So you’ve decided on the freedom of having your own wheels? The Czech Republic is a beautiful country to see by road, and there is a lot of beautiful scenery that is not easily accessible by public transport. Title graphic: @Brnodaily
Like anywhere, however, owning a car in the Czech Republic is not without a bit of red tape, and there are rules that need to be followed. Knowing the regulations can save you a lot of money in unnecessary fines, not to mention time that might be consumed in roadside chats with police officers and trips to pick up your impounded vehicle! To assist expats in getting up to speed with the vehicle ownership process, Brno Expat Centre (BEC) has created some literature that will be of help.
If you have a car in Brno, there are three main things to keep in mind: the insurance (liability insurance or comprehensive insurance), regular technical inspection and emission tests, and the mandatory equipment you need to have in your car at all times. (The police do check sometimes when they stop you- especially if you run into a grumpy officer.)
If you bring a car from your home country, there is also the whole process of registering it first if you want to stay here long-term (longer than 185 days). In such case you need to have Czech long term residence permit (nonEU citizens) or Temporary residence permit (EU citizens) with Czech “birth number” issued before going for the import technical inspection (to obtain the “Certificate of Roadworthiness” – what a word!) and registering the car with Czech licence plates.
You can read about all of this (registration of imported car, fees, equipment, technical inspection) in more detail in the Brno Expat Centre infosheet: Having a car and registering an imported car.
Another issue is parking in the city: every spring, summer and autumn the roads in Brno are cleaned by street sweeping vehicles. Car owners need to watch out – if they park their car on a street that is to be cleaned, it will get towed away. Brno Expat Centre has also written an article on how to keep yourself posted (Read their article here).
