statutory body with the dates on which their office began and ended, is published by the Ministry of Finance by remote access (Section 7(1) of Act No. 304/2013 Coll.). The collection of deeds (sbírka listin) says more. Financial statements and annual reports are filed in it where the Accounting Act so requires (Section 66(c)), as are decisions on the liability of a member of a body upon the insolvency of a business corporation (point (b)), decisions of the insolvency court (point (k)) and notices of the commencement of enforcement affecting a member’s share (point (n)).
Look at whether the latest financial statements are in the collection at all and how turnover, liabilities and equity have developed from year to year. Missing statements, frequent changes of managing director and a move of the registered office shortly before the order are warning signs, and it is then sensible not to supply on invoice without security.
The insolvency register
The Czech insolvency register (insolvenční rejstřík) is publicly accessible and anyone may inspect it and make extracts from it (Section 419(3) of Act No. 182/2006 Coll.). A debtor that is a legal person is entered by the insolvency court in the list of debtors with its business name, registered office and identification number as soon as the effects of the commencement of insolvency proceedings arise, and at the latest within seven days (Section 420(3) and (4)). If you find the customer in the register, do not enter into new business on invoice; what this means for an action or enforcement already under way is explained in the question on a Czech customer in insolvency.
The central record of enforcement proceedings
The record is kept by the Czech Chamber of Enforcement Officers and, as regards entries that have not been deleted, it is a public list which the Chamber publishes by remote access (Section 125(4) of Act No. 120/2001 Coll.). Entries are made of the commencement of enforcement, its stay or postponement, auction notices and the total amount of the monetary payment being enforced (Section 125(1) and (2)). The Chamber is entitled to a fee set by decree for data from the public part (Section 125(8)), so the record tends to be consulted for larger transactions or before an action. An entry is made only after the statutory period has elapsed, so the most recent enforcement may not yet appear.
The list of unreliable VAT payers
Where a VAT payer seriously breaches its duties in the administration of tax, the tax authority decides that it is an unreliable payer (nespolehlivý plátce, Section 106a(1) of Act No. 235/2004 Coll.) and publishes that fact by remote access (Section 106ac(4)). For a supplier such a status signals serious problems in meeting obligations towards the tax authority and is a reason to insist on an advance payment.
What follows from the findings
Where the result is clean, a written order and confirmed delivery notes suffice. With a young company, missing financial statements, an entry in the record of enforcements or unreliable payer status, ask for an advance payment, shorten the payment terms and agree retention of title. Before an action, what matters most is whether the company has assets; if it does not, neither a judgment nor enforcement will produce money. We carry out checks in the Czech and Slovak registers, with a report and a recommendation, under checking a debtor’s creditworthiness. If the result is favourable and the invoice is overdue, we follow on with debt recovery in Czechia without a second law firm.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 12 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
