Most of the drivers who call us can already do the job. They have C+E, code 95, a tachograph card and several years of international work behind them. What stops them is everything around the driving: a hundred-thousand-euro tractor, a licence, a company, insurance and paperwork.
Weeks 1–2. Živnost and paperwork
Start with the trade licence. A volná živnost — the unregulated category — can be filed at any Czech POINT counter, costs 1 000 Kč and takes one visit. That amount is set by Act No. 634/2004 Coll., Sazebník, Položka 24 písm. a) — "Ohlášení živnosti při vstupu do živnostenského podnikání Kč 1000"; every further filing costs 500 Kč. Bring a passport, an address and a decision on which tax regime you will pay under. Then come the insurance notifications — and the deadlines are not the same: 8 days to the health insurance fund (§ 10 odst. 3 of Act No. 48/1997 Coll.) and 15 days to social security (§ 48 odst. 4 of Act No. 582/1991 Coll.). Work to the shorter one; both can also be filed at the trade office itself. This is exactly where people are most often late — it is worked through in Živnostenské oprávnění.
Why volná — and when volná is not enough
The volná (unregulated) živnost covers what you actually do in this model: you drive under our transport licence and invoice us for your work. The moment you want to carry freight on your own account, under your own licence, it stops being enough. Road motor freight transport is a koncesovaná živnost — a concessioned trade — which the appendix lists in several weight bands, starting at vans; and heavy haulage additionally requires professional competence under § 8a of Act No. 111/1994 Coll. on top of the concession. That is a different road, longer and more expensive; this article describes the first one.
Source: Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Příloha č. 3 — koncesované živnosti (version served "Aktuální znění 24.07.2026 - 31.12.2026") — "Silniční motorová doprava - nákladní provozovaná vozidly nebo jízdními soupravami o největší povolené hmotnosti přesahující 3,5 tuny určenými k přepravě zvířat nebo věcí, […] - nákladní mezinárodní provozovaná vozidly nebo jízdními soupravami o největší povolené hmotnosti přesahující 2,5 tuny a nepřesahující 3,5 tuny určenými k přepravě zvířat nebo věcí" — international work in light vehicles, not only tractor units.
The notification is not the end of it — monthly insurance advances start running from the day the activity begins. On a hlavní (main) activity the minimum advance towards pension insurance is 5 005 Kč a month and the minimum advance towards health insurance is 3 306 Kč a month. On a vedlejší (secondary) activity — typically alongside a job — the amounts are lower, and under § 3a odst. 3 of Act No. 592/1992 Coll. the health minimum does not apply to an employee-OSVČ at all. The breakdown is in Insurance advances.
The cut in the social advance runs from July and is not retroactive
The 5 005 Kč a month minimum applies from 1 July 2026. January to June 2026 stays on the old rate, and the district social security administration refunds the difference only on a written request filed by 31 December 2026.
Sources: ČSSZ — Zálohy na pojistné na důchodové pojištění and Finanční správa — Informace k institutu paušální daně pro rok 2025 a 2026, the 2026 monthly flat-tax advance table, row I. pásmo, column "Pojistné na zdravotní pojištění". That table is the flat-tax regime, but it is the same amount: under § 3a odst. 5 písm. a) of Act No. 592/1992 Coll. the assessment base for the first band is the minimum assessment base under odstavec 2, so the health insurance minimum is identical in both regimes.
In parallel you open a euro account. Banks ask for an IČO, so it cannot happen before the živnost. Allow a week, mainly for the two separate visits it takes.
What you do not need to do
Do not set up an s.r.o. and do not apply for a transport licence. The licence and the company stay ours — you work as an OSVČ. That is precisely what saves you months and tens of thousands of koruna.
Weeks 3–4. Tractor and insurance
The tractor is matched to the route: a standard cab is enough for western runs, while Scandinavia calls for an auxiliary night heater and winter preparation. The rental rate includes insurance, servicing and tyres — fuel, tolls and fines stay with you, and you have to build that into the numbers from day one.
The deposit is paid before handover and comes back when the truck does. Carrier’s liability insurance is taken out in your name; this is usually where the extra week goes, because the insurer asks for your history.
Weeks 5–6. The first load
By now you have the živnost, the account, the truck and the insurance. We give you a short first load on a route you know, so you can go through the whole cycle once — loading, CMR, unloading, paperwork, invoice — before it gets busy. The second load is already a normal one.
