What happens if you do not collect the delivered document?
If you are not present to receive the delivery, it will be stored at the post office for the following 10 days. A delivery notice with further details will be placed in your mailbox.
If you do not collect the shipment within the specified period, the postal worker will deposit it in your mailbox. The shipment is usually not returned to the Ministry; only the unsigned delivery confirmation will be sent back. The shipment is returned to the Ministry only if its contents are sensitive and it would be inappropriate for someone else to access them after the storage period. If the postal worker is unable to deposit the item in your mailbox, it will also be returned with a note stating that delivery to the mailbox was not possible.1.
How is the delivery date calculated?
The shipment is considered delivered on the 10th day after it was stored at the post office. The day of storage is not counted in this 10-day period. This means that the shipment is deemed delivered on the 10th day from the date it was made available for collection at the post office.
Example: The post office attempted to deliver a letter and so they deposit it at the post office on February, 1. The letter is deemed to have been delivered on February, 11.
If the final day of the storage period falls on a public holiday, Saturday, or Sunday, the final day of the period is the next working day.
What if the document is not delivered?
If you have moved or are not known at the given address, the shipment cannot be stored at the post office and will be returned to the Ministry. In such cases, the document must be delivered by publishing an electronic public notice.
If you are staying abroad or have a place of residence or a delivery address outside the Czech Republic, the document may be sent abroad via a postal service provider or a relevant foreign public authority authorised to deliver documents.
If delivery by these means is unsuccessful, the administrative authority will appoint a procedural guardian to act on your behalf.
What happens if you are represented in the processings?
If you are represented in the administrative procedure, documents will be delivered to your legal representative. An exception applies in cases where you, as the represented party, are required to perform an action personally – for example, receiving a residence permit or appearing for an interview. In such cases, the document will be delivered both to you and to your representative.
1 § 20 and § 21 of the Administrative Procedure Code
If the Ministry of the Interior is unable to deliver the document to you, it will publish a public notice on the official notice board of the office corresponding to your registered place of residence. At the same time, the notice will also be electronically published on the official notice board of the official public board of the Ministry of the Interior website1.
Both forms of the public notice (physical and electronic) will be posted for at least 15 days, with the day of posting not included in this period. The document is considered delivered on the 15th day following the posting of the physical form of the public notice, regardless of whether that day falls on a working day, Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday. Again, the day of posting is not included in the 15-day period.
1 § 25 of the Administrative Procedure Code.
If you have access to your own Data Box, either as a natural person, or as a legal person, and if it is in accordance with the nature of the document or administrative act, the Ministry of the Interior will always deliver the letter via the Data Box1. This does not apply, if you collect the letter in person at aMinistry of the Interior office.
The document in a Data Box is deemed to have been delivered at the instant, a person who has an authorized access to the Data Box logs in. However, if the person does not log in within 10 days of the delivery of the document into the Data Box, the document is deemed to have been delivered on the 10th day. Delivery through a Data Box has the same legal effect as a personal delivery.
1 § 19(1) of the Administrative Procedure Code.