Datová schránka — a government electronic mailbox for communication with authorities. A message that arrives there has the same legal power as a registered letter from the post office.
Who Must Have One
- Natural persons who are not entrepreneurs — no. The plan to automatically issue mailboxes to everyone was canceled by law č. 457/2022 Coll. before it even took effect.
- Entrepreneurs — yes. If you opened a živnosť (sole-trader licence) and received an IČO (company ID number), meaning you became an OSVČ (Czech self-employed status) — the mailbox is created automatically and is mandatory (from 01.01.2023). Along with it comes the obligation to file tax returns electronically.
Two Mechanisms That Cause Problems
- § 10, paragraph 2 — the mailbox is activated automatically on the 15th day after the login details are delivered. The envelope can remain unopened; it makes no difference.
- § 17, paragraph 4 — fiction of delivery: 10 days from the day of delivery. If you do not log in, the document is still considered delivered.
Put it together: approximately 25 days after the login details are sent, a document is considered delivered even if you do nothing — and deadlines for appeals start running during this time.
Practical Information
- Activation is free: online through Citizen's Identity (Identita občana), at a Czech POINT, or in writing. At Czech POINT, all operations with mailboxes are free.
- The domain moved on 25–26.06.2026 to datovka.gov.cz; the old mojedatovaschranka.cz redirects from 27.08.2026.
- From 01.08.2026, logging into the Citizen's Portal (Portál občana) via the mailbox will stop — only through Citizen's Identity (Identita občana) will be possible.
