Freelancing in Czechia: Everything you need to know to start earning

Lots of people dream of going freelance. They imagine life without a boss, without a daily commute, with no need for permission to take a holiday, leaving the rigid eight-hour working day behind.

Yet freelancing doesn’t mean a life without constraints. Every freelancer is effectively the boss of a small one-person business. They do all the things that businesses do; sales, chasing leads, pricing work, negotiating with clients, maintaining relationships, issuing invoices and dealing with taxes — all by themselves, while still finding the time to do the work that generates income.

Yet before reaching that point, freelancers must establish their legal right to do business in Czechia, just like any other business entity. There’s a lot to navigate, and doing all this when you’re not a Czech citizen and don’t speak the language adds a whole new layer of complexity.

One number will define your right to work as a freelancer in Czechia: your IČO, short for identifikační číslo osoby, or Identification Number in English. Your IČO is provided to you when you are granted a trade license (živnostenský list), which allows you to work as a sole trader (known as an osoba samostatně výdělečně činná, abbreviated to OSVČ) in Czechia.