Personnel security (V notifications, D,T,PT certificates, … certificates)

You can search for invalid certificates (except expiry) and certificates (loss, destruction, revocation). here

The possibility to search for invalid notifications at the reserved level (Section 9(3)(a), (c), (g) of the Act) can be found here: here

The National Security Authority (‘the Office’) shall issue, for access to NATO classified information, CONFIDENTIAL and above, a CERTIFICATE in accordance with the model set out in NATO Directive AC/35-D/2000-REV8, which replaced the model certificate set out in document AC/34-D/2000-REV6. Therefore, the above-mentioned Certificate for access to NATO classified information is issued in place of the NATO certificate originally required. However, this change does not affect the validity of previously issued certificates. 

The new regulation of NATO directives in the field of general protection of classified information and in the field of personnel security also implies the need for the holder of the above-mentioned Certificate certifying the legitimacy of access to NATO classified information (or a certificate still in force) to be all persons who, in the context of their duties, urgently need to have access to classified information at the level of NATO CONFIDENTIAL and above (the so-called ‘need to know’ principle). The above-mentioned NATO Directive also provides for the issuance of Certificates for special areas of access to NATO information, which are the information of the categories ATOMAL, CRYPTO and BOHEMIA.

For better orientation, the term “NATO certificate” continues to be used in the text.

Model application for a "NATO certificate" - here

When does the Office issue a "NATO certificate"?

• if a natural person is to have access to NATO classified information, if he fulfils the conditions under Section 11 of the ActIf so requested by NATO.
• if it is in accordance with the security and economic interests of the Czech Republic and with the obligations arising for the Czech Republic from an international agreement and if the person is not subject to proceedings under Section 101(1) of the Act
• "NATO certificate" confirms that a natural person holds a valid certificate of a natural person of a given degree at national level
• the exception consists of persons referred to in Section 58(6) of the Act - the President of the Republic, deputies and senators of the Parliament, members of the Government and judges in cases where classified information of a foreign power is handled, who must be informed of the rights and obligations in the field of protection of classified information of a foreign power before first access to classified information of a foreign power. In criminal proceedings, jurors adjudicating in cases where classified information of a foreign power is handled, the accused, the person involved, the injured party, their legal representative, guardian, agent, confidant, lawyer, expert and interpreter shall also have access to classified information of a foreign power, subject to the prior consent of the foreign power, to the extent necessary for the exercise of their rights and the fulfilment of their obligations in such proceedings. Prior to first access to classified information of a foreign power in proceedings, the persons referred to in the previous sentence shall be informed of the rights and obligations in the field of protection of classified information of a foreign power. These individuals have access to NATO classified information without holding a valid natural person certificate or "NATO certificate"
• "NATO certificate" can be issued on the basis of a written Reasoned request, which can be submitted at the same time as the application for the issuance of the certificate of a natural person, during the security procedure and after the issuance of the public document – model application - here
• NATO SECRET CRYPTO certificate, COSMIC TOP SECRET CRYPTO certificate can only be issued on the basis of a written reasoned request - application template - here. This application must be accompanied by a Document of Authorisation issued by the Ministry of Defence. The NATO SECRET CRYPTO, COSMIC TOP SECRET CRYPTO certificate is issued for a limited period of time, i.e. for the time when it is strictly necessary to have access to NATO SECRET CRYPTO, COSMIC TOP SECRET CRYPTO classified information
• the deadline for processing the application for the issue of a certificate is not laid down by law
• similar treatment shall be given to access to NATO classified information at the level of BOHEMIA.

Types of "NATO certificates" issued by the Office

"NATO certificates" shall not be issued at the security classification level Reserved.

Note: For the purposes of the institutions of the European Union, no special document is issued, it is fully replaced by a ‘national’ certificate issued by a natural person pursuant to Act No 412/2005, which is trilingual and bears the appropriate classification level of European Union classified information.

• Validity and expiry of the 'NATO Certificate': here
• Obligations of a natural person who holds a "NATO certificate" - here

Before the expiry of the period of validity of the previous certificate, it is necessary to apply for the issuance of a new certificate of a natural person within a period of at least:

3 months for a natural person at security classification level Confidential, 7 months for a natural person at security classification level Secret, 10 months for a natural person at security classification level Top secret.

Forms for submitting an application for the issue of a certificate of a natural person to the level Confidential, Secret, Top Secret before the expiry of its validity can be found on the NBÚ Portal - here

After logging in via an individual's bank identity or data box, you select an option Application for the issue of a certificate of a natural person (request for verification).

Please find below for an overview of the supporting documents that the applicant is required to submit when applying for a certificate before its expiry date:

1. request for issuance of a certificate of a natural person (indication of the appropriate classification level (D,T,PT), justification of the need for access to classified information, function or activity in the context of a service relationship or employment, member or similar relationship, consent to the conduct of the procedure and a statement of the veracity and completeness of the data. This application shall be completed by the applicant for the issue of the certificate,

2. Justification of the need for access to classified information (indication of the classification level and designation of the place or function pursuant to Section 69(1)(b) of the Act, confirmed by the responsible person or the Security Director). In the justification for identifying items from the Classified Information Areas Catalogue (Government Regulation No. 440/2024 Coll..) it is sufficient to indicate the numerical designation of the items e.g. 03.01., 04.08., 05.06., 07.13 etc. Reasons shall be signed by the responsible person or the Security Director. The model justification set out in Decree No 300/2024 is available for preview - here,

3. Declaration of non-disclosure subject-matter 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. This declaration shall be completed by the applicant for the certificate;

4. if the applicant is a foreign national a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register of the Stateof which the foreign national is a national and of the State in which the foreign national has resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information entered in the criminal records of that State. If a foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the condition of good repute is proved by a solemn declaration. Documents similar to an extract from the Criminal Register are submitted by the applicant, if he/she is a foreign national,

5. current photo 35 x 45 mm,

6. Completed questionnaire of a natural person in the final version in xml format only in electronic form,

7. documents confirming the income stated in the application for the last 10 years - the applicant only documents income that is not part of the tax return submitted by him to the relevant tax office, if this income exceeds CZK 100 000 per calendar year in the case of one type. Please note that the pink form Taxpayer's declaration, which is completed by the applicant in employment, is not a tax return. Applicant does not substantiate benefits, social assistance contributions, sickness insurance benefits, unemployment benefits regardless of their amount. This means that if the limit of CZK 100,000 per calendar year is exceeded, it is evidenced, for example, by a retirement allowance, old-age pension, insurance benefits, scholarships, subsidies, etc. (Section 7 of Decree No 300/2024).

Method and form of application for the issue of a certificate

1. through the NBÚ Portal (we recommend it because it is convenient and user-friendly for the user),

2. by delivery to the Office’s data box (Office ID – h93aayw),

3. by delivery to the electronic mailroom This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a recognised electronic signature established for private purposes,

4. personally after ordering on tel. no. 257283225 at the filing office of the Office in office hours,

5. by post or by the holder of a special postal licence to address The Office.

Requirements for electronic submission:

Submission by the NBÚ Portal or by the data box of a natural person

1. application forms for the issuance of a certificate of a natural person and a declaration of non-disclosure - they are not signed,

2. questionnaire of the natural person in the final version in xml format - not signed,

3. justification of the need for access to classified information - it must be signed by a recognized electronic signature of the responsible person or the security director or the output of an authorized conversion of documents pursuant to Act No. 300/2008 Coll.,

4. documents confirming the receipts stated in the application - a simple copy (scan) is attached,

5. if the applicant is a foreign national, a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register of the State of which the foreign national is a national, as well as the State in which the foreign national has resided continuously for more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information that is entered in the Criminal Register of such State. If a foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the condition of good repute is proved by a solemn declaration - it must be the output of an authorized conversion of documents pursuant to Act No. 300/2008 Coll.

Submission to the electronic mailroom This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1. the application forms for the issuance of a certificate of a natural person and a declaration of non-disclosure - must be signed by a recognised electronic signature established for private purposes or must be signed at least by the electronic submission itself,

2. questionnaire of the natural person in the final version in xml format - not signed,

3. justification of the need for access to classified information - it must be signed by a recognized electronic signature of the responsible person or the security director or the output of an authorized conversion of documents pursuant to Act No. 300/2008 Coll.,

4. documents confirming the receipts stated in the application - a simple copy (scan) is attached,

5. if the applicant is a foreign national, a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register of the State of which the foreign national is a national, as well as the State in which the foreign national has resided continuously for more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information that is entered in the Criminal Register of such State. If a foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the condition of good repute is proved by a solemn declaration - it must be the output of an authorized conversion of documents pursuant to Act No. 300/2008 Coll.

Documentary submission requirements:

1. the application forms for the issue of a certificate of a natural person and a declaration of non-disclosure must be signed by the applicant;

2. questionnaire of the natural person in the final version in xml format on a technical data carrier (e.g. flash drive),

3. the justification for the need for access to classified information must be signed by the responsible person or the Security Director;

The 4th photo,

5. documents confirming the receipts stated in the application (a simple copy will suffice),

6. if the applicant is a foreign national, a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register of the State of which the foreign national is a national, as well as the State in which the foreign national has resided continuously for more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information that is entered in the Criminal Register of such State. If a foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the condition of good repute is proved by a solemn declaration (it must be in the original version and at the same time in an officially certified translation into the Czech language).

Background materials that the natural person is obliged to submit when submitting the first application for the issue of a certificate pursuant to Act No. 412/2005 Coll.

1. request for issuance of a certificate of a natural person an indication of the relevant classification level (D,T,PT) containing a written justification for the need for access to classified information (including an indication of the function or activity in the service relationship or employment, membership or similar relationship on the basis of which the certificate is to be issued), consent to the conduct of the procedure and a statement of the veracity and completeness of the data. This application shall be completed by the applicant for the issue of the certificate.
2. Justification of the need for access to classified information an indication of the classification level and an indication of the location or function referred to in Section 69(1)(b) confirmed by the responsible person or the security director of the person who will provide the natural person with classified information. In the justification for identifying items from the Classified Information Areas Catalogue (Government Regulation No. 440/2024 Coll..) it is sufficient to indicate the numerical designation of the items e.g. 03.01., 04.08., 05.06., 07.13 etc. The model justification set out in Decree No 300/2024 is available for preview - here,
3. Declaration of non-disclosure subject-matter 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,
4. If the applicant is a foreigner a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register of the State of which the foreign national is a national, as well as the State in which the foreign national resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information entered in the Criminal Register of such a State. If the foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the condition of good repute is proved by a solemn declaration,
5. current photo 35 x 45 mm,
6. Completed questionnaire of a natural person in the final version in xml format only in electronic form,
7. the application shall also be accompanied by the following documents (Section 7 of Decree No 300/2024):

• birth or baptismal certificate, or other similar documents (e.g. an extract from the book of birth...) shall suffice in a simple copy; and

• documents confirming the income stated in the application, specifying its amount after any deduction of mandatory statutory contributions in the case of income not included in the tax return, for the last 10 years, with the exception of documents confirming other income under the Income Tax Act up to CZK 100 000 per calendar year Sufficient in a simple copy (Dlining up i.e. only income that is not part of your tax return to the relevant tax office, if this income in the case of one type exceeds CZK 100,000 per calendar year. Please note that the pink form The taxpayer's declaration that you fill out at work is not a tax return. You do not substantiate benefits, social assistance contributions, sickness insurance benefits, unemployment benefits regardless of their amount. This means that if the limit of CZK 100,000 per calendar year is exceeded, you can prove, for example, salary, service allowance, old-age pension, insurance benefits, scholarship, subsidies, etc.).

Forms for the complete submission of an application for the issuance of a certificate of a natural person can be found - here

Method and form of application for the issue of a certificate

The application can be submitted via the NBÚ Portal, when this method of administration is recommended by the National Security Authority, as it is convenient and user-friendly for the user, also by delivery to the Office’s data box (Office ID – h93aayw) or to the electronic mailroom This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a recognised electronic signature established for private purposes. In addition, the application can be submitted in person after ordering on tel. no. 257283225 at the filing office of the Office's registered office in office hours (ordering is possible a maximum of 1 month in advance) or send by post or by the holder of a special postal license to his address.

Particulars of the supporting documents in case of electronic submission:

1. Certificate application forms natural persons; and Declaration of non-disclosure submitted via the NBÚ Portal, the data box of a natural person, or if an electronic submission made to the electronic mailroom This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is signed by a recognised electronic signature established for private purposes, there is no need for application for the issue of a certificate natural persons; and Declaration of non-disclosure signed,
2. questionnaire of a natural person in the final version in xml format,
3. Justification of the need for access to classified information validated by the responsible person or the Security Director it must be signed by a recognised electronic signature of the responsible person or the security director or by the output of an authorised document conversion pursuant to Act No 300/2008;
4. photo (copy - scan),
5. a copy (scan) of the birth certificate, documents confirming the income stated in the application, specifying their amount after any deduction of mandatory statutory contributions in the case of income not included in the tax return, for the last 10 years, with the exception of documents confirming other income under the Income Tax Act up to CZK 100 000 per calendar year,

6. If the applicant is a foreigner a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register of the State of which the foreign national is a national, as well as the State in which the foreign national resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information entered in the Criminal Register of such a State. If a foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the condition of good repute is proved by a solemn declaration, it must be the output of an authorized conversion of documents pursuant to Act No. 300/2008 Coll.

Particulars of the supporting documents submitted in paper form:

1. Certificate application forms natural persons; and Declaration of non-disclosure must be signed,
2. questionnaire of a natural person in the final version in xml format on a technical data carrier (e.g. a flash drive),
3. Justification of the need for access to classified information validated by the responsible person or the Security Director it must be signed by the responsible person or the Security Director,
4. photos,
5. a copy of the birth certificate, documents confirming the income stated in the application, specifying their amount after any deduction of mandatory statutory contributions in the case of income not included in the tax return, for the last 10 years, with the exception of documents confirming other income under the Income Tax Act up to CZK 100 000 per calendar year,
6. If the applicant is a foreigner a document similar to an extract from the Criminal Register of the State of which the foreign national is a national, as well as the State in which the foreign national resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information entered in the Criminal Register of such a State. If a foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the condition of good repute is proved by a solemn declaration, it must be in the original version and at the same time in an officially certified translation into the Czech language.

Warning

In the event that a natural person is to carry out sensitive activities under special legislation (Act No 61/1988 on mining activities, explosives and the state mining administration, Act No 38/1994 on foreign trade in military material, Act No 312/2006 on insolvency administrators, Act No 134/2016 on public procurement, Act No 263/2016 on atomic law), requests the National Security Authority to issue a certificate of security capability of a natural person, not a certificate of a natural person. Even if the aforementioned laws provide that the holder of a natural person's certificate may also carry out sensitive activities, the National Security Authority draws attention to the fact that an application for the issue of a natural person's certificate is accepted only if and only if the applicant's reason for submitting it is the unquestionable fact that he or she will have access to classified information of the relevant classification level, even if he or she simultaneously or subsequently carried out a sensitive activity. In this context, the National Security Authority further points out that the responsible person or the security director of the entrepreneur is entitled to confirm the justification for the request for the issuance of a certificate of a natural person only if the entrepreneur holds a valid certificate of the entrepreneur of at least the same level of classification or has requested the issuance of such a certificate of the entrepreneur.

Security Control Section

Registrar's office

What form and how to report changes?

The most appropriate form and method for reporting changes is to make a change report:

• the questionnaire, through the NBÚ Portal (you can only fill in the required changes in the questionnaire or request data held by the NBÚ on the basis of the information provided by you to update the entire questionnaire,
• within the scope of the items of the questionnaire by means of a data box established for a natural person,
• within the scope of the items of the questionnaire to the electronic mailroom This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a recognised electronic signature established for private purposes
• within the scope of the items of the questionnaire by post on a technical data carrier (e.g. a flash drive) together with a cover letter.

The notification of changes may be made only in electronic form.

What changes to report?

Changes that a natural person is obliged to notify to the Office from 1.1.2025 without delay under Section 66(1)(d) and 66(2) of the Act, Section 103(3) of the Act, Section 9 of Implementing Decree No 300/2024 on personnel security and safety competence; are the following changes to the data provided in the natural person's questionnaire - the items as a whole are reported, i.e. there must be a change in the entire item of the questionnaire (partial data are no longer reported, i.e. no change of function at the employer, change of employer of the spouse/partner, etc.):

1. Change of address for service (street, descriptive number, landmark/registration number, municipality, postal code, relation to address for delivery purposes - e.g. ownership of real estate, consent to the use of real estate, the right to rent),
2. Change of employer (name, ID, address of the place of work/service, function or activity performed) – the termination of the employment/service relationship with the current employer and another new employer are also reported, unless it is a business activity;
3. acquisition of immovable property located outside the territory of the Czech Republic (the cadastral office where the address of the property is maintained, the type of property and the way it has been used since the acquisition, the method of acquisition and the sources of financing, the acquisition price, the year of acquisition of the property),
4. the incurrence of liabilities entered into between natural persons whose nominal value individually or collectively exceeds CZK 100 000 or five times its average monthly income after deduction of compulsory statutory contributions, whichever is higher; (legal reason and purpose of the arrangement, amount, creditor, amount of the monthly instalment, due date, amount of interest, amount of the outstanding part),
5. the conclusion of a marriage or partnership and the fact that there has been an extension of the circle of persons over the age of 18 living with her in the household - in the case of Czech nationals, only the name, surname, social security number, relationship to a natural person and information to the employer shall be given; in addition, for foreign nationals, surname at birth and previously used, date of birth, place, district and state of birth, current and previous citizenship);
6. the fact that the person of the spouse or partner or the person over 18 years of age mentioned in the questionnaire no longer lives in the same household as the natural person,
7. treatment related to the consumption of alcohol, the use of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or participation in gambling (detailed statement – time period and method of treatment, name of the medical institution, name of the treating physician)
8. Change in data on health and other professional care:

Personnel security is an essential form of protection classified information. In addition to verifying the conditions to be met by an individual in order to be granted access to classified information, staff security shall include the training of those individuals. Ensuring the training of natural persons who have access to classified information is the responsibility of Responsible person. It is obliged to provide training in legislation on the protection of classified information once a year for persons who have access to classified information and to keep an overview of such training.

The method and scope of verification of the conditions to be met by an individual in order to be granted access to classified information shall vary according to the classification levels to which the individual is to have access. The following table sets out the conditions for each classification level to be met by an individual:

For the classification level Reserved, the conditions shall be verified by the person who is responsible to the natural person in the context of a service or employment relationship, a member relationship or a similar relationship, or a person designated by him. If not, the verification shall be carried out by the responsible person or a person designated by him or her who shall give the natural person access to classified information classified at the level Reserved. In other cases, the verification shall be carried out by the National Security Authority (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Authority’) on the basis of: justified written requests. For the classifications Confidential, Secret and Top Secret, the fulfilment of the conditions shall be verified in safety management, which is authorised to carry out the Office, intelligence services for its officers, employees and applicants for recruitment, and the Ministry of the Interior for police officers selected for the performance of serious tasks.

Ministries and other central administrative authorities are obliged to annually until 31 July prepare and send to the Office a personnel project (Section 72 of the Act). It shall include an assessment of the personnel security situation for the previous calendar year, including an indication of the total number of classified information, the number of accesses to such classified information and the number of certificate holders. The personnel project must also indicate the expected number of persons who will have access to classified information in the following calendar year and those for whom security procedures will have to be carried out in the following calendar year, distinguishing between security classification levels – the personnel project form and further information can be found - here a here.

The Office assesses the submitted personnel projects in terms of content and form and comments on them. The requirements for the elaboration and evaluation of personnel projects, including the process of special comment procedure, are dealt with in Resolution No 439 of the Government of the Czech Republic of 19 June 2012. The Office shall submit the personnel projects together with its observations to the Government by 30 November of the relevant calendar year.

POJMY

Classified information

Information classified according to the law, which can be classified under an item listed in the catalogue of areas of classified information, issued as a Government Regulation, in any form recorded on any medium, the disclosure or misuse of which may cause harm to the interest of the Czech Republic or may be disadvantageous for that interest. See provisions Section 2(a) of the Act. It is divided into four levels: Reserved, Confidential, Secret and Top Secret.

Lessons learned

A document signed by an individual before the first access to classified information of a given level and one copy of which belongs to him. At the same time, the document is always signed by the person who carried out the instruction. In case of expiry of the certificate of a natural person (Section 56(1) of the Act) or termination of service or employment, membership or similar relationship in which a natural person has been granted access to classified information, it shall be considered that the natural person is not informed Section 9(1), Section 11(2) of the Act. Model of instruction - here

More about Lessons - here.

Disclaimer (confirmation pursuant to Section 11a of the Act)

In the event of termination of a service relationship or employment, membership or similar relationship, or in the event of a change in a service office in which a natural person has been granted access to classified information, that person shall confirm in writing that he or she is aware of the obligation to maintain confidentiality with regard to the classified information to which he or she has had access and not to grant access to it to an unauthorised person. The responsible person is obliged to ensure that this action is carried out. Deletion shall always take place irrespective of the classification level of the classified information to which the individual has had access. This institute, which is based on the regulation of the protection of classified information within the EU and NATO, aims to increase prevention within the framework of the protection of classified information. In order to reduce the administrative burden, debriefing may be included in another document. Recommended pattern is available for download here.

Notification of compliance with the conditions for access to restricted classified information

A document confirming that a specific individual has been verified as meeting the conditions for access to restricted classified information. Model notification - here.

Certificate of natural person

An authentic instrument certifying that the holder has fulfilled the conditions for access to a given level of classified information (Confidential, Secret, Top Secret) and may be instructed or engage in sensitive activities. The authentic instrument is a trilingual document (Czech, English and French). For this reason, there is no need to explicitly request the issuance of a specific public document for the needs of the institutions of the European Union. The certificate is valid for 10 years (CONFIDENTIAL), 10 years (SECRET), 5 years ( TOP SECRET) - Section 54(1) and (2), Section 55, Section 56 of the Act. Model certificate of a natural person - here.

Safety management

This is a process conducted by the Office or another legally authorized entity. In the area of personnel security, it serves to verify whether a natural person meets the conditions for extradition Certificate of natural person. The issue is governed in general by the provisions of Sections 89 – 135 of the Act. Acts in extradition proceedings Certificate of natural person specifies Section 107 of the Act.

More about safety management - here.

Responsible person

The entity responsible for the implementation of certain measures in the field of the protection of classified information shall be entrusted by law with the fulfilment of the obligations arising from the provisions of the law. If a function is established the Security Director, it reports directly to the responsible person. The definition of responsible person is in the provision Section 2(e) of the Act. Responsibilities of the responsible person: here

Expert

A person who, in accordance with the wording of Act No. 36/1967 Coll., on experts and interpreters, if necessary, appoints the Office within the framework of the Security Management for the purpose of drawing up the expert opinion needed to make an expert assessment of the facts relevant to the decision (Section 106 of the Act).

Participant in the security procedure

V safety management the party to the proceedings is a natural person who applies for extradition Certificate of natural person or is the holder of Certificate of natural person and is in the process of revoking the validity of the certificate.

See provisions Section 92(a) or (c) of the Act.

Security Director

Person who is directly subordinated the Responsible Person, ensures and fulfils the obligations laid down in writing by the responsible person within the scope of the law and approves the list of places or functions pursuant to Section 69(1)(b) of the Act for which access to classified information is required. In the case of a State authority and a legal person pursuant to Section 60b of the Act, a natural person in his capacity as Security Director must meet the conditions for access to classified information of the highest classification level which is created or provided to him by a State authority or legal person pursuant to Section 60b of the Act. In the case of an entrepreneur, a natural person in the position of Security Director must hold a certificate of a natural person for access to classified information at least at the level for which the entrepreneur has issued a certificate.

The position of Security Director shall be established and occupied by:

• an authority of the State from which classified information is generated or to which it is provided;
• in the case of legal persons pursuant to Section 60b of the Act for which classified information is generated or to which it is provided,
• for an entrepreneur who has access to classified information
• natural persons doing business who have access to classified information.

The responsible person may also act as Security Director. Within 15 days of the date on which the post was filled, the name, surname and social security number of the person performing the post must be sent to the Office in writing. The function of security director may not be exercised simultaneously by several state authorities, legal persons under Section 60b of the Act or entrepreneurs (Section 71 of the Act).

Decomposition

An appeal against a decision issued in the context of security proceedings must contain the first name, surname, social security number and address of the place of permanent residence, or, where applicable, an address for service, must be dated and signed. The appeal must state against which decision it is directed, what the party is seeking and what is considered to be a breach of law or other irregularity of the contested decision. However, it is not possible to appeal only against the grounds of the decision (Sections 125 – 132 of the Act). Some types of decisions are not open to appeal. The party shall be informed of the possibility or inadmissibility of lodging an appeal at the end of the relevant decision.

Obligations Responsible persons are comprehensively addressed in the provision Section 67 of the Act. In the area of personnel security, they are in particular:

1. the obligation to ensure lesson natural persons (Section 2(i) of the Act),

2. the obligation to ensure once a year the execution of training of natural persons who have access to classified information legislation on the protection of classified information, and keep track of such training;

3. the obligation to ensure the verification of the fulfilment of the conditions for access by a natural person to classified information at the level of security restricted,

4. the obligation to ensure prompt written notification to the National Security Authority (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Office’) that, before issuing a natural person’s certificate or deciding not to issue it, the facts justifying the request for the issue of a natural person’s certificate have ceased to exist;

5. the obligation to ensure prompt written notification to the Office of termination of service or employment, membership or similar relationship in which a natural person has been granted access to classified information classified as Top Secret, Secret or Confidential.

Other duties in the field of personnel security, the performance of which may be entrusted the Responsible Person, can be found in Section 69(1) of the Act, in particular points (b), (c), (j) and (k).

Provisions Section 71(1) and (2) of the Act there is an obligation to establish and occupy a post the Security Director, which is directly subordinated to the Responsible Person. Function the Security Director It can also be carried out by the responsible person.

In the area of personnel security, attention should be paid in particular to the following:

For security classification level Reserved

If Responsible person the One Who Issued notifications on the fulfilment of the conditions for access to classified information at the level of security reserved, is obliged to every 5 years from the date of its issue, verify compliance with the conditions laid down in Section 6(2)(a) and (c) of the Act – legality and good repute. It shall be entitled to verify compliance with these conditions even before the expiry of this period if there are reasonable doubts that the holder of the notification has ceased to comply with any of them.

Upon expiry of the notification (Section 9(3)(a), (g) of the Act) is the one who notifications issued, obliged to ensure that the natural person does not have access to classified information, and on the lapse of validity notifications is obliged to notify the natural person in writing. In the written notification shall state the reason for the lapse of validity notifications.

Upon expiry of the notification (Section 9(3)(b) to (d), (f), (h) or (i) of the Act) is the one who notifications issued, shall make a written record of such termination, which shall be stored in accordance with the provisions of Section 68(1) of Act No 499/2004 on archiving and filing services and amending certain acts, as amended.

In cases of theft, loss or damage, the notification shall be issued on the basis of a request which must be submitted within 15 days from the date of expiry of the notification., the one who was original notifications issued, a new notification, within 5 days. In the event of a change in the particulars given in the notification, on the basis of a request to be submitted within 30 days of the date of expiry of the notification, the original notifications issued, a new notification, within 5 days.

Before the first access to classified information is Responsible person obliged to ensure the instruction of a natural person and to hand over one copy of the instruction and to save the other in accordance with the provisions of Section 68(1) of Act No 499/2004 on archiving and filing services and amending certain acts, as amended.

Act No. 412/2005 Coll. deals with the issue of the longest possible retention period of documents, notices, instructions, which lead the entrepreneur to notify the fulfilment of the conditions for access to classified information of the restricted classification (this area is not regulated for entrepreneurs by Act No. 499/2004 Coll., on Archives and Records Service and on Amendments to Certain Acts, as amended). From a practical point of view, it is advisable for the entrepreneur to specify for the above-mentioned documents the period for which he will keep them, and after this period he will be able to proceed with their destruction. It is conceivable that, for example, within the framework of state supervision carried out by the Office, it will be ascertained whether or not any of the employees of the entrepreneur had access to classified information classified at the level of the Reserved classification and if he was the holder of the notification (the question of the legitimacy of access by a specific person could also be addressed, for example, by administrative punishment or in criminal proceedings, where the said documents will be in the nature of documentary evidence). In any case, documents, notices and instructions for access to classified information classified at the reserved level should be kept for the period of their validity, i.e. unless the notice ceases to be valid pursuant to Section 9(3) of the Act. In the event that the notification expires, a copy of the notification, instructions and documents for verifying compliance with the conditions under Section 6(2)(a) and (c) of the Act may be kept for a maximum of 5 years from the date of expiry of the notification (Section 9 dst. 2 of the law).

In the event of termination of the service or employment relationship or in the event of a change in the service office of natural persons referred to in Section 58a of the Act (members of the security forces, civil servants, active-duty soldiers, prosecutors) the natural person shall be deemed not to have been informed and, where he or she has had access to classified information, the person responsible shall be obliged to ensure that an act is carried out in accordance with Section 11a of the Act.

Confidential, Secret, Top Secret

Responsible person is required to ensure lesson natural persons before first access to classified information and provide it with one copy, the other shall save in accordance with the provisions of Section 68(1) of Act No 499/2004 on archiving and filing services and amending certain acts, as amended, and send a copy of the instruction to the Office; a copy of the instruction can also be sent to the Office electronically.

In the event of termination of a service relationship or employment, membership or similar relationship, or in the event of a change in a service office in which a natural person has been granted access to classified information, that person shall confirm in writing that he or she is aware of the obligation to maintain confidentiality with regard to the classified information to which he or she has had access and not to grant access to it to an unauthorised person. The responsible person is obliged to ensure the execution of this act (Section 11a of the Act).

After expiration Certificate of natural person the responsible person is obliged to ensure that the natural person does not have access to the classified information.

Where a natural person holds a valid natural person’s certificate, irrespective of who has validated his or her application for the issue of a natural person’s certificate, the responsible person shall be obliged to instruct him or her prior to the first access to classified information.

For example:
A natural person has submitted an application for the issuance of a certificate of a natural person, which has been confirmed by the responsible person of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. After the natural person’s certificate was issued, the natural person was instructed. Subsequently, the natural person terminated the service relationship with the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, in which he had access to classified information, i.e. it is considered that the natural person is not informed. After that, the natural person will enter into the employment of ČEZ a.s., in which he will have access to classified information. The responsible person of ČEZ a.s., in this case, is obliged, prior to the first access to classified information, to provide a new instruction to a natural person.

Warning

A natural person shall cease to be a person included in the list of functions for which access to classified information is required, nor shall an employment, membership or similar relationship cease to exist or a natural person’s certificate cease to be valid. Is the person responsible to that person still the person responsible?

The responsible person remains liable to the natural person and continues to have obligations under, and the Office has an obligation in relation to the holder of the natural person’s certificate to notify the responsible person that the issued natural person’s certificate has expired (Sections 56(3) and 122(1) of the Act).

Although the Act does not explicitly specify in which cases the relationship between the responsible person and the holder of the natural person’s certificate ceases to exist, it can be inferred from the provisions of Section 11(2), Section 11(4) and Section 67(1)(g) of the Act that the existence of such a relationship depends on the existence of a service relationship or an employment, membership or similar relationship between the holder of the natural person’s certificate and the entity (a legal person or a natural person doing business who has access to classified information, or an authority of the State) whose authority the responsible person represents in the field of classified information. The relationship between the responsible person and the specific certificate holder of a natural person thus arises upon receipt of an application for the issue of a certificate of a natural person certified by that responsible person to the Office, or upon receipt of information pursuant to Section 11(2) of the Act (if a new employee is recruited to a place listed in the overview pursuant to Section 71(3) of the Act who already holds a certificate of a natural person issued on the basis of an application in which an employment or service relationship that has lapsed has been indicated as a justification for the need to access classified information, and this justification has been confirmed by another responsible person), and lasts until the termination of an employment, membership or similar relationship or until the expiry of the certificate of a natural person. The fact that a person is no longer assigned to a position that is listed in the list of places and functions where it is necessary to have access to classified information does not affect the existence of a relationship between the responsible person and the certificate holder of the natural person. This conclusion is confirmed by the fact that the fact that a specific holder is no longer assigned to a position that is listed in the overview pursuant to Section 71(3) of the Act, or that a specific holder of a natural person’s certificate will not have effective access to classified information, is not an obligation to notify the responsible person. However, the responsible person is obliged under Section 69(1)(g) of the Act to notify the termination of a service relationship or an employment, membership or similar relationship in which a natural person has been granted access to classified information. The fact that the holder of a natural person’s certificate is not placed in a position that is listed in the overview pursuant to Section 71(3) of the Act also cannot be interpreted as a fact that may affect the issue or validity of the natural person’s certificate (Section 69(1)(c) of the Act). Such facts are only those relating to the fulfilment of the conditions for the issue of a certificate under Section 12 of the Act, not the fact that a specific person will no longer have access to classified information. It follows from the foregoing that, in such a situation, the position of the person responsible vis-à-vis the specific holders of a natural person’s certificate cannot be absolved by unilateral declarations.

Laws

• Act No 412/2005 on the protection of classified information and on security capacity, as amended
• Act No 413/2005 amending acts in connection with the adoption of the Act on the protection of classified information and on security capacity

Decrees

• Decree No. 300/2024 Coll., on Personnel Safety and on Safety Qualifications

Information on remedies can be found - here

Certificate of natural person

is an authentic instrument - a model certificate of a natural person - here.

Validity Certificate of natural person (Section 55(1) of the Act) is:

• for the level Confidential 10 years,
• for the Secret Grade 10 years,
• for Grade Top Secret 5 years

from the date of issue.

Validity Certificate of natural person lapses (Section 56(1) of the Act):

1. the expiry of the certificate of a natural person, the death of a natural person or, if declared dead,
2. revocation of the certificate of a natural person (the date of enforcement of the decision of the National Security Authority (hereinafter referred to as “the Office”) revoking its validity);
3. reporting the theft or loss of a natural person’s certificate;
4. reporting damage to the certificate of a natural person (resulting in illegibility of data, breach of integrity), 

5. the establishment of the service relationship of a member of the intelligence service, the transfer of a member of the security corps to a service position in the Security Information Service or the Office for Foreign Relations and Information, the service assignment of a soldier to a service position in the Military Intelligence, the establishment of the employment relationship of an employee assigned to the intelligence service, or the date on which a natural person becomes a person referred to in Section 141(1) of the Act, in the case of a certificate of a natural person issued by the Office, 

6. the termination of the service relationship of an intelligence officer, the transfer of a member of the Security Information Service or the Office for Foreign Relations and Information to a service position in another security corps, the assignment of a member of the Military Intelligence to a service position outside that intelligence service, or the termination of the basic employment relationship of an employee assigned to an intelligence service, in the case of a certificate of a natural person, issued by the relevant intelligence service;
7. the date on which a natural person ceases to be a person referred to in Section 141(1) of the Act, in the case of a natural person certificate issued by the Ministry of the Interior,
8. by returning the natural person’s certificate to the person who issued it;
9. the date of delivery of the new certificate of the natural person,

In cases of expiration of the validity of the certificate of a natural person pursuant to points 2, 4 to 9 the natural person has an obligation return the certificate of the natural person within 15 days to the one who gave it up.Section 66(1)(b) of the Act).

In the event that the certificate of a natural person referred to in point 1 expires, the certificate shall not be returned to the NSA.

If the holder of a natural person’s certificate is requested to issue a new certificate pursuant to Section 94(3) of the Act and the procedure for such an application is affected by the declaration of a state of crisis for the entire territory of the Czech Republic, he or she may have access to classified information even after the expiry of the certificate in his or her possession due to its expiry (point 1), until the Office decides on his or her new application, but no longer than 12 months after its expiry. In this case, the Office shall not issue a certificate replacing the original or any other attestation. An up-to-date overview of the certificates that fulfil these conditions and can therefore continue to give access to classified information is available - here

In case of theft, loss or damage Certificate of natural person the natural person is obliged to report this fact without delay (Section 66(1)(c) of the Act).

By violating these obligations, which include the obligation to report a change in the data in a natural person's questionnaire, the natural person commits an offence for which a fine of up to CZK 50000 may be imposed (Sections 148 and 150 of the Act).

In cases of lapse of validity Certificate of natural person by point 3., 4. the Office shall issue on the basis of a written request made in free form within 5 days of receipt of the request new Certificate of natural person (Section 56(4) of the Act). Such an application shall be made within 15 days of the date of expiry of the natural person’s certificate. Access to classified information shall not be affected.

Warning

If no request is made within the deadline, access to classified information will cease and the individual will have to apply for a new certificate, i.e. to submit a new complete application in accordance with the law (first application for a certificate of an individual) if future access to classified information classified as Confidential, Secret, Top Secret is necessary – a precise list of documents that the individual will be required to submit can be found here: here

In cases of lapse of validity Certificate of natural person by point 6. and 7. the Office, on the basis of a written request made in free form, within 5 days of delivery of the request new Certificate of natural person (Section 56a(2)(c) of the Act). Such an application shall be made within 30 days of the date of expiry of the natural person’s certificate.

The certificate of a natural person shall not expire in any other way than the above, i.e. it shall not expire, for example, upon termination of the employment/service relationship (with the exception of point 6). 

The certificate of a natural person shall not cease to be valid even if the particulars contained therein are changed. In the event of a change in the information contained in the certificate of a natural person, the Office shall itself issue a new certificate of a natural person without delay. Access to classified information shall not be affected until a new individual certificate has been received.

Certificate of natural person for foreign power - "NATO Certificate"

is a public document.

The period of validity of the "NATO certificate" (Section 57(4) of the Act)

• It can be as long as it is valid. Certificate of natural person"NATO certificate" shall, however, in principle be issued for as long as is strictly necessary.

Validity of the "Certificate NATO" (Section 57(8) of the Act) ceases to exist:

1. the expiration of the period of validity of the certificate of a natural person, the expiration of the period of validity of the "NATO certificate",
2. death of a natural person,
3. invalidation Certificate of natural person, on the basis of which the "NATO certificate" was issued (the date of enforceability of the decision of the Office revoking the validity of this certificate of a natural person),
4. reporting the theft or loss of a "NATO certificate";
5. reporting damage to the "NATO certificate" (resulting in illegibility of data, breach of integrity),
6. the expiration of the validity of the certificate of a natural person due to the establishment of the service relationship of a member of the intelligence service, the transfer of a member of the security corps to a service position in the Security Information Service or the Office for Foreign Relations and Information, the service assignment of a soldier to a service position in the Military Intelligence, the establishment of the employment relationship of an employee assigned to the intelligence service, or the date on which the natural person becomes a person referred to in Section 141(1) of the Act (this is a certificate issued by the Office);
7. the termination of the validity of a certificate of a natural person due to the termination of the service relationship of an intelligence officer, the transfer of a member of the Security Information Service or the Office for Foreign Relations and Information to a service position in another security corps, the service assignment of a member of Military Intelligence to a service position outside this intelligence service, or the termination of the basic employment relationship of an employee assigned to an intelligence service, in the case of a certificate of a natural person, issued by the relevant intelligence service, and the date on which a natural person ceases to be a natural person referred to in Section 141(1) of the Act, in the case of a certificate of a natural person issued by the Ministry of the Interior;
8. returning the natural person's certificate or 'NATO certificate' to the person who issued it;
9. the date of delivery of the new certificate of the natural person
10. the expiry of the certificate of a natural person due to loss, theft or damage, only if the natural person has not applied for the issue of a new certificate of a natural person within the statutory 15-day period.

The validity of the "NATO certificate" does not expire by changing the data contained therein. In the event of a change in the information contained in the "NATO certificate", the Office itself shall issue a new "NATO certificate" without delay. Access to classified information of a foreign power shall not be affected until the delivery of the new certificate of the natural person.

In cases of expiration of the validity of the "NATO certificate" according to points 3, 5, 6, 7, 9.  the natural person has an obligation Return "Certificate NATO "to the one who issued it within 15 days (Section 57(11) of the Act). A natural person is obliged to return a "NATO certificate" to the person who issued it within 15 days also if they return the certificate of the natural person for whom the "NATO certificate" was issued.

In the event of theft, loss or damage of a "NATO certificate", the natural person is obliged to immediately report this fact to the Office (Section 66(1)(c) of the Act).

In cases of expiration of the validity of the certificate according to point 4 and 5. on the basis of a written request made in free form within 15 days from the date of expiration of the validity of the "NATO certificate", the Office shall issue within 5 days a new "NATO certificate". If the written application is not submitted and the Office does not issue a new "NATO certificate", the natural person is not considered to be the holder of a "NATO certificate".

In the event of the expiration of the validity of the "NATO certificate" under point 7. on the basis of a written request, a model of which is set out in Annex 7 to Decree No 300/2024 on personnel security and security capability, the Office shall issue a new 'NATO certificate' – model of the request – here. If the written application is not submitted and the Office does not issue a new "NATO certificate", the natural person is not considered to be the holder of a "NATO certificate".

What rights a natural person has:

A party to proceedings for the issue of a certificate of a natural person and a party to proceedings for the revocation of the validity of a certificate of a natural person shall have the right to:

• inspect and extract from the security file, with the exception of the part of the security file containing classified information (Section 89c of the Act, Section 124 of the Act),
• a party may be represented by a lawyer or another representative of his choice (Sections 92e and 92f of the Act)
• submit decomposition against the decision of the National Security Authority (hereinafter referred to as "the Office") issued in the security proceedings (Section 125 of the Act),
• withdraw in writing the request of the natural person (Section 113(1)(a) of the Act) – only in proceedings for the issue of a certificate of a natural person,
• request in writing that the proceedings be stayed for a period of no more than 60 days for a reason that has prevented him from participating in the proceedings for a long period of time – the suspension of proceedings may be requested no more than twice (Section 112(1)(e) of the Act),
• to object to the bias of the official within 15 days from the day on which he became aware of the official involved in the proceedings, the objection must be justified (Section 90(3) of the Act).
• return the natural person’s certificate to the person who issued it, including in the event of the initiation of proceedings for the revocation of the natural person’s certificate; in this case, the certificate will lapse and the proceedings will be discontinued (Section 56(1)(j) of the Act),
• request in writing within 15 days The Office for the issue of a new certificate of a natural person, if its validity has expired by announcing its theft, loss or damage (Section 56(4) of the Act).

To the extent that a party does not have the capacity to be a party to proceedings, he must be represented by a legal representative (Section 92d of the Act)

What are the duties of a natural person:

Holder of a notice for access to classified information at classification level RESERVED (hereinafter referred to as ‘the notification’) (Section 9(6), Section 10(2) of the Act) shall, in particular, be obliged to:

• communicate in writing to the person who issued the notice changes concerning the conditions of legal capacity and good repute, namely: within 15 days from the date of, when this change occurred,
• communicate in writing the person who issued the notice changes to the particulars to be included in the notice (first name, surname, nationality), namely: within 30 days from the date of, when this change occurred,
• communicate in writing to the person who issued the notification of the theft, loss or damage of the notification, within 15 days from the date on which that fact occurred or became known to the natural person;
• communicate in writing to the person who issued the notification within 15 days of the date of receipt of the natural person's certificate or security certificate;
• communicate in writing the so-called provider of classified information, in cases where a notification is issued by the Office, the establishment of a service relationship or an employment, membership or similar relationship in which a natural person is to be granted access to classified information within 15 days from the date on which this occurred,
• at the request of the person who issued the notification, to submit a declaration of legal capacity and an extract from the Criminal Register within the prescribed period (must not be older than 3 months) - if the integrity is assessed by a State authority, he/she may request an extract from the Criminal Register himself/herself. A foreign national shall also submit a similar document to the State of which the foreign national is a national if he/she has resided there for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15 years, as well as to the State in which the foreign national has resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months in the last 10 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information entered in the criminal records of such State. If the foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the foreigner proves the condition of good repute by a solemn declaration (documents may not be older than 3 months)
• return the notification to the person who issued the notification when it ceased to be valid by giving written notice that the natural person no longer fulfils the condition of legal capacity or good repute; and within 15 days from the date of delivery of this notification,
• return the notification to the person who issued the notification when it ceased to be valid by notification in writing that the natural person has not complied with the obligation to submit, within the prescribed period, an extract from the Criminal Register, in the case of a foreign national, a similar document of the State of which the foreign national is a national, if he/she has resided there for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15, as well as of the State in which the foreign national has resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months in the last 10 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information that is entered in the Criminal Register of that State. If the foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the foreigner proves the condition of good repute by a solemn declaration, and a declaration of legal capacity, within 15 days from the date of delivery of this notification,
• return the notification to the person who issued it when the data (name, surname, nationality) are changed, within 30 days from the date of the change of data;
• return the notification to the person who issued it on termination of service or employment, membership or similar relationship, within 15 days from the date of such termination;
• return the notification to the so-called provider of classified information, in cases where a notification is issued by the Office, upon the establishment of a service relationship or an employment, member or similar relationship, within 15 days from the date of such establishment,
• return the notification to the person who issued it if the natural person has been issued with a natural person certificate or a security certificate within 30 days from the date of delivery of the natural person certificate or document.

Holder of a natural person (certificate) or natural person for foreign power (NATO certificate) at classification level CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, TOP SECRET (Section 66(1), Section 57(11) of the Act) shall, in particular, be obliged to:

• surrender an authentic instrument to the person who issued it, if it has expired:
  • within 15 days
  • decisions revoking the validity of a certificate of a natural person (certificate as well as "NATO certificate"), filing an appeal against this decision does not have suspensive effect,
  • reporting damage to a natural person’s certificate that entries in the natural person’s certificate are illegible or that the integrity of the certificate (certificate) has been breached;
  • by reporting damage to the certificate that entries in the "NATO certificate" are illegible or its integrity has been violated ("NATO certificate"),
  • if the certificate of a natural person has expired as a result of the establishment of the service relationship of a member of the intelligence service or the employment relationship of an employee assigned to the intelligence service, in the case of an authentic instrument issued by the Office (the certificate and the "NATO certificate" are returned to the Office),
  • if the certificate of a natural person ceases to be valid upon termination of the service relationship of a member of an intelligence service or employment relationship of an employee assigned to an intelligence service, or on the date on which the natural person ceases to be a person referred to in Section 141(1) of the Act, in the case of a public document issued by an intelligence service or the Ministry of the Interior (certificate and "NATO certificate"), the "NATO certificate" issued by the Office shall be returned to the Office,
• the date of delivery of the new certificate of a natural person (certificate and "NATO certificate"),
• notify without delay the loss, theft or damage of a natural person's certificate or 'NATO Certificate'; (This obligation is also laid down in the course of the proceedings). notify without delay changes to the data in the questionnaire of the natural person (exhaustive list) – More information on reporting changes –

here) a fine of up to CZK 50,000 may be imposed.In connection with compliance with the obligations laid down by law, it is appropriate, in relation to the above-mentioned obligations, to point out that in the event of a breach of certain obligations, such conduct may be classified as an offence. For such an offense (

Sections 148, 150, 151 of the Act ): A natural person who needs to have access toclassified informationafter the expiry of the validity of an existing certificate of a natural person, is obliged to apply for the issue of a new certificate before the expiry of the validity of the existing certificate within a period of at least (

• in the case of a natural person at Confidential level, Section 94(3) of the Act
• for the certificate of a natural person at the level of classification Secret, 3 months
• for the certificate of a natural person at classification level Top secret. 7 months

Safety management (Sections 89 – 135 of the Act) is a process conducted by the National Security Authority (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Office’) or another authorised entity pursuant to Act No 412/2005 on the protection of classified information and security eligibility, as amended (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’). The Office shall conduct proceedings through officials authorised to do so under the internal rules of the Office. The Office shall, upon request, inform the party to the proceedings of which employee of the Office is an official in the proceedings and in which organisational unit he/she is assigned. The individual steps in the proceedings shall be taken in writing, unless this is precluded by the nature of the case. An individual communication in the course of proceedings may be made orally to a party present if that party does not insist in writing. The principles of security proceedings are based on the principles of administrative proceedings, but they are not administrative proceedings under Act No. 500/2004 Coll., the Code of Administrative Procedure, as amended. In the area of personnel security, it serves to verify whether a natural person (participant) meets the conditions for extradition Certificate of natural person. The proceedings shall be closed to the public and shall be conducted in such a way as to safeguard the honour and dignity of the persons concerned by the proceedings. The language of the case is Czech (except for the legal exercise of the right of a member of a national minority). Documents in foreign languages must be submitted in the proceedings both in the original and in an officially certified translation into the Czech language. If a document is submitted in a foreign language on a so-called transferable document (e.g. A1,S1,S2,S3,DA1,P1,U1,U2,U3...) is accepted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council without an officially certified translation into Czech if it is submitted in an official language of a Member State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland. In addition to personal acts, a party may be represented by a lawyer or an elected representative to whom he has granted a written power of attorney. During the proceedings, the participant and his representative shall be entitled to inspect the unclassified part of the security file. The official conducting the proceedings may be excluded from the proceedings on his own motion or on the basis of an objection of bias raised by a party to the proceedings.

The length of the safety procedure depends on the type of procedure:

• the deadline for conducting the security procedure for issuing the certificate of a natural person for the level Confidential is 2 months, Secret 6 months and Top Secret 9 months.

The deadline does not run for the time it is announced state of crisis for the whole territory of the Czech Republic.

The deadline may be extended by the Director of the Office Twice as much as possible for the period laid down for the management of the degree in question, in cases where the intelligence service or the police cannot communicate the results of the investigation within the prescribed time-limits or an authority of the State, a legal person or a natural person doing business cannot provide the information required in the context of the procedure within the prescribed time-limit.

The period of extension of the time limit shall not be longer than the period laid down for the conduct of the proceedings at the relevant stage.

If a natural person consents to the verification of information pursuant to Section 107(4) of the Act, the relevant proceedings shall be subject to the time limits set for the classification level for the acts for which consent has been granted.

Proceedings are initiated (Section 93 of the Act):

• the date of receipt of the request for extradition Certificate of natural person the Office,
• the date of receipt of the request by the EU institution or an international organization of which the Czech Republic is a member, on extradition Certificate of natural person for their employees, who are citizens of the Czech Republic,
• the date of receipt of the written notice of initiation of the revocation procedure; Certificate of natural person the Holder of this Certificate of natural person, or
• the date of service of the decision on dissolution, if the case is returned for reconsideration and decision.

If the application is submitted in person and does not have the requisites or is not complete, the staff of the Office shall assist the applicant in remedying the deficiencies on the spot. If this is not possible, the applicant shall be requested in writing to remedy the deficiencies in the application within 30 days (Section 102 of the Act). If it fails to do so, the Office shall stop the proceedings (Section 113 of the Act) and shall inform about this fact Responsible person.

If, after the initiation of proceedings, a party is requested to complete the information provided in the request, it shall do so within 14 days of receipt of the letter of formal notice (Section 103 of the Act). Failure to do so exposes the Office to the possibility of discontinuing the proceedings (Section 113 of the Act). The Invitation to Complement Institute may be used at any time during the procedure and not only immediately after the submission of the request.

The aim and purpose of the proceedings is to determine the state of the case to the extent necessary for the decision on extradition or non-extradition Certificate of natural person. The acts carried out for that purpose are intended to verify whether a party to the proceedings satisfies the conditions for the issue of Certificate of natural person. In carrying out this verification, the Office shall rely not only on data from a party to the proceedings, but also on information that it has requested from the competent authorities of the State, legal entities or natural persons engaged in business activities. The examination of the witness, the interview with the party to the proceedings and the appointment of an expert are also important steps that can be taken during the proceedings.

Witness (Section 104 of the Act) can be any natural person (except police and intelligence officers involved in the proceedings). A person who violates protection cannot be questioned. classified information or the duty of confidentiality (unless waived). Any unjustified refusal to testify is governed by Section 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Failure to appear to give evidence, giving false or incomplete testimony may result in the imposition of a civil fine of up to CZK 50,000 (maximum CZK 100,000 in total). At the request of the Office, a witness may be presented. A record of the deposition is made, which becomes part of the security volume. Claims for lost earnings and travel expenses must be made within 5 days. A witness may also be required to submit written observations on the facts stated by the Office. The signature of the witness must be on each side of the document containing his or her statement.

Interview with the party (Section 105 of the Act) is carried out if it is necessary to clarify certain facts in the course of the proceedings. In cases of extradition proceedings Certificate of natural person For the Top Secret level, the interview is always conducted. Repeated failure to appear for the interview without apology shall result in the termination of the proceedings. False or incomplete testimony during the interview shall also have the same effect; providing false or incomplete information during the interview (or during the procedure) may also result in non-compliance with the condition of security reliability and subsequent non-issuance Certificate of natural person. The statement shall be recorded and shall become part of the security file and, if requested by the party prior to the interview, shall be recorded in an image or sound recording which shall also become part of the security file. A copy of the report shall also be issued at the request of a party to the proceedings.

If in the proceedings there is a doubt about the personality of a natural person, the Office shall appoint an expert to verify it. The costs of such an expert opinion on personal capacity shall be borne by the Office.

Institute of Experts (Section 106 of the Act) can be used in other cases where expert assessment of facts (valuation of assets, etc.) important for the decision is needed. In these cases, where the Office appoints an expert and requests an expert opinion from another field, the costs of processing the expert opinion shall be borne by the Office and the opinion shall serve as a basis for the decision.

The execution of the security procedure shall be subject to time limits. In certain cases, the proceedings may be stayed (Section 112 of the Act) and does not run for as long as the period is interrupted.

The proceedings shall be stayed if:

• other proceedings are pending to resolve an issue relevant to the decision (the so-called question referred for a preliminary ruling);
• the party to the proceedings has been requested to remedy the deficiencies in the request in order to supplement the other information requested; or if he has been called for an interview,
• it is not possible to hear a witness,
• a party requests a stay for reasons preventing him from participating in the proceedings, but in this case for a maximum period of 60 days and not more than twice;
• an expert has been appointed to draw up an expert opinion.

The proceedings shall be suspended on the date of transmission of the order suspending the proceedings to the holder of the postal licence or special postal licence, on the date of personal receipt of such a order by the party to the proceedings, if served by the Office, or by delivery to the data box of the party to the proceedings.

The Office shall inform the party of the stay of proceedings by a decision of the Office. After the discontinuation of the procedural obstacles or after the expiry of a period of 60 days in which a party has requested that the proceedings be stayed for reasons preventing him from participating in the proceedings, The Office is continuing its proceedings. The party shall be informed in writing of the continuation of the proceedings.

Proceedings are over delivery of the result to a natural person. However, it can also be stopped (Section 113 of the Act). This is the case where the participant in the security proceedings:

• withdraws its application,
• does not meet basic conditions such as age, integrity and legal capacity;
• fails to remedy the deficiencies in the application within the prescribed time limit;
• he/she does not appear again without an apology for the interview,
• does not consent to the performance of other necessary acts pursuant to Section 107(4) of the Act,
• gives false or incomplete statements or does not provide any other necessary cooperation and cannot be decided on the basis of the given situation,
• He dies or is declared dead.

In addition, there are cases where:

• it is not possible to ascertain fully and precisely the actual state of the case because the party has been staying or staying in the territory of a foreign State for a long time,
• There is no reason or subject revocation proceedings Certificate of natural person.

The Office may also terminate the security procedure for the issue of a certificate on the basis of a written notification from the person responsible to the Office that, before the issue of the certificate or the decision not to issue the certificate, the facts justifying the application for the issue of the certificate have ceased to exist.

Other institutes serve to facilitate the procedure and ensure the progress of the procedure Security Management, which are summons, presentation, civil penalties. The Office may summon persons whose personal participation in the proceedings is necessary. In the event that a person who is summoned as a witness, without due apology or without serious reasons, fails to appear for re-enquiry, he or she may be presented by the Police of the Czech Republic or by members of the armed forces through a superior.

A person who fails to appear without serious reasons on a written request, gives false or incomplete testimony or unreasonably refuses to give testimony may be fined up to CZK 50,000. The fine may be imposed repeatedly, up to a total of CZK 100,000.

All documents in the proceedings are served into their own hands. If the addressee refuses to accept the consignment or does not accept it because he did not know about its storage, although he is staying at the place of residence, there is a legal fiction of service (Section 120(3) of the Act) and the document is deemed to have been served:

1. the date of refusal to accept the document by the addressee, or
2. the date on which 10 days have elapsed since the deposit of the take charge notice - if the addressee has not been found at the place which he or she has designated as the place for service of documents, the servicer shall notify him or her in an appropriate manner of where the document is stored and where it can be collected; if, in such a case, the document is not collected within 10 days of its deposit, it shall be deemed to have been served on the last day of that period, even if the addressee has not learned of its deposit.

The Office shall establish an official notice board which shall be made publicly available at all times. The content of the official notice board is also published on the website: here

Persons of unknown residence and persons who are demonstrably unable to deliver, the Office delivers by public decree. On the fifteenth day following the posting of the document on the Office's official notice board, the document shall be deemed to have been served if the obligation to publish it on the Office's website has also been fulfilled within that period.

The place of service is the address in the Czech Republic determined by the party to the proceedings or his/her chosen representative, to the address abroad can be delivered only if the person is staying there in the state interest. In the case of service abroad, the deadlines for security proceedings under the law do not run.

1. A natural person who is:

in the case of classified information, the level of classification reserved by the holder; notifications on the fulfilment of the conditions for access to classified information the level of classification RESTRICTED, valid document the security capacity of a natural person; or Certificate of natural person to the level CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, Strict SECRET and at the same time its signature confirmed lesson,

(b)) in the case of classified information CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET or Strict SECRET classification by the holder of a valid Certificate of natural person the corresponding or higher degree and at the same time its signature confirmed lesson,

2. a natural person with special access to classified information (Section 58 of the Act),

3. a natural person with access to classified information pursuant to Sections 58a, 58b and 58c of the Act; which is also taught,

4. a natural person who has been recognised by a security authorisation issued by an authority of a foreign power, who is also instructed,

5. a natural person who has been granted consent to one-time access to classified information (Section 59 of the Act), which is also taught,

6. a natural person who has been given consent to access to classified information (Section 59a of the Act), which is also taught,

7. a natural person who does not hold a certificate of a natural person or does not have access to classified information classified as Reserved, in the event that he performs tasks in a period of increasing international tension or in the context of the participation of the Czech Republic in armed conflict abroad or in rescue or humanitarian action abroad, in the event of a declaration of a state of war and in the event of a state of danger, state of emergency or state of threat to the state (Section 60 of the Act),

8. a natural person whose certificate has ceased to be valid on the grounds referred to in Section 56(1)(a) of the Act - upon expiry of the period of validity, until the decision on the application pursuant to Section 94(3) of the Act has been issued, but no later than 12 months after the expiry of the certificate, if the application was submitted at the time when the state of crisis was declared for the entire territory of the Czech Republic or if the state of crisis was declared during the procedure on this application (Section 60a of the Act).

ad 1)

Lessons learned

The natural person shall be informed at the latest before the first access to the classified information a certain degree of awareness of their responsibilities for handling and handling classified information and of legal standards in the field – model of instruction; here

The instruction is always signed by the person who made it (usually Responsible person or a person designated by it) and a natural person. For the RESTRICTED level, it is made in two copies, one of which is handed over to a natural person and one is stored by the person who carried out the instruction in a place designated for the storage of these documents within the meaning of Section 68(1) of Act No 499/2004 on archiving and filing services and amending certain acts. For the CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET and TOP SECRET grades, the instruction shall be drawn up in three copies. One shall be handed over to the natural person, one shall be deposited by the person who carried out the instruction in a place reserved for the storage of such documents and a copy shall be sent to the Office. A copy of the information may also be sent to the Office electronically.

The validity of the instruction ends with the expiration of its validity notifications on the fulfilment of the conditions for access to classified information, document or Certificate of natural person and also the termination of a service relationship or an employment, membership or similar relationship in which a natural person has been granted access to classified information, i.e. in cases where a new service relationship or employment, membership or similar relationship subsequently arises, it is the duty of the responsible person or the person designated by him to inform the natural person again.

If a natural person holds a valid national certificate of a natural person and the responsible person knows that the natural person will also have to hold a 'NATO certificate', the responsible person may instruct the natural person and tick in the instruction that the natural person has been acquainted with NATO regulations without the natural person already being a holder of a valid 'NATO certificate', thereby fulfilling, within a single instruction, the obligation laid down both for access to national classified information and for access to NATO classified information. In this case, the instruction shall indicate the number of the national certificate of the natural person. As part of the lessons learned, you can get acquainted at the same time with all legislation in the field of classified information, i.e., with the regulations of NATO, the EU.

If a natural person holds a valid national certificate of a natural person and is briefed, and subsequently a "NATO certificate" is issued to the natural person, the natural person must be re-instructed, stating in the instruction the number of the "NATO certificate" and ticking that the natural person has been acquainted with NATO regulations. This does not apply if, in the first instruction made to the national certificate of a natural person, it has already been ticked that the natural person has been acquainted with NATO regulations (i.e., has been acquainted with them without being issued with a "NATO certificate") – in this case, the natural person is no longer acquainted with them again.

Ad 2) Specific approach (Section 58 of the Act)

They have classified information without a valid Certificate of natural person a lesson access by the President of the Republic, deputies and senators of Parliament, members of the Government, the Ombudsman and his deputy, judges and members of the Supreme Audit Office, including the President and the Vice-President. Such persons shall have access from the date of their election or appointment for the entire duration of their duties and to the extent necessary for the performance of those duties.

Within the framework of criminal proceedings, civil court proceedings, administrative proceedings and administrative court proceedings, persons without a valid Certificate of natural person granted access to classified information for the purpose of exercising their rights and fulfilling their obligations in these proceedings. The conditions and the list of persons concerned by such a possibility are laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Administrative Procedure and the Code of Administrative Procedure. Access to classified information it is also possible in these cases on the basis of instructions, which must include the file reference of the subject matter of the proceedings and instructions that data on persons with special access are registered by the Office. The information shall be provided by the person for whom the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Code of Administrative Procedure or the Code of Administrative Procedure so provides, and shall be signed by the natural person at the same time. Model of instruction: here

In pre-trial proceedings, one of the stages of criminal proceedings, the instruction of the persons referred to in Section 51b(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be carried out by the police authority or the public prosecutor and, in proceedings before the court, by the presiding judge. According to a well-established theoretical interpretation of Section 51b(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, that person is also a juror in court (another person who must participate in criminal proceedings). A copy of the instruction shall be sent by the person who carried out the instruction no later than 30 days from the date of the instruction to the Office.

A natural person acting for the benefit of an intelligence service, an informant or a natural person who is granted special or short-term protection under a special regulation, or an intelligence officer who is placed in a special reserve or assigned to a special disposition, may be granted access to classified information without a valid certificate from the natural person. The instruction shall be given by the person who allows access to the classified information.

The persons referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 shall not have access to NATO classified information, with the exception of the President of the Republic, Members and Senators of Parliament, members of the Government and judges dealing with classified information of a foreign power, who shall be informed, prior to first access to classified information of a foreign power, of their rights and obligations with regard to the protection of classified information of a foreign power. In criminal proceedings, jurors adjudicating in cases where classified information of a foreign power is handled, the accused, the person involved, the injured party, their legal representative, guardian, agent, confidant, lawyer, expert and interpreter shall also have access to classified information of a foreign power, subject to the prior consent of the foreign power, to the extent necessary for the exercise of their rights and the fulfilment of their obligations in such proceedings. Prior to first access to classified information of a foreign power in proceedings, the persons referred to in the previous sentence shall be informed of the rights and obligations in the field of protection of classified information of a foreign power. The instruction shall be given in the pre-trial proceedings by the police authority or the public prosecutor and in the proceedings before the court by the President of the Chamber. The instruction shall be signed by the natural person and by the person who carried out the instruction; the person who carried out the instruction shall forward one copy of the instruction to the natural person, enter one copy in the file and send a copy to the Office; a copy of the instructions may also be sent to the Office electronically. 

Ad 3) Access to classified information pursuant to Section 58a of the Act, Section 58b of the Act, Section 58c of the Act

Section 58a of the Act

Persons having access to classified information at security level Reserved without valid notification for the duration of the service or employment relationship and to the extent necessary for its performance shall be:

a) members of the security forces,

b) civil servants,

c) Soldiers in active service a

d) prosecutors,

if they are informed and assigned on the spot or perform a function in which it is necessary to have access to classified information and which are listed in the overview pursuant to Section 69(1)(b) of the Act.

Section 9(1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the instruction of such persons.

In the event of termination of the service or employment relationship or in the event of a change in the service office of these persons, the natural person shall be deemed not to have been informed and, if he or she had access to classified information, it shall be further proceeded in accordance with Section 11a of the Act, i.e. the person shall be obliged to confirm in writing that he or she is aware of the obligation to keep confidential the classified information to which he or she had access and not to grant access to it to an unauthorised person. The responsible person is obliged to ensure that this action is carried out. 

Section 58b of the Act

Intelligence may grant access to classified information to a natural person who does not hold a natural person's certificate or does not have access to restricted classified information where this is necessary for the performance of an obligation imposed on that natural person by another law or in the context of intelligence operations.

In the case of access to classified information, the procedure under Section 60(2) to (6) of the Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Section 58c of the Act

Police may allow access to classified information to a natural person who does not hold a natural person's certificate or does not have access to restricted classified information, if this is necessary for the performance of an obligation imposed on that natural person by another legal regulation in connection with the performance of police tasks in the field of providing special protection and assistance, short-term protection, ensuring the security of protected objects and premises and designated persons and carrying out surveillance of persons and objects. The procedure shall not apply in the case of access to classified information of a foreign power and classified information classified at the level Top Secret. 

In the case of access to classified information pursuant to Section 60(2) to (5) of the Act, the procedure under Section 60(2) to (5) of the Act shall apply mutatis mutandis, provided that neither the written record nor the instructions are sent to the Office, but are deposited with the police.

Ad 4) Recognition of a security authorisation issued by an authority of a foreign power (Section 62 of the Act)

At the request of the security authorisation holder, the Office shall recognise the foreign security authorisation. An application may also be made through an office of a foreign power competent for the protection of classified information. These are cases where this is allowed by an international treaty by which the Czech Republic is bound, or where recognition is in accordance with the Czech Republic's foreign policy and security interests. There is no legal right to such recognition. The application shall be accompanied by an official translation of the security authorisation or a certified copy thereof; such documents shall not be required where the application is made through an office of a foreign power competent for the protection of classified information, provided that the latter confirms on the application that the applicant is in possession of the relevant security authorisation. The application shall also state the reason why recognition is to be given and the period for which recognition is to be given. Model application - here

If a security authorisation is recognised, Responsible person carry out the instruction of the natural person. Model of instruction: here

Ad 5) One-time access to classified information (Section 59 of the Act)

The Office may, in exceptional and justified cases, grant one-off access to classified information at a level higher than that for which a valid natural person certificate is issued, but for a maximum period of 6 months; one-off access shall not be granted to TOP SECRET classified information. One-off access may therefore be granted only for access to classified information classified SECRET.

The request for one-time access is always in writing, it is signed by Responsible person and includes a justification for the need for a one-off approach, an indication of the area classified information, to which access is to be granted and the required one-time access time. A copy must be attached to the application Certificate of natural person. The same person can only be given consent once and is not legally entitled to it. If this is the case, the consent is given within 5 days at the latest.

If consent is given, Responsible person carry out the instruction of the natural person. Model of instruction: here

One-time access to NATO classified information may only be granted in accordance with NATO requirements.

Ad 6) Consent to access classified information (Section 59a of the Act)

On the basis of a written request from the person responsible, the Office may, in exceptional and justified cases, grant consent for access to classified information up to two times higher than that for which a valid certificate of a natural person is issued, namely a person serving in a police authority, a public prosecutor acting as a law enforcement authority or a public prosecutor performing tasks in criminal proceedings under another legal regulation, unless the person concerned is subject to proceedings for revocation of the certificate of a natural person. The application for a person working for a police authority must be accompanied by the consent of the public prosecutor, who supervises the observance of legality in the pre-trial proceedings, and in the case of classified information classified as Top Secret, it must also be accompanied by the consent of the chief public prosecutor of the closest higher public prosecutor’s office. The request to the public prosecutor in the case of classified information classified at the level Top Secret must be accompanied by the concurring opinion of the head of the public prosecutor’s office closest to the higher public prosecutor’s office, with the exception of the public prosecutor working at the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The request referred to in paragraph 1 shall include:

a) justification of access,

an indication of the classified information to which access consent is to be given;

c) file reference of the case, which is the subject of criminal proceedings, and

a copy of the certificate of the natural person to whom consent is to be given.

The Office shall give its consent without delay, no later than within 5 days from the date of delivery of the request, and only for the period necessary for the participation of a natural person in criminal proceedings.

The person responsible or a person authorised by him/her shall instruct the natural person and ensure that a written record of his/her instruction is entered in the criminal file and that a copy of the instruction is sent to the Office within 30 days of the date of the instruction; a copy of the instructions may also be sent to the Office electronically. Consent shall expire on the day following the day on which the natural person’s participation in criminal proceedings ceased, but no later than the date on which the natural person’s certificate ceased to be valid pursuant to Section 56(1) of the Act.

The consent referred to in paragraph 1 may be given to classified information of a foreign power only in accordance with the requirements of that foreign power.

Access to classified information in times of growing international tensions or in the event of the Czech Republic's participation in armed conflict abroad or in rescue or humanitarian action abroad, in the event of a declaration of a state of war and in the event of a state of danger, emergency or state of danger (Section 60 of the Act)

1. Introduction and basic definitions

Exceptional access to classified information pursuant to Section 60 of Act No 412/2005 on the protection of classified information and on security capacity, as amended (‘the Act’), is a tool allowing, in well-defined and exceptional situations, the disclosure of classified information also to natural persons or entrepreneurs who do not hold the appropriate authorisation depending on the classification level of classified information (notifications, certificates). This procedure is intended only for cases where it is necessary to deal quickly and effectively with emergency situations in the interest of the Czech Republic.

The application of Section 60 of the Act does not in any way replace the set system and does not deviate from the set principles and general rules within the protection of classified information. Thus, the Institute of Extraordinary Access to Classified Information under Section 60 of the Act does not serve to replace the general obligations of an entity allowing extraordinary access to classified information under Section 60 of the Act to create conditions for handling classified information, to maintain and establish a list of places and functions where access to AI is necessary, including those where access to AI of a foreign power is strictly necessary. Similarly, it is the duty to ensure the protection of classified information through specific types of ensuring the protection of classified information, depending on how classified information is handled.

2. Conditions for the application of emergency access

2.1 Existence of exceptional circumstances

Exceptional access may only be granted in emergency situations foreseen by law:

• 1. Period of growing international tensions (graduating international crises, including hybrid activities, intense campaigns by state actors, etc.),

• 2. Participation of the Czech Republic in armed conflict abroad (but not peacekeeping or observation missions)

• 3. Rescue or humanitarian operations abroad (in particular under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs);

• 4. Declared state of war, state of danger, state of emergency and state of danger,

• 5. State of cyber danger.

Section 60 of the Act provides exhaustively for emergency situations in which classified information may be provided to a person who does not have access to classified information pursuant to the Act, subject to the conditions foreseen. This closed list cannot be extended by interpretation. The case of a period of rising international tensions, which we can possibly identify even now, must also be accompanied by certain limits. Specifically, a natural person or an entrepreneur may be provided with classified information under Section 60 of the Act if he/she performs tasks in a period of increasing international tension (e.g. CMX exercises), but it is primarily necessary to set up a management system so that natural persons or entrepreneurs who meet the conditions for accessing classified information under the Act are used to perform such a task. Paragraph 60 can therefore be applied only as an ultima ratio.

Access to classified information within the meaning of Section 60 of the Act may be granted only under cumulatively fulfilled conditions:

1. we are in a period of increasing international tensions or in another emergency situation listed in section 60 of the Act,

2. natural persons or entrepreneurs who have access to classified information on the basis of notices or certificates shall not be primarily involved in the performance of the tasks;

3. access is granted to a natural person or entrepreneur performing tasks related to these extraordinary situations.

2.2 Special status of the entity

Exceptional access may only be granted to a natural person or an entrepreneur who, in a given situation, carries out specific activities necessary to safeguard the key interests of the State.

Typically, these are natural persons or entrepreneurs whose involvement is irreplaceable at a given place and time and without their participation the performance of specific tasks would be jeopardised or rendered impossible.

Individuals need to be assessed for credibility and confidentiality – basic security screening is carried out, e.g. through references or personal knowledge.

3. Procedure for granting emergency access

The provider of classified information will, as a rule, be an authority of the State in the context of an emergency situation foreseen by Section 60 of the Act. As in other situations in normal operation, the tasks of a State authority are carried out by individual natural persons who do so on the basis that they are its employees or on the basis of predetermined roles, but the provider is always a given State authority (region, ministry, etc. see Section 2(d) of the Act).

Access to classified information shall be granted to a natural person to whom the classified document concerned has been assigned in the course of his or her professional activities. While such a person may also carry out screening, this is not a necessity, it may also be carried out by another person from the competent authority of the State. It is not so important who from the national authority will carry out the screening, but how it will be carried out – so that the available resources are used at a given time and place by the means available to the national authority.

However, the final decision to grant access to classified information pursuant to Section 60 of the Act cannot depend on the subjective opinion of one natural person. A natural person who effectively grants access to classified information shall do so in accordance with a decision of an authority of the State as such. The parallel is also given by the current functioning of the State authority in areas other than the protection of classified information, which is also not based on the arbitrary and subjective discretion of each member of staff, regardless of their function or assignment.

Thus, it is not possible to determine strictly which person will be responsible for an individual act if it is necessary to ensure access to classified information under Section 60 of the Act, as the entity as a whole will always be responsible – thus it is not possible to identify a specific person who will be responsible for an individual act (each entity may have a different structure and management). The performance of tasks can be set up in a similar way as in the case of access to classified information in a standard situation, while the application of Section 60 of the Act only does not have to fulfil the condition of possession of a notice or certificate.

TEST OF PROPORCIONALITY

The decision to grant access to classified information pursuant to Section 60 of the Act must be preceded by a proportionality test!!!

If the risk and possible consequences (in the event that a natural person or an entrepreneur who does not hold a certificate would not be used for the performance of the task) clearly exceed (in addition to the risks and possible consequences that would arise if access were granted only to a natural person or an entrepreneur who has access to classified information on the basis of a certificate), then special access may be granted under Section 60 of the Act.

Of particular importance is the time aspect, which will be a decisive factor, as the operative will be crucial for such decisions in crisis situations.

3.1 Assessment of credibility

For natural persons, the provider of classified information must operationally verify credibility (e.g. references from the employer, personal knowledge, assurance from a trusted authority).

Where there is any doubt as to the credibility of a person, access to classified information shall not be granted.

For entrepreneurs, caution is recommended and, in case of doubt about the ability to ensure the protection of information, access should not be allowed.

As regards the scope of the screening carried out, the aim is certainly not to carry out a similar safety procedure. The aim is to verify, from available sources (including public ones) without significant time constraints, whether the entity is an entity for which there is no evident risk factor that could have an impact on the ability to conceal information. As mentioned above, screening does not have to be carried out by a person with access to classified information, but can be any designated natural person within a State authority.

The credibility of a person means, in particular, the absence of facts indicating that a person may benefit from extraordinary access to classified information for purposes other than those foreseen by law.

It is essential that the person who carries out the ‘security screening’ is not obliged to go through all public and non-public sources, to request an extract from the criminal record and to seek the assistance of other administrative authorities or other authorities in order to verify the absence of such facts. It is sufficient for access to be granted if, even after a thorough examination, it is not aware of them by the entity to which access is granted. Such verification may consist of personal knowledge of the examiner, i.e. personal knowledge of the employees working with the examined person, basic search of public resources (internet, insolvency register, business register, etc.), as well as a reference from the employer or a guarantee from a trustworthy authority. Where a State authority concludes, on the basis of the data obtained, that there is doubt as to the credibility and ability to conceal information, access to the classified information shall not be granted.

The person performing the ‘screening’ thus works, in particular, with personal knowledge, basic verification of publicly available sources, references from the employer, a guarantee from a trustworthy authority, etc., when assessing credibility.

In particular, a guarantee from a trusted authority is a confirmation from a person who has a certain qualified relationship with the person to be granted extraordinary access and who can assess their credibility. This includes, in particular, its employer, superior or official.  The guarantee can be a confirmation that the person absent facts that would otherwise indicate its unreliability. At the same time, it must be an authority about which there is no doubt about credibility itself. The authority will therefore ensure that the person who is granted extraordinary access is eligible for such access, or that he or she does not have information about any fact that affects his or her credibility.

The Act treats as entrepreneurs a natural person doing business and a legal person whose main activity is doing business, see Section 15 of the Act for details. Where access to classified information pursuant to Section 60 of the Act is granted to an entrepreneur (i.e. within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act), access must also be granted, under the conditions laid down in that provision, to natural persons who will become acquainted with classified information within that entrepreneur. These will typically be employees performing tasks for entrepreneurs who are to be granted access under Section 60 of the Act. These natural persons must therefore be screened and instructed in accordance with Section 60 of the Act, as the entrepreneur will have access to classified information in real terms through his employees.

Although the law does not explicitly require this, the NSA only recommends screening also to examine entrepreneurs as such and thus exclude the existence of obvious doubts about ensuring the protection of classified information. Such screening is recommended to be carried out in a similar way as for natural persons, i.e. from available sources and available means at a given place and time. For entrepreneurs, it is recommended to carry out screening of some natural persons, especially those involved in the management of such entrepreneurs and acting on their behalf. At the same time, it will be necessary to examine a specific natural person who will acquaint himself/herself with classified information, if he/she will also be granted access under Section 60 of the Act, or he/she will no longer be the holder of a notification or certificate of a natural person.

3.2 Information and documentation

1. Before disclosing classified information, a natural person shall be instructed in accordance with the model of recommended instruction - here or according to the model of instruction referred to in Annex 3 to Decree No. 300/2024 Coll., on personnel security and safety competence.

2. The instruction shall be made in writing, in justified cases (e.g. the risk of delay) it may be replaced by oral acquaintance.

3. A dated written record containing essential circumstances, the identification of persons and classified information, or the fact that oral instruction has been given, shall be required of extraordinary access. The model of the written record is not laid down by law. For your possible use is a sample of the recommended written record - here. 

4. As soon as circumstances permit, this record, together with the written instruction (unless only oral instruction has been given), must be sent to the NSA.

As a general rule, every time an individual has access to classified information, it is necessary to re-instruct the individual, draw up an access record and send it to the NSA. Each access to an individual ‘new’ classified information constitutes a new access within the meaning of Section 60 of the Act and must therefore be treated in accordance with the Act – that is to say, it must be instructed and recorded in writing and sent to the NSA. If it is a case of providing multiple classified information in the same case to the same individual or entrepreneur, then the alert can be combined for all such classified information (e.g. at the end of the CMX exercise), provided that access is not granted with a significant delay, as the alert should be sent to the NSA without delay.

3.3 Specifics for Entrepreneurs

For entrepreneurs, the responsible person is obliged to make a written record and deliver it to the NSA without delay.

4. Limitations and principles

1. Emergency access is not legally enforceable – it cannot be invoked and any refusal does not need to be justified.
2. The need to know principle also applies in these cases – access is granted only to the extent necessary and only to those who actually need it to perform a specific task.
3. Access pursuant to Section 60 to classified information classified at the level of Top Secret shall not be granted to an entrepreneur.
4. Access pursuant to Section 60 to classified information classified at the level Top Secret may be granted to a natural person only if he or she holds a valid certificate for access to classified information classified at the level Secret and is:      Instructed.
5. Access under Section 60 may not be granted to an entrepreneur to classified information subject to a special handling regime (e.g. KRYPTO, ATOMAL).
6. Under the approach under Section 60 of the Act, sensitive activities cannot be carried out.
7. The responsibility for the correctness and legality of the procedure lies with the person who allows access (typically a state authority).

5. Practical step-by-step procedure

6. Important comments and recommendations

• Every case of extraordinary access shall be carefully documented and substantiated, including all steps leading to a decision to disclose classified information.

• Access to classified information pursuant to Section 60 of the Act is exceptional and may not be misused for normal operational purposes.

• Responsibility for the correctness of the procedure shall always lie with the authority granting access.

• In case of doubt, we recommend consulting the NBÚ or the legal department of the competent authority.

Model of recommended written test for emergency access (natural person) - here

Model of recommended instruction for emergency access (natural person) - here

Who carries out verification of conditions and issues notices for access to information classified at the level RESTRICTED (hereinafter referred to as "notifications") (Section 6(3) of the Act)?

• verification is carried out by the responsible person of the employer or a person designated by the employer (e.g. the Security Director), who also issues notices;
• where the verification is not carried out by the employer, it is carried out and the notification is issued by the responsible person or a person designated by the responsible person who gives the natural person access to classified information (provider);
• for natural persons taking part in a selection procedure, the verification of the conditions is carried out and the notice is issued by the person who announced the selection procedure for the post in question;
• an entrepreneur who He is not the only entrepreneur., the verification of the conditions is carried out and the notification to the responsible person of the entrepreneur is issued by a person designated by the responsible person (e.g. the responsible person appoints his employee to verify the conditions and issue a notification to him). The designated person carrying out the verification and issuing the notification to the responsible person does not need to be the holder of the notification.

When a natural person may apply to the National Security Authority (hereinafter referred to as “the Authority”) to issue a notification (Section 6(3) of the Act)?

• only in exceptional cases, namely when there is no entity vis-à-vis the natural person that could act as his or her responsible person, i.e. that the natural person has no employment relationship, employment or similar relationship in which he or she would necessarily need to have access to classified information of the level Reserved, nor does he or she exist who gives a natural person access to his own classified information, i.e. the provider of classified information, and a natural person necessarily needs such access for a specific reason

What must a natural person submit?

• request for the issuance of a notice - here – (in case the notification is issued by the Office) - state in this request the justification for the request and the text that there is no person responsible to you or who will give you access to classified information
• declaration of legal capacity - here
• ID card or travel document – if the notification is issued by the Office, it is necessary to appear in person at the Office’s filing office
• an extract from the Criminal Register (must not be older than 3 months) - if the integrity is assessed by a state authority, it will request an extract from the Criminal Register itself. A foreign national shall also submit a similar document to the State of which the foreign national is a national if he/she has resided there for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15 years, as well as to the State in which the foreign national has resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months in the last 10 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information entered in the criminal records of such State. If the foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the foreigner proves the condition of good repute by a solemn declaration (documents may not be older than 3 months)

All documents are submitted in the Czech language. If documents are submitted in a foreign language, they must be submitted in the original and at the same time in an officially certified translation into the Czech language.

What a natural person must comply with (Section 6(2) of the Act)?

• legal capacity
• 18 years of age
• good repute (the condition of good repute is met by a natural person who has not been convicted by a judgment which has the force of res judicata of an intentional offence or an offence relating to the protection of classified information, or who is regarded as not having been convicted)

When can an individual have access to RESTRICTED classified information?

• if it is strictly necessary in the performance of its duties, work or other activities, is the holder of a notification for access to the classified information security level RESERVED or by the holder of the certificate Certificate of natural person (CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, HIGHLY SECRET) or document the security capability of a natural person and at the same time is learned, unless otherwise specified (Sections 58 to 62 of the Act)

Obligations of the holder of the notification to the level of classification RESTRICTED - here

Validity and expiration of the notification to RESERVED (Section 9(2), (3) of the Act)

• period of validity notifications is not limited in time, with the fact that the person who issued the notification is obliged to every 5 years verify with the natural person, again the conditions after his extradition (or, in case of reasonable doubt, before the expiry of this period)
• validity notifications ceases to exist:
  1. notification of non-compliance (notification of non-compliance is issued by the person who issued the notification);
  2. termination of a service relationship or an employment, membership or similar relationship in which a natural person has been granted access to classified information,
  3. the establishment of a service relationship or an employment, membership or similar relationship in which a natural person is to be granted access to classified information, if the notice has been issued by the Office or the so-called classified information provider,
  4. death of a natural person,
  5. announcement its theft, loss,
  6. reporting of damage resulting in the illegibility of the entries in the notification or in a breach of its integrity;
  7. by delivery of the notification of failure to fulfil obligations to submit up-to-date documents to verify the conditions for its issuance (the notification of failure to fulfil obligations is issued by the person who issued the notification);
  8. by returning the notification to the person who issued it or, if it is not, to the Office,
  9. on the fifteenth day following receipt of the natural person's certificate or document, or
  10. modification of any of the data contained therein.

In cases of theft, loss, damage or data changes upon written request, the person who issued the notification shall issue a new notification within 5 days of the date of receipt of the request. This request must be made in cases of theft, loss, damage within 15 days from the date of expiry of the notification, in the case of a change of data, within 30 days from the date of expiry of the notification, i.e. from the date on which the change occurred. If no request is made within the prescribed period, access to classified information will cease and the individual will have to reapply for another notification, i.e. to submit a declaration of legal capacity, if necessary by maintaining access to classified information classified at the restricted level - here, identity card or travel document; an extract from the Criminal Register (must not be older than 3 months) - if the integrity is assessed by a state authority, it will request an extract from the Criminal Register itself. A foreign national shall also submit a similar document to the State of which the foreign national is a national if he/she has resided there for a continuous period of more than 6 months after reaching the age of 15 years, as well as to the State in which the foreign national has resided for a continuous period of more than 6 months in the last 10 years, or an extract from the Criminal Register with an annex containing information entered in the criminal records of such State. If the foreign state does not issue a document similar to an extract from the criminal record, the foreigner proves the condition of good repute by a solemn declaration (documents may not be older than 3 months). If the notification is issued by the Office, the natural person will also have to submit a new request for the issuance of a notification: here and to appear in person at the headquarters of the Office.

Please note:

Pursuant to Article II of the Transitional Provisions of Act No 267/2024, which amended Act No 412/2005 on 1.1.2025, notices issued to persons referred to in Section 58a of the Act (members of the security forces, civil servants, active soldiers and public prosecutors) expire on 31.3.2025, unless they lapse pursuant to Section 9(3) of the Act. These persons must be informed by 31.3.2025 in accordance with Section 9(1) of the Act.