-
What are the Office's office hours during a state of emergency?
Office hours during the state of emergency are Monday 8:00-13:00 and Wednesday 8:00-13:00.
-
How and in what form should the appointment of the Security Director be notified to the National Security Authority?
The form of written notification of the establishment of the position of security director is not provided for by law. It is essential for the National Security Authority that the written notification of the appointment of the Security Director fulfils the requirements under Section 72(2) of Act No 412/2005 and is notified to the National Security Authority by a person authorised to act on behalf of a State authority, a legal person or a natural person engaged in business activity within 15 days of the date on which the position of Security Director was filled.
A written notification of the establishment of the position of Security Director may be delivered by delivery to the data box of the National Security Office (ID h93aayw) pursuant to Act No 300/2008 on electronic acts and authorised conversion of documents, as amended, or through the holder of a postal licence or a special postal licence, who is obliged under the postal contract pursuant to Act No 29/2000 on postal services and amending certain acts (the Postal Services Act), as amended, to deliver the document in a manner consistent with the requirements of this Act, or may be delivered in person to the registry office of the National Security Office, which is located at Na Popelce 2/16 Prague 5.
Information on delivery by electronic communication can be found here.
-
Is it necessary to report the resignation of an employee who, together with the function, was included in the list of names and functions of employees who have access to classified information?
Pursuant to Section 66(1)(d) of the Act, an employee who has resigned from a position in which he or she has been granted access to classified information is obliged to notify the NSA without delay of a change in the data contained in his or her application by a natural person. His employer is not obliged to report that this person has been removed from the list of persons who have access to classified information.
-
Can the Secretary of the Municipality, as the responsible person, issue a notice for access to classified information at the level reserved also to the mayor and deputy mayor, or must this verification be carried out by the NSA?
Yes, I did. In the case of towns and villages, the responsible person is the secretary of their office or, failing that, the mayor. Within a city or municipality, the Secretary of the Office is responsible to all authorities, including the mayor and deputy mayor. Therefore, as the responsible person or person designated by him/her, he/she may verify the conditions for access to restricted classified information and issue a notice to the mayor and deputy mayor.
-
Can a company holding a certificate use the NBÚ logo on its documents?
No, the NBÚ graphic logo is registered as a trademark under Act No. 441/2003 Coll., on Trademarks, and is registered in the Register of Trademarks maintained by the Industrial Property Office. The use of the logo would be a use of a trade mark for which the NSA does not give consent to other entities, as it is intended exclusively for use on official documents of the NSA. Only text informing that the company holds the relevant NBÚ certificate can be used, but without a graphic representation of the NBÚ logo.
-
Can a natural person who has fulfilled the conditions for access to restricted classified information have access to EU (RESTREINT UE) and NATO (NATO RESTRICTED) classified documents?
A person who qualifies for access to restricted classified information shall not automatically have access to RESTRIEINT UE or NATO RESTRICTED documents, but may be granted access where such access is strictly necessary for the performance of his function, work or other activity (need to know). In addition, the instruction shall state that the natural person has been familiarised with NATO and EU regulations.
According to Section 69(1)(b) of the Act, it is the duty of a state body, a legal entity and a natural person engaged in business activities to process and maintain an overview of places or functions where it is necessary to have access to classified information, including classified information of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
-
What legal form should the establishment and occupation of the position of Security Director (entrustment, appointment, change of employment contract, etc.) take if the company is a limited liability company?
The law does not provide for the legal form of the establishment or occupation of the position of Security Director, as this is the responsibility of each specific entity that establishes and occupies the position of Security Director. It is up to the responsible person to decide on the form in which the position of Security Director is to be established and filled.
From the point of view of the law, it is essential that, if the person responsible does not carry out the duties of security director himself, the security director must be placed under his direct authority. The law also does not stipulate that the function of security director must be performed exclusively independently and may be performed in combination with the performance of other work, but may not be performed simultaneously by several state authorities or entrepreneurs.
-
If classified information of the level Reserved between the Czech Republic and EU Member States is released, is it released via the central register or is it released directly (via the department register) to the EU institution?
The Act does not require the provision of classified information classified as Reserved in International Relations through its own registry or central registry or the registry of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as it provides classified information classified as Top Secret, Secret or Confidential.
-
On the basis of which provision of the law can the responsible person delegate the function of security director to someone else?
In order to ensure and fulfil the obligations within the scope of the Act, the responsible person may establish the function of Security Director pursuant to Section 71(1) of the Act, otherwise he/she also performs this function himself/herself and thus performs all the tasks required by the Act in the area of protection of classified information and security capability from the State authority, the responsible person and the Security Director.
The Security Director is the executive body of the responsible person in the field of the protection of classified information and the responsible person may entrust him in writing with the provision and performance of duties within the scope of the Act and in accordance with the provisions of Section 71(3) of the Act.
-
If a new natural person’s certificate is issued, must the person be informed again?
Yes, the validity of the previous instruction cannot be understood as continuous (Section 11(4) of the Act).
-
Who instructs the director of the company if he is the responsible person and the security director, has a valid certificate of a natural person, but is not informed and there is no person in the company who meets the conditions for access to cla
The director of a company may be instructed by a person who, for example, is an employee of the company without fulfilling the conditions for access to classified information or without holding a notice or certificate. This is the person entrusted with this task by the responsible person, i.e. the manager himself.
-
Is there a database of translators or interpreters who hold a natural person’s certificate for the purpose of translating or interpreting classified documents?
No, it doesn't exist. The NSA is not legally entitled to maintain such a database.
-
If a natural person has obtained a position where he/she will only have access to classified information at the end of the calendar year, is he/she also required to attend training in the same year?
Yes, it is the duty of the responsible person to provide training once a year to natural persons who have access to classified information (Section 67(1)(c)). The term "once a year" is interpreted within one calendar year, so if a natural person starts to have access in a particular calendar year, they must also be trained in that year.
-
Must NATO-dedicated classified information be transmitted via the register of classified information provided?
No, according to Section 79 of the Act, only Confidential, Secret and Top Secret classifications are recorded and stored in the registers of classified information provided in international (i.e. also NATO) relations, not Reserved.
-
Can Classified Information Reserved be carried by a non-notified or certified courier?
Decree No 275/2022 on administrative security and registers of classified information, as amended, addresses this issue in Section 23(4): ‘In the case of a consignment classified as Reserved, the courier shall present to the sender a valid notification pursuant to Section 6 of the Act, a certificate of a natural person pursuant to Section 54 of the Act or a document pursuant to Section 85 of the Act; if the courier is a person referred to in Section 58a(1) of the Act, the courier shall be accompanied by an instruction and, if issued, a service card.’
It therefore follows that restricted classified information cannot be transported by a courier who does not have a valid notification or does not hold a natural person’s certificate, with the exception of persons referred to in Section 58a(1) of the Act who provide information (and, where applicable, a service card).
-
Is it always necessary to classify information inferior to the item listed in the Annex to Government Regulation No 440/2024 on the catalogue of areas of classified information?
When classifying information, it is always necessary to assess whether all the characteristics of the classified information, both formal and material, are present. Pursuant to Section 4(1) of Act No 412/2005 on the protection of classified information and on security suitability, as amended, the relevant classification level refers to information the disclosure or misuse of which may harm the interest of the Czech Republic or be disadvantageous to the interest of the Czech Republic (material feature of classified information) and which can be classified under an item listed in the catalogue of areas of classified information in accordance with the Annex to the Government Regulation (formal feature of classified information). When marking the classification level, it is not sufficient to simply classify the information under one of the items in the catalogue, but it is always necessary to take into account any harm to the interest or disadvantage to the interest of the Czech Republic that could arise from the disclosure of the information to an unauthorized person or its misuse.
Industrial Security – Facility Security Clearance
-
As part of the security procedure, I communicate with the NSA via a data box, is there any recommendation as to what should be included in the data message in the ‘Case’ field?
NBÚ recommends that when communicating via the information system of data boxes (ID NBÚ - h93aayw) in the field of security procedure for issuing the certificate of the entrepreneur in the data message in the field "Case’ – ‘Safety management’. In the case of an application for the issue of an entrepreneur’s certificate in the data message, in the field ‘Case" state "Application for the issue of a certificate of the entrepreneur’.
If you are responding to NBÚ document (request, communication, notification, decision...), also indicate the reference number by which the document was marked (e.g. 11000/2024-NBÚ/21,...). It is also recommended to enter the reference number in the field ‘Case’ (e.g. ‘Security procedure ref.11000/2024-NBÚ/21...’).
-
Our company needs to be certified as an entrepreneur. How is he supposed to proceed?
An application for the issue of an entrepreneur's certificate may be submitted in person at the NSA's filing office, by post or in electronic form, by delivery to the NSA's data box, to the NSA's electronic address using a recognised electronic signature, or through an online service using the means of a qualified electronic identification system. The application shall include:
- application form;
- the completed questionnaire of the entrepreneur in electronic form,
- security documentation of the entrepreneur,
- original documents or certified copies thereof necessary to verify compliance with the conditions under Section 16 of the Act – the scope and form of the documents are laid down in the Industrial Security Decree; and
- a declaration of non-disclosure of the materially and locally competent tax administrator and other persons involved in tax administration pursuant to Section 52(2) of the Tax Code, to the full extent of the data for the purpose of conducting security proceedings.
For more information, see Protecting classified information – Industrial security – How to Apply for an Entrepreneur Certificate.
-
Does the application for an entrepreneur certificate have to be delivered to the NSA in person?
It is not necessary, the application can be submitted in person at the filing office of the NSA by sending it in the form of a postal item or in electronic form, namely
- delivery to the NBÚ data box,
- to the electronic address of the NSA using a recognised electronic signature, or
- through an online service using the means of a qualified electronic identification scheme (NBÚ portal).
-
Can a person who is not a member of the statutory body be the responsible person?
He can't. The amendment to the Act, implemented by Act No 267/2024 amending the Act, amended the provisions of Section 2(e)(13) of the Act. According to the wording effective from 1.1.2025, the responsible person in the case of an entrepreneur under Section 15, who is a legal person, may be a natural person who is:
- its individual statutory body, or
- where a legal person has several individual statutory bodies or the statutory body of that legal person is a collective body, a member of the statutory body who is a natural person and is designated to act in matters governed by this Act.
-
The responsible person of the entrepreneur in our company is a person outside the statutory body. Does this affect the validity of the entrepreneur's certificate after the amendment of the Act?
Yes, this fact will affect the validity of the entrepreneur’s certificate if the entrepreneur does not reflect the amendment of the Act within 12 months from the date of entry into force of Act No 267/2024 amending the Act.
Paragraph 6. Article II Transitional provisions of Act No 267/2024 Coll., which entered into force in this part on 1.1.2025, stipulate that an entrepreneur who holds an entrepreneur’s certificate issued before the date of entry into force of this Act ceases to meet the condition for issuing an entrepreneur’s certificate pursuant to Section 16(1)(d) of the Act after a period of 12 months from the date of entry into force of this Act, if the responsible person designated pursuant to Section 2(e)(13) of the Act, in the version in force before the date of entry into force of this Act, is not
- a) its individual statutory body, or
- a member of its collective statutory body.
-
We are holders of a valid certificate issued by 31.12.2024. What is the validity of this certificate?
Point 4 of Article II Transitional provisions of Act No 267/2024 amending the Act as regards the period of validity of certificates issued before the date of entry into force of the amendment to the Act (until 31.12.2024) provides that the certificate of a natural person, Certificate of Entrepreneur and proof of security capacity of a natural person issued before the date of entry into force of this Act shall remain valid for the period of validity specified therein.
-
The law introduces new provisions on the economic instability of the entrepreneur, which are associated with duration. Since when does this time count?
The period is set for the new provisions of the Act in Section 17(1)(d) and Section 17(2)(e) and (f) of the Act. Point 7 of Article II Transitional provisions of Act No 267/2024 amending Act No 412/2005 on the protection of classified information and on security capacity, as amended, provides that, in the case of an entrepreneur holding an entrepreneur’s certificate issued before the date of entry into force of this Act (until 31 December 2024), the period relevant for assessing compliance with the conditions referred to in Section 17(1)(d) and in Section 17(2)(e) and (f) of Act No 412/2005, as applicable from the date of entry into force of this Act, starts to run.
-
If we submit the first application for an entrepreneur's certificate and do not pay the administrative fee, will proceedings be initiated on the entrepreneur's application?
The amendment to the Act introduced by Act No 267/2024 Coll., the payment of the administrative fee is one of the conditions for initiating security proceedings on an application by an entrepreneur for the issue of an entrepreneur’s certificate referred to in Section 93(1), point (b), of the Act. If the administrative fee is not paid, then it is not a submission that meets the conditions for initiating the procedure and the security procedure will not be initiated.
-
Does the fee obligation change in relation to repeated applications from the entrepreneur?
If an entrepreneur submits an application for the issue of an entrepreneur’s certificate that meets the conditions for submitting an application under Section 96(3) and (4) of the Act, then even after the amendment of the Act, the submission of such an application is not subject to a fee obligation.
-
As part of the application for the issue of a certificate of the entrepreneur, some documented documents may not be older than 60 days from the date of issue. At what date is this calculated?
The 60-day period is calculated from the date of issue of the document to the date of submission of the application for the issue of the entrepreneur's certificate (if they are part of the application), or from the date of issue of the document to the date of sending these documents to the NSA (if they are sent additionally, for example, as a supplement to the completeness of the application for the issue of the entrepreneur's certificate, but also as evidence of the notified change).
-
The responsible person shall ensure that natural persons who have access to classified information are trained once a year. Who will train the responsible person?
The responsible person is obliged to ensure the training of natural persons, not to carry it out itself. The responsible person will not train himself/herself, but he/she is obliged to provide training for himself/herself.
-
How can the administrative fee be paid?
Methods and forms of payment of the administrative fee:
- at the filing office of the NSA before submitting the application for the issue of the entrepreneur's certificate in person, by means of a payment terminal or in cash,
- by bank transfer to the NBÚ account: 19-105881/0710 held at the Czech National Bank, as a variable symbol must be indicated the entrepreneur's ID number, in the message to the entrepreneur's recipient it states that it is an administrative fee and the ID of its data box: ‘administrative fee, ISD: xxxxxx’, whereby reimbursement means crediting a payment to the NSA’s account. (Since there may be a delay of several days between the submission of the payment order and its crediting to the NBÚ's account, it is necessary to wait with the submission of the application for the issuance of the entrepreneur's certificate only after receiving the data message from the NBÚ, which contains the confirmation of payment of the fee and is sent immediately after the payment is credited to the NBÚ's account.)
-
If I hold an Entrepreneur’s certificate at Confidential level only for ‘knowing about classified information’ and I am producing or being provided with restricted classified information, can I make a declaration by the Entrepreneur?
Yes, in this case, the entrepreneur can hold a certificate of the entrepreneur and make a declaration of the entrepreneur. However, if the entrepreneur holds a certificate of the entrepreneur for access to classified information in full (access according to Section 20(1)(a) of the Act), the declaration of the entrepreneur does not make.
-
We are a certified entrepreneur and have newly built a secure area of the reserved category. Do we have an obligation to send the NSA a Physical Security Project related to this secure area of the Reserved category?
According to the law, the NSA conducts security proceedings and therefore verifies the ability of the entrepreneur to ensure the protection of classified information in the field of physical security up to the level of Confidential. Therefore, do not send a physical security project to a secure area of the Reserved category to the NSA. In relation to the above, however, we would like to point out that the entrepreneur is obliged, pursuant to Section 68(c) of the Act, to immediately notify the NBÚ in writing of the establishment or cancellation of a restricted area (pursuant to Section 9 of the Industrial Security Decree, the entrepreneur shall provide the address and description of the location of this secured area and information on the determination of the category and class of the restricted area pursuant to Section 25 of the Act).
-
On what date will I, as the holder of an entrepreneur’s certificate, send the regular annual notification of changes pursuant to Section 68(d) of the Act?
Regular annual reporting of changes according to Section 68(d) of the Act the holder of the certificate of the entrepreneur is obliged to send the NBÚ always on the date that coincides with the date of issue of the certificate of the entrepreneur. If the entrepreneur holds more than one certificate of the entrepreneur, he notifies changes to the data in only one copy. It shall indicate in the entrepreneur’s ‘change questionnaire’ all the classification levels and forms of access contained in those certificates. The notification of changes to the data in this case is submitted by the entrepreneur to the NSA on the day on which the date of issue of the entrepreneur's certificate, which was issued earlier to the entrepreneur, falls.
If the entrepreneur is issued with a ‘replacement’ certificate because he reported to the NSA the theft, loss or damage of the entrepreneur’s ‘originally issued’ certificate, the date of issue of the entrepreneur’s certificate continues to be the date of issue of the entrepreneur’s ‘originally issued’ certificate.
-
How to correctly fill in point (i) of the entrepreneur’s questionnaire (Section 97(i) of the Act) – foreign business partners?
When filling in the data in point (i) of the entrepreneur's questionnaire (Section 97(i) of the Act) – foreign business partners, with the exception of business partners from the Member States of the European Union, with a total financial volume of transactions exceeding CZK 2 000 000 in the last five years, the entrepreneur proceeds as follows:
- In the application under Section 96(1) of the Act the entrepreneur ascertains whether in the last 5 years he has concluded business with a foreign partner, whose total annual the volume exceeded CZK 2 million in at least one of the five monitored years. If yes, the data to be filled in is the entrepreneur's questionnaire; under the heading ‘volume of transactions’, indicate the amount of all transactions with that partner over the entire period of 5 years.
Examples:
A) 2020 – 500 000, 2021 – 2 million, 2022 – 200 000, 2023 – 300 000, 2024 – 1 million = does not reportbecause in none of the last five years has the total annual volume exceeded CZK 2 million;
B) 2020 – 600,000, 2021 – 2,1 million, 2022 – 300,000, 2023 – 1.7 million, 2024 – 500,000 = reports, because in 2021 the total annual volume exceeded CZK 2 million and in the item volume of trades will indicate the amount of 5,2 million, that is, the sum of all trades in 5 years - In the notification of changes according to Section 68(d) of the Act the entrepreneur ascertains whether, from the date of issue of the certificate, if it is the first notification of changes under Section 68(d) of the Act, or since the date of the last report of changes in accordance with Section 68(d) of the Act concluded business with a foreign partner, the total volume of which in this period exceeded CZK 2 million, if so, is the data filled in the entrepreneur's questionnaire. It shall indicate under ‘trade volume’ the amount of all trades with that partner for that period.
- In the application under Section 96(3) of the Act the entrepreneur ascertains whether, from the date of the last report of changes under Section 68(d) of the Act (exceptionally from the date of issue of the certificate, if it will be according to the Section 96(3) of the Act request prior to the first notification of changes) concluded business with a foreign partner, the total volume of which in this period exceeded CZK 2 million, if so, is the data filled in the entrepreneur's questionnaire. It shall indicate under ‘trade volume’ the amount of all trades with that partner for that period.
- In the application under Section 96(1) of the Act the entrepreneur ascertains whether in the last 5 years he has concluded business with a foreign partner, whose total annual the volume exceeded CZK 2 million in at least one of the five monitored years. If yes, the data to be filled in is the entrepreneur's questionnaire; under the heading ‘volume of transactions’, indicate the amount of all transactions with that partner over the entire period of 5 years.
-
What must the security documentation of the entrepreneur contain?
More information on the content of the entrepreneur's security documentation can be found here.
