Criminal record extract in Czechia: how to get one, the fee, and your home country's record

A criminal record extract (výpis z rejstříku trestů) is the Czech state's paper saying whether you have a conviction on record here.¹ This page covers who asks for one, how a foreigner gets it and what it costs, and the record from your home country that residence applications want instead. It isn't legal advice, and the last section says when to get some.

What is a criminal record extract, and who asks for it?

The criminal register (rejstřík trestů) is kept by the Ministry of Justice and records final convictions by the courts; its records serve to prove a clean record (bezúhonnost).¹ The extract you can ask for, the výpis, lists your convictions except those the law treats as if they never happened, such as expunged ones.^3,4 It's a public document.¹

The full copy, the opis, also shows expunged convictions and the course of every sentence. You can't ask for your own: it goes only to the police, prosecutors and courts in criminal cases, and to other bodies a law names.^5,4 The Interior Ministry is one of them, so in residence cases it reads more than your extract shows.⁶

Who asks for a clean record:

• An employer, only if the nature of the work gives a real reason and the request is proportionate, or a law requires it. Otherwise the Labour Code forbids an employer to ask, directly or through someone else.⁷
• The trade licence office, when you apply for a trade licence. Czech citizens prove a clean record with a Czech extract, and so do foreigners from outside the EU who hold permanent residence. Other EU citizens bring their own country's record, or a Czech extract with its annex. Other foreigners from outside the EU bring their own country's record and a Czech extract as well. The office may get the Czech extract itself, and what EU and other foreign citizens bring must be no older than 3 months.⁸
• The Interior Ministry, for a visa, a residence permit or citizenship. It gets your Czech record itself: the Foreigners Act tells it to for visas and permits, and the Citizenship Act for applicants over 15. From you it wants records from your home country and the countries you've lived in.^9,10,11

No law sets one validity period for an extract: each law that asks for one says how old it may be, from 1 month to 6 months or more.⁴

How do you get a Czech extract?

You fill in a written request and an official checks your identity; the routes differ in where that happens.^12,13

• At a Czech POINT counter, at town halls, Česká pošta branches, the Chamber of Commerce and notaries, among others.¹³ You get the extract while you wait, unless your details need checking, and then they tell you when to collect it.¹⁴
• At the Justice Ministry, Legerova 1877/7, Prague 2: Monday and Wednesday 8:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00, Tuesday and Thursday 8:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 15:00, Friday 8:00 to 12:00. You can pay by card or in cash.^15,13 If you hold a residence permit, the office can find your birth surname in the foreigners' register, so you need no extra papers. The ministry says this works only at that office, and suggests bringing your birth certificate anyway.²
• Online, through the Citizen Portal (Portál občana), signed in with Identita občana or your personal data box. The extract arrives in your portal account. With a personal data box, you can also send the gov.cz form and get the extract in the data box.^16,13,17
• At a town hall that keeps a civil register (matrika) but has no Czech POINT: it posts your request to the ministry, so it takes longer.^2,17
• Abroad, at a Czech embassy or consulate. It checks your identity and posts the request to the ministry.¹² The embassy in Kyiv, for one, says you can't get it while you wait there; you collect it at the embassy or have it sent to an address in Czechia.¹⁸

You can't simply post your request yourself. Only an office that has checked your identity sends it on.¹⁷ The Justice Ministry's request form ("Žádost o výpis z rejstříku trestů fyzických osob", PDF) is the paper you fill in for that, with a box for the stamp of the office that checks you; it's printed and filled in by hand.¹⁹

Someone else can do it for you with a power of attorney carrying your officially verified signature: at a register office (matrika), a notary, some lawyers, Česká pošta, or abroad a Czech embassy.^12,20 From abroad, the ministry says the simplest way is a power in Czech verified at a Czech embassy. A foreign notary's verification also needs an apostille, or a superlegalisation, unless a treaty with that country waives it, and a translation into Czech by a Czech court translator.⁴

What does a foreigner need to show?

The original of a valid photo ID: your passport, an identity card or your residence card.¹³ The official also checks your details against it: name, current and birth surname, date and place of birth, birth number (rodné číslo) and citizenship.¹³ The form asks for a birth number only if you have one.¹⁹

Most passports and residence cards don't show all of that. If something is missing and you aren't in the population register, bring a birth certificate, or a marriage certificate showing your birth surname, as an original or a certified copy. A foreign one needs an apostille, superlegalisation, or the verification your country's treaty asks for, and an official Czech translation.^13,17,2 The register works by birth surname, which is why it asks.²

How fast is it, and what does it cost?

• While you wait: for Czech citizens, and for citizens of countries outside the EU who don't ask for an EU annex.⁴
• Born abroad: at Czech POINT, your request goes to a check at the ministry, usually done within 30 minutes during its working hours. You collect it at any Czech POINT, and pay then. Czech POINT can't send requests to countries outside the EU, so the agency that runs it suggests that citizens of those countries go to the Justice Ministry instead.¹⁴
• Citizens of other EU countries and of the UK: the ministry always asks your country for its record too, and the extract comes with it, within 25 working days. If that country doesn't answer in time, the extract says so.^21,4,14,2 Anyone who lived in, or was a citizen of, another EU country can ask for that annex.²²
• Born in Slovakia, without Slovak citizenship: up to 3 working days, if your data hasn't been moved to Prague yet.⁴

If you applied at the ministry's office and had to wait, the extract is posted to your address in Czechia, kept for you to collect, or sent to your data box.⁴

The fee in 2026 is 100 Kč at Czech POINT or the ministry, and 400 Kč at a Czech embassy.²³ Online, through the Citizen Portal or the gov.cz form, it's free.^16,13

Can you use a Czech extract abroad?

Extracts from Czech POINT, a data box or the Citizen Portal are mainly for use in Czechia. For another country, get one at the Justice Ministry's office in person: the Foreign Ministry's legalisation department adds an apostille, or a higher verification, only to those.^13,24 Check with whoever wants it which kind they need.¹³

There's no English version for foreigners. The multilingual EU form, which gave an extract a version in another EU language on request, has been issued only to Czech citizens since 30 September 2026.²⁵ So ask the office abroad whether it needs a translation.

Anyone can check that an extract is genuine at isrt.justice.cz, from the day after it was issued.²⁴

What about your home country's record?

The Interior Ministry gets your Czech record itself: what it wants from you is a record from abroad (doklad obdobný výpisu z rejstříku trestů).¹¹

• A long-term visa (not for a business visa, unless the embassy asks): a record from your country of citizenship, if you're 15 or over. If your country doesn't issue one, the embassy may let you make a sworn statement instead. The embassy can also ask for records from every country where you stayed more than 6 months in total in the last 3 years.²⁶
• Some long-term residence permits: from your country of citizenship and every country where you stayed more than 6 months in total in the last 3 years, from age 15. A sworn statement (čestné prohlášení) replaces it if a country doesn't issue one.¹¹ Visas and residence permits lists the documents for each.
• Permanent residence: from your country of citizenship or permanent residence, and from countries where you lived more than 6 months in a row in the last 3 years. After five years' continuous stay, you bring it only if the ministry asks.²⁷ Permanent residence explains the rest.
• Citizenship, if you're over 15 and have lived here less than 10 years: records no older than 6 months from your country of citizenship, unless you hold asylum or subsidiary protection here, and from every country where you lived more than 6 months in a row in the last 10 years after turning 15. A sworn statement can stand in for a country where you stayed only briefly, or one that won't issue a record.²⁸

Citizens of other EU countries, and people who lived in one, can hand in the Czech extract with that country's annex instead.^11,22

How old it may be. Documents for a long-term visa, a long-term residence permit or permanent residence may be no older than 180 days.²⁹ Some countries take weeks to issue a record and weeks more to verify it, so order it early enough to finish in time, but not so early that it's too old when you hand it in.

Verification and translation. A foreign public document counts here only once it's verified. Which kind it needs depends on the country that issued it:³⁰

• Superlegalisation, by the Czech embassy, if your country has no legal-assistance treaty with Czechia and hasn't joined the Hague Apostille Convention.
• An apostille, from your country's own authority, if it has joined the convention.
• No higher verification, only a translation, if your country has a treaty with Czechia that waives it.
• None for another EU country's record: the Interior Ministry accepts public documents from EU countries without further verification. EU citizens can also hand in the EU's multilingual standard form for the absence of a criminal record instead, with no translation.³¹

Every document not in Czech or Slovak also needs an official translation into Czech (úřední překlad), by a court translator (soudní překladatel).^30,32 Bytky lists sworn translators in Prague, with the languages each one translates. In a residence case, a document without one, even after the office asks for it, is treated as if you never handed it in.³³

Those that translate from English:

How do you get your home country's record?

Each country has its own issuer and route. Fees and times below are as the issuers state them, checked on 28 October 2026. After any verification, each record needs the official Czech translation described above.

United Kingdom

ACRO Criminal Records Office issues the police certificate. You apply online with a photo, copies of your passport and your addresses for the last 10 years; it costs £70 and takes up to 20 working days, plus post. It comes by post only, and ACRO neither apostilles nor translates it, though it can send it straight to the FCDO for you.³⁴ Czechia wants an apostille on British documents, from the FCDO's Legalisation Office, by post.^31,35 A paper apostille costs £45 plus courier (£32 per 1.5 kg to European countries) and usually takes up to 25 working days plus postage; ACRO certificates can't get an e-Apostille.³⁶ Then a Czech court translator translates it.

United States

The FBI issues the Identity History Summary. You post a signed request form, your fingerprints on card FD-258 and the $18 fee to the FBI in Clarksburg, West Virginia.³⁷ The US Embassy in Prague doesn't take fingerprints but lists private providers in Czechia. It says the Czech authorities accept a sworn statement, which it notarises for $50, only in certain cases, so check with your office first.³⁸ A document from a US federal authority such as the FBI gets its apostille from the US Department of State; get the apostille first, then have the whole document translated into Czech, apostille included.³⁹

Canada

The RCMP issues a certified criminal record check, based on your fingerprints. From abroad, an authorised agency such as the police or a notary takes all ten fingerprints on paper, and an RCMP-accredited fingerprinting company in Canada submits them for you.⁴⁰ The federal fee is C$25, plus the company's own fee; with no match it takes 3 business days or less, with a possible match about 120, and the result comes by post.⁴¹ Since 11 January 2024, Canadian documents need an apostille for Czechia, from Global Affairs Canada for federal ones, and then an official Czech translation; the Czech embassy doesn't verify them further.⁴²

Australia

The Australian Federal Police issues the National Police Certificate, for A$57, or A$114 with fingerprints. Apply online and most digital certificates arrive by email within a few days; you can also ask for a paper copy by post. A fingerprint check needs a postal application and takes at least 15 working days.⁴³ The apostille comes from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Australian embassies and consulates issue it too, except those headed by an honorary consul.⁴⁴ Australian missions abroad charge A$105 for one from 1 January 2026.⁴⁵ Then the Czech translation.

India

India's Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) comes through the Embassy of India in Prague. You apply on the Passport Seva portal (mportal.passportindia.gov.in), print and sign the form, and hand it in at the embassy with copies of your passport and residence permit or visa and one ICAO-standard photo, Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 12:00. The PCC is issued only after the police in India verify you, which can take a long time, so the embassy says to apply well ahead.⁴⁶ From 1 July 2026 it costs 880 Kč, paid in cash in koruna when you hand in the application.⁴⁷ For a document issued in India, the Czech embassy in New Delhi says Indian documents must be apostilled by the Indian authorities.⁴⁸ A PCC from the embassy in Prague is the embassy's own document, and its page doesn't say which verification Czechia wants on it, so ask the office you'll hand it to; then the Czech translation.

Philippines

The National Bureau of Investigation issues the NBI Clearance. From abroad, you get Form No. 5 from a Philippine embassy or consulate, have your fingerprints rolled at the embassy or a police station, register and pay at clearance.nbi.gov.ph, which needs a Philippine mobile number, and post everything to the NBI in Manila or have a representative hand it in. It takes up to 5 days from receipt.⁴⁹ The Philippines has applied the Apostille Convention since 14 May 2019, and its Department of Foreign Affairs issues the apostille, for 100 pesos, or 200 for faster release, according to the Hague Conference.^50,51 Then the Czech translation.

Moldova

The Embassy of Moldova in Prague issues the criminal record certificate (cazier judiciar) after checking with Moldova's Interior Ministry. Book an appointment and come in person, or apply by post with the form, a copy of your ID and proof that you paid the fee; it takes about 10 working days and costs €25. The embassy says the certificate is valid for 90 days from its date, with no extension, which is shorter than the 180 days Czechia allows.^52,29 You can have it in Czech, Romanian or English, and you can also order it online on Moldova's e-services portal, with an apostille and delivery to your home.⁵² Moldova has a legal-assistance treaty with Czechia, so its documents need no apostille or superlegalisation here.⁵³ Ask for it in Czech, and it needs no translation either.^52,30

Türkiye

Türkiye's criminal record (adli sicil kaydı) is kept by its Ministry of Justice; with an e-Devlet login you can look it up online.⁵⁴ The Turkish embassy in Prague takes applications for the certificate in person, after you book an appointment.⁵⁵ A record issued in Türkiye needs an apostille.⁵³ Documents issued by Turkish embassies and consuls need no verification here, under the European convention that abolishes it for them, which both countries have joined, so ask the office you'll hand it to whether the embassy's paper does. Then the Czech translation.^30,56

Ukraine

Ukraine's extract (витяг про несудимість) is issued online through the Diia portal, free of charge. You sign in, choose the short or the full type and the purpose, and it's ready within 10 working days, or 30 calendar days if your data needs checking; it arrives by email and in your Diia account.⁵⁷ Czechia's Health Ministry quotes a notice from Ukraine's embassy in Prague of 25 April 2022, written for health workers' applications: you request the electronic extract at vytiah.mvs.gov.ua and take it to a Ukrainian consulate, which turns it into a paper document.⁵⁸ The Czech embassy in Kyiv says documents issued by Ukraine's state authorities need no apostille or superlegalisation, under Article 18 of the Czech–Ukrainian treaty on legal assistance in civil matters; you hand in the original, or a certified copy, with an official Czech translation.⁵⁹

Other countries

For Vietnam, the Czech embassy in Hanoi says documents issued by Vietnam's authorities need no further verification in Czechia, under the 1984 treaty on legal assistance in civil and criminal matters. It also warns that many translators from Vietnamese lost their authorisation on 1 January 2026, so check yours in the Justice Ministry's register.⁶⁰ For any other country, ask its authorities or embassy how to get the record, and check which verification Czechia wants on the Foreign Ministry's list of treaty and Apostille states.^53,30

What to do next

1. Find out who wants which record: the Czech extract, your home country's, or both, and how old each may be.
2. The Czech extract: get it at Czech POINT, the Justice Ministry or online, close to the date you hand it in.
3. Your home country's: find its route above and order it in time to finish within the 180 days, then the apostille or superlegalisation if your country needs one, then the official Czech translation.
4. Hand them in with the rest of the application: Expat paperwork lists the Interior Ministry's forms and deadlines.

When should you ask a lawyer?

Ask a lawyer, or a non-profit adviser for foreigners, if you have a conviction anywhere, if your Czech extract shows something you think should be gone, or if a country won't issue your record and you aren't sure a sworn statement will do. An expunged conviction leaves your extract, but the Interior Ministry still sees it in the opis.^3,6 Expunging (zahlazení) is decided by a court: you apply to the court in person or by post. To see every record the register keeps on you, ask the Justice Ministry in writing under the data protection law.⁴

Sources

1. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §1a(1) and §15(1). ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Ministry of Justice, "Criminal record certificate", msp.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §13(1). ↩ ↩²

4. Ministry of Justice, "Co potřebujete vědět", msp.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

5. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §10(1) and (4). ↩

6. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §165a(2). ↩ ↩²

7. Labour Code (Act 262/2006 Coll.), §316(4)(h). ↩

8. Trade Licensing Act (Act 455/1991 Coll.), §6(3) and §46(1)(a) and (b). ↩

9. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §174(2). ↩

10. Citizenship Act (Act 186/2013 Coll.), §22(2). ↩

11. Ministry of the Interior, "Doklad obdobný výpisu z rejstříku trestů", ipc.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

12. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §11. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

13. Ministry of Justice, "Podání žádosti o výpis z rejstříku trestů", msp.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

14. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §11a; Digital and Information Agency, "Výpis z Rejstříku trestů fyzických osob", Czech POINT method, version of 1 July 2026, czechpoint.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³

15. Ministry of Justice, "Výpis z rejstříku trestů – kde žádat", msp.gov.cz. ↩

16. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §11aa and §14. ↩ ↩² ↩³

17. Citizen Portal, "Výpis z rejstříku trestů", portal.gov.cz; Citizen Portal, "Žádost o výpis z Rejstříku trestů", portal.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

18. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Embassy in Kyiv, "Výpis z rejstříku trestů", mzv.gov.cz. ↩

19. Ministry of Justice, "Formuláře" and the form "Žádost o výpis z rejstříku trestů fyzických osob", msp.gov.cz. ↩ ↩²

20. Ministry of Justice, "Plná moc", with a sample power of attorney, msp.gov.cz. ↩

21. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §16g(4). ↩

22. Ministry of Justice, "Výpis s přílohou se záznamy z EU", msp.gov.cz; Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §16g(5). ↩ ↩²

23. Administrative Fees Act (Act 634/2004 Coll.), tariff items 10(a) and 162(b). ↩

24. Ministry of Justice, "Ověření pravosti vydaného výpisu/opisu", msp.gov.cz. ↩ ↩²

25. Ministry of Justice, "Výpis obsahující vícejazyčný formulář", msp.gov.cz. ↩

26. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §31(1)(g), §31(2) and §31(3)(a). ↩

27. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §70(2)(e). ↩

28. Citizenship Act (Act 186/2013 Coll.), §14(3)(b) and §19(e). ↩

29. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §46(1), §55(1) and §72. ↩ ↩²

30. Ministry of the Interior, "Ověření cizích veřejných listin", ipc.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

31. Ministry of the Interior, "Formální požadavky náležitostí (občané Evropské unie a jejich rodinní příslušníci)", ipc.gov.cz. ↩ ↩²

32. Court Interpreters and Translators Act (Act 354/2019 Coll.), §2(2). ↩

33. Foreigners Act (Act 326/1999 Coll.), §169(2). ↩

34. ACRO Criminal Records Office, "Police Certificates", acro.police.uk. ↩

35. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Embassy in London, "Apostila", mzv.gov.cz. ↩

36. GOV.UK, "Get your document legalised: how to apply", gov.uk. ↩

37. FBI Criminal Justice Information Services, "Identity History Summary Request", form I-783, revision of 19 March 2025, fbi.gov. ↩

38. US Embassy in the Czech Republic, "U.S. Police Records", cz.usembassy.gov. ↩

39. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Embassy in Washington, "Apostilní doložky v USA", mzv.gov.cz. ↩

40. Royal Canadian Mounted Police, "Where to go", rcmp.ca. ↩

41. Royal Canadian Mounted Police, "Processing times and fees", rcmp.ca. ↩

42. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Embassy in Ottawa, "Apostilní doložka", updated 11 January 2024, mzv.gov.cz. ↩

43. Australian Federal Police, "Apply for a National Police Certificate", afp.gov.au. ↩

44. Hague Conference on Private International Law, "Australia: Competent Authority", updated 27 October 2025, hcch.net. ↩

45. Australian High Commission in Malta, "Notarial service fees from 1 January 2026", the fee list for Australia's overseas missions, malta.embassy.gov.au. ↩

46. Embassy of India in Prague, "Police Clearance Certificate", eoiprague.gov.in. ↩

47. Embassy of India in Prague, "Miscellaneous Consular Fees w.e.f. 01/07/2026" and "Consular Service Fee", eoiprague.gov.in. ↩

48. Embassy of the Czech Republic in New Delhi, "Superlegalizace dokumentů, ověření podpisu, úředně ověřené kopie", mzv.gov.cz. ↩

49. National Bureau of Investigation, "Mailed Clearance (Applying from Abroad)", nbi.gov.ph. ↩

50. Hague Conference on Private International Law, "Status table: Apostille Convention", hcch.net. ↩

51. Hague Conference on Private International Law, "Philippines: Competent Authority", updated 14 October 2024, hcch.net. ↩

52. Embassy of Moldova in the Czech Republic, "Certificat de cazier judiciar", cehia.mfa.gov.md. ↩ ↩² ↩³

53. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Osvobození od požadavku superlegalizace listin pro použití v ČR", lists of treaty and Apostille states, mzv.gov.cz. ↩ ↩² ↩³

54. e-Devlet, Ministry of Justice of Türkiye, "Adli Sicil Kaydı Sorgulama", turkiye.gov.tr. ↩

55. Embassy of Türkiye in Prague, "Consular Services", which opens the embassy's list on konsolosluk.gov.tr, with the procedure "Adli Sicil Belgesi Başvurusu". ↩

56. Council of Europe, "European Convention on the Abolition of Legalisation of Documents executed by Diplomatic Agents or Consular Officers (ETS No. 063): chart of signatures and ratifications", coe.int. ↩

57. Diia, Ukraine's state services portal, "Витяг про несудимість", diia.gov.ua. ↩

58. Ministry of Health, "Prokazování bezúhonnosti při podávání žádostí pro nelékařské zdravotnické pracovníky", mzd.gov.cz. ↩

59. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Embassy in Kyiv, "Ověřování", mzv.gov.cz. ↩

60. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Embassy in Hanoi, "Ověřování podpisů a kopií listin", mzv.gov.cz. ↩

61. Criminal Register Act (Act 269/1994 Coll.), §12. ↩