In this chapter you will learn about the definition of an entrepreneur (a natural person) and the licenses that authorises you to do business in the CR.

Under Czech law, an entrepreneur is defined as a person who, independently, on their own account and responsibility, carries out a gainful activity in the form of a trade or in a similar manner with the intention of doing so continuously for the purpose of making a profit.

An individual who performs a business activity is called a self-employed person (in Czech OSVČ). Self-employment can take the form of a main activity or secondary activity. Self-employment as a secondary activity means that you do business while employed, on a parental leave, or while receiving old-age pension.

The most common way of doing business in the CR is trade business, which is regulated by the Trade Licensing Act. The current wording of the Act can be found on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade,which is responsible for matters related to business.

At the same time, it is possible to do business in the form of a liberal profession. A liberal profession is defined as entrepreneurship of a natural person carried out on the basis of a law other than the Trade Licensing Act. For some liberal professions, membership in a professional chamber is mandatory (e.g. lawyers or doctors), while for others it is voluntary (e.g. journalists).

The different types of entrepreneurships of natural persons will be explained in the following chapters.

• Trade Business
• Liberal Professions

Updated for socio-legal content as of 8^th November 2021.