How to choose a tradesperson and avoid scams: checking ARES and the trade register
ID number, trade licence, insolvency, paying by transfer and warning signs: how to check a tradesperson for free in ten minutes before renovating your flat.
“Cash advance for materials, please” — and then the tradesperson stops answering the phone. Ten minutes of checking public registers would prevent most such stories. It is free, needs no registration and works on your phone.
1. A business, or “a friend who can do it”?
A business (podnikatel) is someone who independently and systematically carries on a gainful activity on their own account and responsibility (Section 420 of the Civil Code, Act No. 89/2012 Coll.). This matters: the special consumer protection rules apply to contracts that a business concludes with a consumer (Section 1810 OZ). If you hire “an acquaintance without an ID number”, you lose part of that protection — and in a dispute it is harder to know whom to sue.
2. ARES: does the business exist, and is it really them?
Every business must state its name and registered address, its registration details and its identification number, if it has one, on business documents and on its website (Section 435 OZ). So the ID number (IČO) should be on the offer, contract or invoice. Enter it in ARES (ares.gov.cz) — you will see the name, registered address, date of establishment and links to other registers. Compare it with what the tradesperson told you: does the name match? Was the business set up last week? Is the account you are asked to pay into in a different name?
3. The trade register: are they licensed for this particular job?
The trade register (rzp.cz) is, in its main part, a public list (Section 60(3) of Act No. 455/1991 Coll., the Trade Licensing Act). It shows which trades the business holds and since when. Note the difference: an “unqualified trade” (volná živnost) requires no professional qualification (Section 19 of Act No. 455/1991 Coll.), whereas the craft trades listed in Annex 1 (Section 20 of Act No. 455/1991 Coll.) do — the business must prove it by an apprenticeship certificate, school-leaving exam, practice or other document (Sections 21 and 22 of Act No. 455/1991 Coll.).
- Masonry, plastering → “Zednictví”.
- Water, drains, heating → “Vodoinstalatérství, topenářství”.
- Electrical installations → “Montáž, opravy, revize a zkoušky elektrických zařízení”.
- Gas and boilers → “Montáž, opravy, revize a zkoušky plynových zařízení a plnění nádob plyny”.
- Air conditioning and heat pumps → “Montáž, opravy a rekonstrukce chladicích zařízení a tepelných čerpadel”.
- Painting → “Malířství, lakýrnictví, natěračství”.
- Floors, kitchens, built-in wardrobes → “Truhlářství, podlahářství”.
- Roof, rafters, gutters → “Pokrývačství, tesařství” and sheet-metal work (klempířství).
- Stoves and fireplaces → “Kamnářství”; waterproofing → “Izolatérství”.
4. Insolvency register and commercial register
- Insolvency register (isir.justice.cz): if insolvency proceedings are under way against the business, better not pay an advance — getting the money back is very hard.
- Commercial register (or.justice.cz) for a limited company (s.r.o.): who the managing director (jednatel) is and may sign the contract, and whether the company is in liquidation.
- For a self-employed individual, the basic data are in ARES and the trade register.
5. Payment: by transfer and in stages
A payment above CZK 270,000 must be made cashless and the recipient may not accept it in cash; all payments by the same payer to the same recipient on one day count towards the limit (Section 4 of Act No. 254/2004 Coll.). Breaking this can mean a fine of up to CZK 500,000 for an individual and up to CZK 5,000,000 for a company or self-employed person — for both sides (Section 5 of Act No. 254/2004 Coll.). Even below the limit, a transfer to an account in the business's name is the best proof of payment. Give an advance only for materials against a receipt, and pay the rest in stages for finished and accepted work.
6. Warning signs
- Wants the whole amount or a large advance up front, in cash.
- Has no ID number or will “send it later”; the account holder's name does not match ARES.
- Refuses a written offer and contract — “we know each other, don't we”.
- The price is far below other offers and “we start tomorrow”.
- No photos of finished jobs and no contacts of previous customers.
- Unlike the price, no completion date can be agreed.
7. Before you sign
Ask for at least two or three written offers for the same scope of work so you can compare them. Look at photos of finished jobs and reviews — ideally call a previous customer. And put everything agreed into a contract for work (smlouva o dílo): price, deadline, payment stages and handover. What it must contain is covered in our article on renovation contracts.
