Name
Global FinTech Guide
Country _ Name
Czech Republic
SectionTitle
Signature requirements
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The signature requirements pertain the legal or contractual requirements in order to make a legally effective declaration of intent or a legally binding contract.


Possibility to replace a specific formal requirement of making a binding declaration of intention

In principle, the written form can be replaced with the electronic form. Depending on the situation and the applicable legal requirements, the electronic document may, however, need to meet certain additional criteria to be legally valid/effective (e.g. it must be signed using a qualified electronic signature or it may need to be in the form of a notarial act).

Please note, though, that under the Czech Civil Code, the electronically concluded agreement may not need to be “signed” if the electronic means used to enable its contents to be captured and the acting person to be identified.

Presence of any specific formal requirements to effectively conclude a loan agreement

As for the B2B loan agreements, there are no specific form requirements. In the case of consumer loan agreements, these typically need to be concluded in written form.

Process of conclusion of a contract by using a qualified electronic signature in practice

The specific process may differ based on the solution used, however, typically the following components are required to create qualified electronic signatures:

  • a qualified certificate on a secure signature creation device (colloquially e.g. the so-called signature card);
  • a smart card reader; and
  • a smart card reader; and

A list of relevant qualified trust service providers for Czechia and all other EU-Member states can be found in the dedicated European Commission’s register.

Legal consequences to a contract in case of not fulfilling formal requirements

This will depend on the situation and applicable legal requirements. Typically, such a contract could be deemed void, however, this is not always the case (e.g., in the case of consumer loan agreements).

Usual practice of signing contractual agreements in the B2B sector

Unfortunately, there is no relevant statistical data. However, from our experience, it depends on the type of the contract, its value etc. Some are signed electronically, but B2B contracts are usually still signed in written form.

Usual practice of signing contractual agreements in the B2C sector

Unfortunately, there is no relevant statistical data. However, from our experience, it depends on the type of the contract, its value etc. Some businesses use SMS-based signatures, some require qualified signatures, and some use other solutions. Speaking of the latter, it should be pointed out that in Czechia, solutions based on bank identity (BankID) can also be used to sign electronic documents and are becoming more and more popular. Furthermore, contractual agreements which do not require the written or electronic form are made electronically by simply agreeing to the terms and conditions with a mouse click. As for the handwritten signatures, they are still (and need to be) used in case of agreements regarding immovable property (but this is a general requirement, not dependent upon whether the contractual party is a consumer or not).

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