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".