Czech data box (datová schránka): who must have one

Who gets a data box in 2026 under Act No. 300/2008 Sb.

No application is needed: the Digital and Information Agency (DIA) sets up a data box free of charge as soon as it learns that a self-employed person or a listed professional has been entered in the statutory register, or a legal person in the register of persons, and the law treats foreign holders exactly like Czech ones (§ 4(1) and (3) and § 5(1) of Act No. 300/2008 Sb.). Everyone else, Czech or foreign, gets a box only on request.

The first row surprises most expats: since 1 January 2023, every registered self-employed person receives a box automatically, foreigners who never asked for one included (Act No. 261/2021 Sb., čl. CXLII).

Why ordinary residents were left out

Individuals without a business nearly received boxes automatically too, after their first login with a citizen identity. Act No. 457/2022 Sb., effective 1 January 2023, cancelled that plan: personal boxes are created only on request. The DIA counted 4,354,307 active data boxes as of 25 October 2026 (DIA statistics).

What happens to a document you never open?

A document delivered to a Czech data box counts as served the moment a person with access logs in. If nobody logs in within 10 days of its arrival, it is deemed served on the last day of that period, with the same legal effect as delivery into your own hands (§ 17(3), (4) and (6) of Act No. 300/2008 Sb.).

This deemed delivery (fikce doručení) is why an unused box still matters. Since 1 January 2023, following a Supreme Administrative Court ruling, the system no longer deems a message delivered on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday: if the 10th day falls on one, delivery happens on the next working day (DIA notice).

Even a court payment order (platební rozkaz), which otherwise excludes substitute delivery, can take effect this way when it goes to a data box (§ 173(1) of the Civil Procedure Code, Act No. 99/1963 Sb.). A private data message (poštovní datová zpráva) from a company or person is also deemed delivered after 10 days (§ 18a(3)); the holder of a personal box may block these (§ 18a(1)).

If you were away when the 10 days ran out

The holder can ask for a delivery to be declared ineffective only under the conditions of another law (§ 17(5) of Act No. 300/2008 Sb.). For an authority that follows the Administrative Procedure Code (Act No. 500/2004 Sb.), you must prove a temporary absence or another serious reason that was not your fault (§ 24(2)). The request must arrive within 15 days of the day the obstacle ended, and never later than one year (§ 41(2)).

For court documents, the request goes to the court within 15 days of the day you learned or could have learned of the document, and only for an excusable reason; not actually living at the delivery address is not one (§ 50d(1) and (2) of the Civil Procedure Code).

A hypothetical case: Ana, a Spanish web designer with a Czech trade licence, spends three months abroad without logging in. A municipal office’s fine arrives in her box on Wednesday 4 March 2026. The 10 days run from the next day, so the period ends on Saturday 14 March; under the weekend rule the fine counts as delivered on Monday 16 March, and the appeal period runs from then although she has not seen it. After her return she has 15 days to ask the office to declare the delivery invalid, and the office decides whether her reason was not her fault.

Filing duties that come with a statutory box

A taxpayer who has an accessible data box created by law must file tax returns, registration applications and notices of changes only electronically under § 72(6) of the Tax Code (Act No. 280/2009 Sb., daňový řád). A voluntary personal box that can be deactivated on request does not trigger this duty.

A paper filing from someone who must file electronically has a defect of form (§ 74(1)(c) of the Tax Code). The tax office first calls for the defect to be fixed. If it is not fixed, the fine is 1,000 Kč (§ 247a(2)), and the office can raise it to as much as 50,000 Kč if the failure seriously hampers tax administration (§ 247a(4)).

Many expat guides still describe an automatic 2,000 Kč fine. That rule ended on 1 January 2021: Act No. 283/2020 Sb. replaced it with the 1,000 Kč fine after a call to fix the defect, and limited the duty to boxes created by law (Sagit summary of Act No. 283/2020 Sb.).

Social security and health insurance overviews

A self-employed person with an accessible statutory box must submit the annual overview (přehled) and other prescribed forms to the Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ) only electronically, from January 2025; paper is allowed only for technical reasons, with an explanation (§ 123e(4) of Act No. 582/1991 Sb.; ČSSZ). From 1 January 2026 all self-employed people file the health-insurance overview only electronically, through the data box or the insurer’s portal (§ 24(7) of Act No. 592/1992 Sb.; health insurer OZP).

Can you deactivate a data box when you leave Czechia?

A data box created on request, such as a personal box or the box of a foreign business without a Czech IČO, can be deactivated on request, but a box created by law cannot (§ 11(5) to (7) of Act No. 300/2008 Sb.; DIA Czech POINT manual). Moving abroad does not close any box automatically.

A box deactivated twice in the past year can be reactivated only after 1 year (§ 11(7)). The law deactivates a personal or self-employed box automatically only on death, a court declaration of death, restriction of legal capacity or restriction of personal liberty (§ 11(1)); a change of country is not on that list. A business box is deactivated on the day its holder is deleted from the statutory register (§ 11(2)) and cancelled 3 years later (§ 13(b) and (c)); a company’s box on the day the company is dissolved (§ 11(3)).

Ending the trade licence for good

The trade office cancels a trade licence when the trader requests it (§ 58(1)(c) of Act No. 455/1991 Sb.). The DIA advises a trader who does not want the business box to apply for deletion from the trade register; the box is then deactivated and later cancelled.

How a foreigner gets a personal data box

A foreigner without a business can request a free personal data box, one per person, at a Czech POINT counter (the state’s assisted-service points) or online through Portál občana. Act No. 300/2008 Sb. sets the same conditions for Czech citizens and foreigners (§ 3(1) and (2)).

At a Czech POINT counter

The DIA Czech POINT manual (version 1.1 of 1 July 2026) accepts a residence permit (card or booklet), a residence sticker, a visa sticker, a certificate of temporary residence or an alien’s travel document; foreign-language documents need an official Czech translation. No verified signature is needed when you sign in front of the employee (§ 27(3)), and the request is free (§ 28).

Online, with a citizen identity

After logging in to Portál občana with a citizen identity, a foreigner with permitted residence can choose the option “Založit datovku”, meaning “create a data box” (Portál občana help). The NIA ID or Mobile key identity requires a valid Czech residence permit or long-stay visa, or, for an EU citizen, a certificate of temporary residence, plus a +420 mobile number, verified once at a Czech POINT (DIA guide for foreigners).

A new box becomes active at the first login, or at the latest on the 15th day after the login details are delivered (§ 10(2) of Act No. 300/2008 Sb.). A business registered abroad cannot apply at a Czech POINT counter: the DIA requires a written application with a verified signature and an extract from the home business register (DIA).

A bill on boxes for foreigners receiving benefits

Bill No. 103 (tisk 103), submitted on 10 February 2026 by deputies of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), would require the DIA to create a box for a foreigner granted a benefit such as a pension or state social support (bill text). The government disagreed with it on 10 March 2026; it is on the Chamber’s agenda from 13 October 2026, with no first reading recorded yet (Chamber of Deputies).

Storage limits, alerts and prices

A message stays in a Czech data box for 90 days from the first login of a person with access, or for 3 years from delivery if nobody logs in (§ 6 of Decree No. 194/2009 Sb.). Longer storage is the paid Datový trezor archive of Česká pošta, the operator of the system.

Communicating with public authorities through a data box is free of charge (DIA).

The e-mail alert about a new message is free (§ 20(1)(d) of Act No. 300/2008 Sb.); other alert channels are charged to the holder.

The client portal has a new address: since the final redirect on 27 August 2026, users log in only at datovka.gov.cz, while many older guides still give the previous address, mojedatovaschranka.cz. The DIA also warns about fraudulent SMS messages that misuse the data box system (DIA).

Source: Česká pošta price list valid from 1 April 2026, section 3.3 for the Datový trezor. For private data messages, the price list sets a minimum invoiced amount of 60 Kč, which does not apply if you pay from credit in your data box.

This article does not replace professional legal advice.