Driving in Czechia

Right

Section 11(1) of the Road Traffic Act: on a road you drive on the right, and as close to the right edge of the carriageway as the conditions allow.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Left

Section 17(1): "Předjíždí se vlevo" — you overtake on the left. You may pass on the right only in narrow cases, such as a vehicle that is turning left and has clearly committed to it. Outside built-up areas you must also stay in the right-hand lane and use the other lanes only to overtake, pass an obstacle, turn or turn around.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

130 km/h

130 km/h is the limit on the motorway network. One stretch is different: on the D3 between exit 84 Planá nad Lužnicí and exit 131 Úsilné, 47 km, variable signs may show 150 km/h when the weather, visibility and traffic allow. You may only drive 150 there when the sign actually displays 150. If the sign shows no number, the limit is 130. In rain, poor visibility or queues the system drops the limit to 100. This is a trial and the Ministry of Transport extended it to the end of 2026.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

110 km/h

Section 18(3) sets 110 km/h on a "silnice pro motorová vozidla", the expressway class, for a vehicle up to 3.5 t. Inside a built-up area the limit on an expressway or a motorway drops to 80 km/h.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

90 km/h

Section 18(3): 90 km/h outside built-up areas for a vehicle up to 3.5 t. A heavier vehicle is limited to 80 km/h.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

50 km/h

Section 18(4): 50 km/h inside a built-up area. A local traffic order can raise this by up to 30 km/h, so watch for signs. The built-up area starts at the town-name sign, not at the houses.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

20 km/h

Section 39(5): in a residential zone ("Obytná zóna") and a pedestrian zone ("Pěší zóna") the limit is 20 km/h. Pedestrians may use the whole width of the road and children may play on it in a residential zone, so you must give way to them and stop if needed. You may only park in marked bays. When you leave the zone you give way to all traffic on the road.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

0 g/l

Drink nothing at all before you drive. Czechia allows no alcohol. The law does not set a number: it forbids drinking during the drive and forbids driving after drinking while you could still be under the influence. Any alcohol found is an offence. The fine runs from 7,000 to 25,000 CZK with a driving ban of 6 to 18 months. Two thresholds exist for how the case is handled, not for what is allowed: licence points start above 0.3 promille, and a reading of 0.24 promille or less is generally not treated as proof because the measuring tolerance is deducted. Above 1 promille it becomes a criminal matter. The same zero rule applies to cyclists.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

0 g/l

There is no separate figure for new drivers, because the limit for everyone is already zero.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

0 g/l

Same as for everyone else. Czechia's return to the EU lists 0,0 mg/ml for standard, professional and novice drivers alike.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

18 years

Section 83(1): a category B car licence is issued at 18. Czechia also runs an L17 scheme, which lets a 17-year-old drive accompanied by a registered mentor, but that is for Czech learners. A visitor drives at 18. Mopeds (class AM) start at 15 and light motorcycles (A1) at 16.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Depends on where your licence is from

Check your own licence before you travel. Section 104(2) accepts a Czech licence, a licence from another EU member state, and a licence from any other country that meets the Vienna 1968 or Geneva 1949 road traffic conventions. Most national licences do meet one of them, and then no International Driving Permit is needed. A foreign International Driving Permit issued under those conventions is also accepted on its own: a Vienna one for three years from issue, a Geneva one for one year. A licence that meets neither convention is not accepted at all.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Warning triangle
• High-visibility vest
• First aid kit
• Spare tyre or repair kit

Police may check all of this at the roadside. Keep the reflective vest inside the car within reach of the driver's seat, not in the boot, and put it on before you step out onto the road. The first aid kit no longer has to be replaced when the printed date passes, but the contents must be complete and undamaged. You do not need a spare wheel, wheel brace and jack if the car has a tyre repair kit, or run-flat tyres with a puncture warning, or a breakdown service contract covering the whole country. A hire car does not always have everything, so look before you drive away.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required at all times

Lights on all the time, day and night, all year. Section 32(1) requires every motor vehicle to run its position lights plus dipped headlights, or daytime running lights. This has applied since 1 July 2006 and police do check it. Daytime running lights alone are not enough once visibility drops; then you need dipped headlights.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required

Your lights are already on, because Section 32(1) requires them at all times while driving. The Act has no separate tunnel lighting rule.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Not allowed

Section 7(1)(c): while driving you must not hold a telephone, or any other calling or recording device, in your hand or in any other way. The fine in administrative proceedings is 4,000 to 10,000 CZK and 4 licence points.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Allowed

A hands-free set is allowed. The rule bans holding the device, not talking.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Only where a sign allows it

There is no general right turn on red in Czechia. Stop at the red. You may move only if a separate small green arrow lamp, the "Doplňková zelená šipka", is lit next to the red light, and then only in the direction the arrow points. Even then you must give way to all traffic and pedestrians that have a green light, and you must not obstruct people crossing.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Depends on the signs

Read the signs at the entry. Section 22(5) gives priority to traffic already on the roundabout when the roundabout sign is posted together with a give-way or a stop sign. Almost every Czech roundabout is signed that way, so in practice you give way before you enter. Where those signs are missing, the ordinary rule applies instead and you give way to traffic coming from your right. Do not signal as you enter or go round; do signal as you leave.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Yes — traffic from the right goes first at unmarked junctions

Section 22(2): where no sign settles priority, you give way to vehicles coming from your right. This is the default at unmarked junctions and it also applies in car parks, which is where visitors most often get it wrong.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Everyone, in every seat

Section 9(1)(a): every person carried must wear the belt on any seat that is fitted with one, front or back. The driver's own duty is in Section 6(1)(a). A driver without a belt, or a child without a child seat, is fined 2,000 to 5,000 CZK and given 4 licence points.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

150 cm

Section 6(1)(c): a child must travel in a child seat matched to their size and weight while the child is both under 150 cm tall and no more than 36 kg. Once the child passes either figure, an adult belt is enough. Never put a rear-facing child seat on a seat with a live airbag; switch the airbag off first.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Only on one-way streets

Section 25(1)(a): stop and park on the right in the direction you are travelling, as close to the edge as you can. On a one-way street you may use either side. Park in one row and parallel to the edge, except that in a built-up area a vehicle up to 3.5 t may park at right angles or at an angle. At least one 3 m lane must stay free for each direction.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• A junction — 5 m
• A pedestrian crossing — 5 m
• A bus stop — 30 m
• A level crossing — 15 m

From Section 27(1). The junction figure is 5 m before the junction boundary and 5 m after it. The crossing figure is 5 m before a pedestrian crossing or a cycle crossing, and you may never stop on the crossing itself. The 15 m applies before and after a level crossing, an underpass and a tunnel. At a bus, tram or trolleybus stop without an island the ban runs from the stop sign to 5 m past the stop post, and where there is no such sign it is 30 m before and 5 m after the post; if the stop is marked on the road surface, only the marked area is barred. Outside built-up areas you may not stop or park on a class I road at all except in a marked parking place, and the same applies on class II and III roads in poor visibility.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required whenever the road is icy or snowy

Not a plain date rule. Between 1 November and 31 March you need winter tyres whenever there is a continuous layer of snow, ice or frost on the road, or when the weather makes it likely that there will be during your journey. Where a "Zimní výbava" sign marks the start of a section, winter tyres are required through that whole period whatever the road looks like. Tread depth must be at least 4 mm on all four wheels for a vehicle up to 3.5 t. The roadside fine is up to 2,000 CZK and police may stop you driving on. Ask the hire company what the car is fitted with.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

1 November to 31 March

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required for rider and passenger

Rider and passenger, on a motorcycle and on a moped. Section 9(1)(b) puts the duty on the person being carried and Section 6(1)(h) on the rider. The helmet must be of an approved type and properly fastened. Riding without one costs 2,000 to 5,000 CZK and 4 licence points.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Engine up to 125 cc
• Power up to 11 kW

Read this carefully before you hire a scooter. Section 81(1)(c) says a category B entitlement also covers class A1 vehicles with automatic transmission — up to 125 cc and 11 kW — with no course, code or extra condition. A 125 with a manual gearbox is not covered. Section 81(2) adds that any entitlement except the tractor class covers class AM, the moped class, which is a machine built for no more than 45 km/h. Two limits on the 125 cc figure: Section 81 governs entitlements granted under Czech law, so it applies to a Czech licence and the source does not say that a foreign category B licence gets the same, and the allowance is a domestic one that does not travel abroad with you. If your licence was issued elsewhere, assume you may ride a moped and ask before you take a 125.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

15 years

Section 83(1)(a): class AM at 15, which covers two-wheelers built for more than 25 and no more than 45 km/h. Under 18 needs a parent's written consent. A light motorcycle (A1, up to 125 cc) starts at 16.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Eye protection

Besides the helmet, Section 6(1)(h) requires the rider to protect their eyes in a suitable way, for example with glasses or a visor, unless doing so would make the ride less safe, for example in rain or snow. Gloves, a jacket and boots are strongly advised by the Ministry of Transport's road safety unit but are not required by law. You may not smoke while riding, and you may not carry a person under 12 on the pillion seat.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Top speed at least 80 km/h

Section 35(1) is a general rule for every vehicle, not a ban on a class of two-wheeler: a motorway may only be used by motor vehicles and combinations whose design speed is not lower than 80 km/h. A moped is built for 45 km/h, so it is out. A 125 cc motorcycle is normally in. The same rule applies to expressways under Section 38. On a motorway section inside a built-up area, public transport vehicles built for at least 65 km/h are also allowed.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required at all times

Section 32(1) applies to every motor vehicle, motorcycles and mopeds included, so lights stay on day and night all year.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Vignette sticker

Buy the electronic vignette before you drive onto a tolled motorway section. There are no toll booths for cars and no chance to pay at the entrance. It is bought against your number plate, so there is no sticker and nothing to display: buy it online on the state e-shop edalnice.cz, or over a counter at a Česká pošta post office, a EuroOil petrol station or a self-service machine. It covers a vehicle with four or more wheels and a maximum permitted weight up to 3.5 t, for 1 day, 10 days, 30 days or a year, and you can set the start date up to three months ahead. The permitted weight on the registration document decides, not the weight with a trailer added. Driving a tolled section without one risks a fine of up to 20,000 CZK. Only motorways are charged; ordinary roads are free. Electric and hydrogen vehicles are exempt but a foreign-registered one must be registered with the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure first. Vehicles over 3.5 t use a separate electronic toll system instead.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

None

Czech law lets a municipality declare a low-emission zone, but the Ministry of the Environment states that no municipality has done so. No town restricts entry by emission class, so you need no emission sticker and no registration. If that changes, a foreign-registered car will have to enter its plate and emission class in the national low-emission-zone information system before its first entry.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

112

112 is the single European emergency number and reaches the whole rescue system. The direct lines also work: 158 police, 155 ambulance, 150 fire service, 156 municipal police. All are free and answered day and night.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Drink driving — fine 7000–25000 CZK, 6 points, possible driving ban (Driving under the influence of alcohol or another addictive substance. Ban of 6 to 18 months. The 6 points attach above 0.3 promille; below that it is still an offence and still carries the fine.)
• Serious speeding — fine 7000–25000 CZK, 6 points, possible driving ban (40 km/h or more over the limit in a built-up area, or 50 km/h or more outside one. Ban of 6 to 18 months.)
• Minor speeding — fine 2000–5000 CZK, 2 points (10 km/h or more over the limit, inside or outside a built-up area. 20 km/h over in a built-up area, or 30 km/h outside one, moves up to 4,000-10,000 CZK and 4 points.)
• Running a red light — fine 7000–25000 CZK, 6 points (Crossing a red light, or failing to stop on a stop signal or on a police officer's "Stůj!" instruction.)
• Holding a phone — fine 4000–10000 CZK, 4 points (Holding a phone while driving.)
• No seatbelt — fine 2000–5000 CZK, 4 points (Driver not belted, or a child carried without a child seat.)
• Illegal parking — fine 4000–10000 CZK (Stopping or parking where it is banned in a way that obstructs traffic. Using a disabled bay without entitlement is the same range plus 2 points.)

These are the ranges used in administrative proceedings under the points system that took effect on 1 January 2024. A roadside fine is lower. Points now come in three bands only, 2, 4 or 6. Twelve points means losing your licence, and so does a second 6-point offence or a third 4-point one.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Yes

Police can impose and collect a fine at the roadside for everyday offences such as a minor speeding case, no seatbelt or a phone in the hand. The serious offences cannot be settled that way and go to administrative proceedings instead, where the fines are higher and licence points and a driving ban follow.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source