Changing a company seat in Czechia: the procedure

A company outgrows its premises, moves to a more representative address or changes its seat provider. Changing the seat is a routine matter, but the procedure is not always the same — in some cases a decision of the managing director is enough, in others a notary is needed. The difference is not made by the size of the company, but by how the seat is entered in the founding deed.

Before you change anything, then, it pays to look into the founding deed and find out which of the two scenarios you fall into. Everything else — the procedure and the costs — follows from that.

The wording of the founding deed decides

If the founding deed states only the municipality as the seat (for example "Prague") and the company moves within the same municipality, the managing director alone can decide on the change of the specific address. The deed need not be changed and no notary is required — only the registered address in the commercial register changes.

If, however, the municipality changes, or if the founding deed contains a specific full address, the situation is more complex. Then the founding deed itself must be changed, which requires a decision of the general meeting (for a single-member company, a decision of the sole shareholder) in the form of a notarial deed. This is precisely why it pays to state only the municipality in the deed — it gives you the freedom to move within it in future without a notary.

Documents and registration in the register

With every change of address you must prove the right to use the new seat — a new consent from the property owner with an officially verified signature, no older than three months, together with a cadastre extract. These are the same documents as for the first registration of a seat, covered in the article documents to register a company seat.

You then enter the change in the commercial register — either by a petition to the court, or by direct registration at a notary, which tends to be faster. Only with registration in the register does the new address become effective towards the authorities and business partners.

How quickly the change happens

The speed depends on the route chosen. Direct registration at a notary tends to be a matter of a few days — the notary verifies the documents and carries out the registration itself. Filing a petition with the court usually takes longer. Until the new address is entered in the commercial register, the original seat applies externally, so keep an eye on post at the old address until the change takes effect. If you are planning a move, it pays to prepare the documents for the new address in advance, so the individual steps follow on without unnecessary delays.

What changes after the move and what stays

Changing the seat does not mean a new company. The identification number (IČO) and the data box stay the same, as do all concluded contracts and obligations. If, however, the new seat changes the local jurisdiction of the tax office, your tax file transfers to the new office — there is no need to deal with registration for tax, the transfer happens automatically. After the change, do not forget to update the address on documents, the website and invoices.

Conclusion

The procedure for changing the seat is determined by the founding deed: within the municipality and with "municipal" wording the managing director decides; when the municipality or a specific address changes, a notarial deed is needed. The documents are the same as for the first registration, and the IČO and data box do not change. Why the choice of the new address matters is covered in the article company seat in central Prague.

Frequently asked questions