Certified Copy
A certified copy is a copy verified by an authorized institution and is exactly identical with the presented original. The institutions authorized to certify copies are not responsible for the contents of the documents, nor do they verify whether the information in the certified copy is accurate, true or in agreement with the law.
Which institutions can verify a Certified Copy?
Certified copies are verified by:
- Česká pošta,
- a regional authority office (in Czech krajský úřad),
- a municipal (or city district) authority office,
- public administration contact points (Czech POINT),
- Czech Chamber of Commerce.
What do you have to bring?
Bring the document of which you need a certified copy.
Which documents cannot be certified?
Certified copies cannot be issued for documents that, due to their uniqueness, cannot be substituted.
The verifying authorities will not issue, among others, a certified copy of:
- an ID,
- a passport or
- a residence permit document.
Furthermore, a certified copy cannot be issued if:
- the presented document is in other than Czech or Slovak languages,
- the certifying officer does not know the language in which the document is written and it is presented without a certified translation into Czech or Slovak (not applicable if the copy was made by the certifying officer on a copy machine at the applicant’s costs).
You can find more information on which documents cannot be certified and under what conditions certification of a document cannot be done in Act on Authentication of Documents no. 21/2006 Coll.
How to recognize a certified copy?
Every certified copy is marked with a certification clause and an official stamp directly on the certified copy.
After being certified, the copy is marked in a way that makes it impossible to add additional text.