This document has been provided by the
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL).

ICNL is the leading source for information on th e legal environment for civil society and public
participation. Since 1992, ICNL has served as a resource to civil society leaders, government
officials, and the donor community in over 90 countries.

Visit ICNL’s Online Library at
https://www.icnl.org/knowledge/library/index.php
for further resources and research from countries all over the world.

Disclaimers Content. The information provided herein is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended and should not be
construed to constitute legal advice. The information contai ned herein may not be applicable in all situations and may not, after the date of
its presentation, even reflect the most current authority. Noth ing contained herein should be relied or acted upon without the benefit of legal
advice based upon the particular facts and circumstances pres ented, and nothing herein should be construed otherwise.
Translations. Translations by ICNL of any materials into other languages are intended solely as a convenience. Translation accuracy is not
guaranteed nor implied. If any questions arise related to the accuracy of a translation, please refer to the original language official version of
the document. Any discrepancies or differences created in the tr anslation are not binding and have no legal effect for compliance or
enforcement purposes.
Warranty and Limitation of Liability. Although ICNL uses reasonable efforts to include ac curate and up-to-date information herein, ICNL
makes no warranties or representations of any kind as to its a ccuracy, currency or completeness. You agree that access to and u se of this
document and the content thereof is at your own risk. ICNL discl aims all warranties of any kind, express or implied. Neither ICNL nor any
party involved in creating, producing or delivering this document shall be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of access to, use of
or inability to use this document, or any e rrors or omissions in the content thereof.

Act No. 198
of 24 April 2002
on Volunteer Services, amending certain regulations
(Volunteer Services Act)

The Parliament has adopted the following Act of the Czech Republic:

PART ONE
VOLUNTEER SERVICES

Article 1
Subject of the Act
(1) This Act sets out conditions under which the State supports volunteer services organized
under this Act rendered by volunteers without a claim to remuneration.

(2) This Act does not apply to
a) activities governed by specific legal regulations, even if they correspond to the
characteristics of volunteer services stipulated by the Act;
b) activities, which do not correspond to the characte ristics of volunteer services stipulated by
this Act, even when performed by volunteers.

Definitions
Article 2
(1) Volunteer service is an activity where a volunteer renders
a) assistance to unemployed, socially week or medically handicapped people, seniors,
members of national minorities, immigrants, persons who have finished serving their
imprisonment sentence, drug addicted people, victims of domestic violence as well as
assistance to children, youth a nd families in their free time;
b) assistance during natural, environmental or humanitarian disasters, during the protection
and improvement of environment, cultural her itage protection, preparation of cultural
charity events or collections for people as per letter a), or;
c) assistance in the implementation of devel opment programmes and assistance under the
framework of operations, projects and progra mmes of international organizations and
institutions, including internati onal non-government organizations.

(2) Volunteer services in the meaning of paragraph 1 are not activities related to the satiation of
personal interests or activities carried out under the framework of entrepreneurial or other
income-generating activity or under an employment, service or membership contract.

(3) According to its nature, volunteer services can be either short-term or long-term, if
performed for a period exceeding three month.
Article 3
(1) Volunteer can be a natural person
a) over 15 years of age if volunteer services are performed on the territory of the Czech
Republic;
b) over 18 years of age if volunteer services are performed abroad,
who has freely decided to render volunteer servic es on the basis of his/her skills, knowledge and
qualities.

1

(2) A volunteer renders volunteer services on the basis of a contract 1 concluded with a
delegating organization; in case of a long-term volunteer service or in case of a short-term
volunteer service abroad, this contract must have a written form.

(3) If a natural person is a party to an employment, service or member contract or if he/she is a
pupil or student, then he/she renders volunteer services outside his/her employment, service
or membership contract, schooling or education.

(4) Performance of military service or alterna tive civil service constitutes an obstacle to
rendering volunteer services.

Article 5
(1) A delegating authority under this Act is a lega l entity located in the Czech Republic, which
selects, registers and prepares volunteers fo r rendering volunteer services and which
concludes with the volunteers contracts, under the condition that it has received an
accreditation (Article 6).

(2) A receiving organization under this Act is a person for the need of which volunteer services
are rendered, capable of concluding an ag reement with the delegating organization and
capable of maintaining its obligation under such an agreement.

(3) The delegating authority may, besides concl uding contracts with receiving organizations,
conclude volunteer services contracts with volunt eers for its own benefit. The condition for
that is that the subject of contracts concl uded with the receiving organizations and with
volunteers should be for the same type of volunteer services and the volunteers should not
be members of the delegating organization and sh ould have no legal relation to it. In such
cases, the relationship between the volunteers and the organization, for the benefit of which
volunteer services are being performed, are adequa tely governed by the provisions on rights
and obligations of delegating and receiving organizations and provisions on the rights and
obligations of the volunteers.

1 Civic Code
2

Contracts
Article 5
(1) For the performance of short-term volunteer services (unless the volunteer service is
rendered abroad), at least the place, subject and length of the volunteer services must be
agreed upon by the volunteer and the delegating au thority, and, according to the nature of
the services, working and protection tools mu st be provided to the volunteer or Police
certificate no more than three months old and medical certificate no more than three months
old must be submitted (para 2, letter b), point 3).

(2) Contract between a volunteer and a dele gating organization on rendering long-term
volunteer services or short-term volunteer service abroad must always include:
a) name, surname, birth number or the date of birt h (if birth number has not been issued), place
of permanent residence of the volunteer and the name and address of the delegating
organization;
b) agreement on:
1. participation in a preparatory training or ganized by the delegating organization; the
preparatory training must include (according to the nature of the volunteer services)
provision of information to the volunteer on possible risks connected with rendering the
volunteer services which could present a threat to his/her life or health;
2. the provision of Police certificate no more than three months old and a written statement
that at the time of the agreement no criminal prosecution is held against the volunteer
(according to the nature of the volunteer services);
3. submission of a medical certificate no more than three months old (according to the
nature of the volunteer service), where a medical practitioner on the basis of an
assessment of the volunteer specifies activ ities the volunteer is unable to perform
because of his medical condition;
4. submission of a certificate (according to the nature of the volunteer service) confirming
that the volunteer has been informed on contagious diseases, including anti-malarial
prevention (prophylaxis), if conditions on the territory where the volunteer is to render
his services require so;
as conditions for the participation on volunteer services,
c) the location, subject and period of rendering volunteer services within the framework of
specific programme or project of volunteer services;
d) mode of provision of alimentation and housing to the volunteer;
e) obligation of the volunteer to return an aliquot part of the costs invested by the delegating
organization in case he/she prematurely terminates his/her volunteer services for reasons
other than those deserving special consideration;
f) according to the nature of the volunteer servi ces, agreement of reimbursement of expenses
connected with the necessary preparation of vo lunteer for the participation in a specific
volunteer services programme or project, reimbur sement of expenses connected with the
transportation to the place of activities abroad and back, pocket-money for daily expenses in
the place of his/her activities, provision of working tools and personal protection tools,
g) according to the nature of volunteer services, the scope of working hours, break periods,
conditions for requesting leave and reasons under which the volunteer services can be
prematurely terminated.

(3) The contract between a volunteer and a de legating organization on rendering long-term
volunteer services may include also a provision stipulating that before setting-off, the
volunteer should register for pension insurance if he/she meets requirements as per special
legal regulations
2, and that the delegating organizat ion shall pay for him/her pension
2 Art. 6, para 1, letter d) of the Act No. 155/1995, on pension insurance as amended by later
regulations.
3

insurance derived from at least the minimum basis 3, if long-term volunteer services are
performed in an extent exceeding in average 20 hours per week.

(4) A volunteer is not entitled to remuneration for the rendering volunteer services.

(5) In the agreement on working hours, breaks, conditions for leave and security at work,
appropriate employment regulations shall be used and during the stipulation of the pocket-
money amount, regulations on travel subsistence shall be used accordingly.

Delegating organization
Article 6
(1) A delegating organization is granted accreditati on by the Ministry of Interior (further only
“the Ministry”). The Ministry grants accreditation on the basis of a proposal of the
Accreditation Committee consisting of one repr esentative of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Ministry of Education, Youth and Spor ts, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Labour
and Social Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture,
Ministry of Finance and the Governmental Council for Non-state Non-profit Organizations;
the Accreditation Committee is an a dvisory body to the Government.

(2) The Ministry grants accreditation as per paragraph 1 to a civic association, public
beneficial society, church or religious society or legal entity of a church or religious society
if it shows that given the professional com position of its bodies, employees or members,
concrete projects or volunteer services programmes and financial competence, it is capable
of organizing and implementing volunteer ser vices projects and to meet other duties
resulting from this Act. Accreditation is issued for the period of three years.

(3) The Ministry keeps a list of delegating orga nizations, which received accreditation. This
list is public and accessible electronically. This list also stipulates individual types of
volunteer services and services specialization and provided by the delegating organizations.

Article 7
(1) Before sending a volunteer to render volunt eer services, a delegating organization is
obliged to conclude an insurance contract for material damage or medical harm suffered by
the volunteer (caused either by himself/hersel f or by another agent). The volunteer is
responsible only for harm caused intentionally.

(2) Before sending a volunteer to render volunteer services abroad, a delegating organization
shall conclude medical insurance for the volunteer according to the nature of the volunteer
services to be rendered and according to the conditions in the state or on the territory where
the volunteer services are to be carried out.

(3) If volunteer services are rendered outside the pl ace of the volunteer´s permanent residence,
the delegating organization guarantees to th e volunteer dutiful and health-risks-free
housing according to the nature of the volunteer services and the implementation of
volunteer services (according to the nature of the services) in conditions not threatening
his/her life or health.

(4) A delegating organization can conclude with a volunteer, who at the time of the conclusion
of the contract did not reach the age of 18, a contract under Art. 5 only with a written and
notarised consent of his/her legal representative or with the consent of his/her legal
3 Art. 3, Art. 5b and 16 of the Act No. 589/1992 Coll., on insurance payments for social
insurance and contribution to the State Employ ment Policy as amended by later regulations.

4

representative recorded into a protocol at the delegating organization; without such consent
the agreement is invalid.

(5) In case of a volunteer under 18 years, performance of volunteer services inadequate to the
anatomic, physiologic and psychological specialities of his/her age or services posing
higher risk of accident or other medical harm must not be agreed upon; a volunteer of this
age must not be sent to render volunteer services abroad.

(6) During the selection of volunteers to conclude contract with, a delegating organization is
obliged to observe the equal treatment prin ciple, with the exception of cases where the
nature of volunteer services does not allow to do so.
Article 8
(1) Before sending a volunteer off, the delegati ng organization shall conclude with the
receiving organization a written contract specifying the conditions for the performance of
volunteer services (taking into account the nature of the specific programme or volunteer
services project mutually agreed upon with the receiving organization), the subject and the
length of volunteer services, type of housing and boarding, equipment with working tools
and personal protection tools, mode of monitoring of the volunteers services by the
delegating organization in order to monitor the compliance with the contract and to evaluate
the work of volunteers. Such contract betw een the delegating and receiving organization
must include also provisions setting out a duty of the receiving organization to inform the
delegating organization on risks which could pose a threat to the life or health of volunteers
during the performance of volunteer services a nd the duty to immediately adopt measures
eliminating or (in case of non-removable risks) limiting these risks.

(2) A delegating organization must not enter into an agreement with the receiving organization,
the subject of which would be activities of en terprening nature or activities, the purpose of
which would be to replace the work performed otherwise by employees or members of the
receiving organization or activities provided to the receiving organization by other persons
under the framework of its business.

(3) Delegating organizations are obliged to pub lish annual reports on their activities in an
appropriate form, at latest by 30 June of the following calendar year.

Article 9
(1) If the Ministry finds out that a delegating organization, which was granted an accreditation,
does not meet conditions stipulated by this Act for the issuance of accreditation (Art. 5,
para 2) any more or that it continues to fail to meet the obligations stipulated by this Act
even though it was duly notified by the Ministry, the accreditation of this organization shall
be cancelled after a discussion in the Accred itation Committee. The Ministry shall make
sure that the fulfilment of obligations resulti ng from contracts concluded is not affected.

(2) If a volunteer concluded a contract with a delegating organization and this delegating
organization ceased to exist, the rights and obligations resulting from this contract are
transferred to the legal successor of this organi zation or, if there is no such successor, to the
State. The Ministry shall then without unnecessary delay transfer these rights and
obligations to another suitabl e delegating organization.

(3) The Ministry, acting on its own or on some body else’s incentive, is entitled to check if a
delegating organization meets the requirements s tipulated by this Act; the activities of the
Ministry are then governed by the Act on State Control.
5

Article 10
The use of volunteer services by the State
and territorial self-governing units
State authorities, organizational units of the State, authorities and administrative bodies of
territorial self-governing units may use volunteer services within the extent of its lawful legality
for the purposes stipulated in Art. 2; in such a case, their status is that of receiving organization,
as stipulated by this Act. They may also, esp ecially during organization of volunteer services
abroad, mediate (free of charge) the conclusion of agreements between a delegating organization
located in the Czech Republic and a receiving organization.

Article 11
Subsidy
(1) The Ministry may provide to a delegating organization a subsidy covering
a) insurance payments on the basis of an insurance contract concluded by a delegating
organization under Art. 7, para 1;
b) part of expenses related to the record-keeping on volunteers, their preparation for
rendering volunteer services and organization of the performance of the volunteer
services,
c) insurance payments for pension insurance pa id under Art. 5, para 3 for a volunteer
derived from a minimum basis 4 where long-term volunteer se rvices are performed at
least in the extent exceeding in average 20 hours per week.

(2) During a calendar year, subsidies as per pa ragraph 1 are forwarded to delegating
organizations in advance payments and afte r the end of the calendar year, delegating
organizations shall account for it on the basis of real expenses occurred, numbers of
volunteers sent off to render volunteer services and the real amount of pension insurance
payments in the amount as per para 1, letter c). Delegating or ganizations shall provide the
Ministry (upon its request) with information needed for the calculation of subsidies and
advances for the subsidies.

(3) During a calendar year, subsidies as per paragra ph 1 shall not be provided to organizations,
which have agreed upon or which have received from receiving organizations payments or
other financially measurable benefits.

PART TWO
Amendment of the Act on Public Medical Insurance
Article 12
In Art. 7, para 1 of the Act No. 48/1997 Co ll., on Public Medical Insurance amending and
changing certain related regulations, as ame nded by the Act No. 242/1997 Coll., Act No.
127/1998 Coll. and Act No. 155/2000 Coll., the dot af ter letter m) is being replaced by a comma
and a new letter n) is being inserted which shall read as follows:
“n) persons rendering long-term volunteer services on the basis of a contract with a delegating
organization, which has been granted accreditation by the Ministry of Interior, in the extent of at
least 20 hour per week, unless the volunteer pays in surance payments under Art. 5 or unless the
State covers his/her insurance payments under the previous letters a) to m).”.

PART THREE
4 Art. 3, Art. 5b and 16 of the Act No. 589/1992 Coll., on insurance payments for social
insurance and contribution to the State Employ ment Policy as amended by later regulations.

6

Amendment of the Act on Pension Insurance
Article 13
Act No. 155/1995 Coll., on Pension Insurance, as amended by the Act No. 134/1997 Coll., Act
No. 289/1997 Coll., Act No. 224/1999 Coll., Act No. 18/2000 Coll., Act No. 118/2000 Coll.,
Act No 132/2000 Coll., Act No. 220/2000 Coll., Act No. 166/2001 Coll., Act No. 188/2001
Coll. and Act No. 353/2001 Coll. is amended as follows:
1. In Art. 6, para 1, the dot after letter c) is being replaced by a comma and a new
letter d) is being inserted (including a footnote), which shall read as follows:
“d) performance of long-term volunteer services on the basis of a contract concluded
with a delegating organization under special legal regulations; 6a) for period before the
submission of a registration form, participa tion on insurance is possible for maximum
of two years immediately before this day.
6a) Act No. 198/2002 Coll., on Volunteer Services, amending certain regulations
(Volunteer Services Act)”
2. In Art. 6, letter 2, the first sentence is being replaced by the following sentence:
“Participants on the insurance are also people over 18 years of age if they submitted
a registration form for the participation on insurance.”.
3. Paragraph 4 in Art. 107 is being cancelled.

PART FOUR
Amendment of the Act on Employment
Article 14
In Art. 13, para 2 of the Act No. 1/1991 Co ll., on Employment, as amended by the Act No.
578/1991 Coll. And Act No. 160/1995 Coll., the dot afte r letter g) is being replaced by a comma
and a new letter h) is being inserted which shall read as follows:
“h) of performance of long-term volunteer services in the extent exceeding in average a
minimum of 20 hours per week on the basis of a contract between a volunteer and a delegating
organization, which has been granted accred itation by the Ministry of Interior.”.

PART FIVE
Amendment of the Act on Income Tax
Article 15
Act No. 586/1992 Coll., on Income Tax, as amended by the Act No. 35/1993 Coll., Act No.
96/1993 Coll., Act No. 157/1993 Coll., Act No. 196/1993 Coll., Act No. 323/1993 Coll., Act
No. 42/1994 Coll., Act No. 85/1994 Coll., Act No. 114/1994 Coll., Act No. 259/1994 Coll., Act
No. 32/1995 Coll., Act No. 87/1995 Coll., Act No. 118/1995 Coll., Act No. 149/1995 Coll., Act
No. 248/1995 Coll., Act No. 316/1996 Coll., Act No. 18/1997 Coll., Act No. 151/1997 Coll.,
Act No. 209/1997 Coll., Act No. 210/1997 Coll., Act No. 227/1997 Coll., Act No. 111/1998
Coll., Act No. 149/1998 Coll., Act No. 168/1 998 Coll., Act No. 333/1998 Coll., Act No.
63/1999 Coll., Act No. 129/1999 Coll., Act No. 144/1999 Coll., Act No. 170/1999 Coll., Act
No. 225/1999 Coll., finding of the Constituti onal Court published under No. 3/2000 Coll., Act
No. 17/2000 Coll., Act No. 27/2000 Coll., Act No. 72/2000 Coll., Act No. 100/2000 Coll., Act
No. 103/2000 Coll., Act No 121/2000 Coll., Act No. 132/2000 Coll., Act No. 241/2000 Coll.,
Act No. 340/2000 Coll., Act No. 492/2000 Coll., Act No. 117/2001 Coll., Act No. 120/2001
Coll., Act No. 239/2001 Coll., Act No. 453/2001 Coll., Act No. 483/2001 Coll., Act No.
50/2002 Coll., Act No. 128/2002 Coll. and Act No. 210/2002 Coll., is being amended as
follows:
1. In Art. 4, para 1, the dot after letter zi) is being replaced by a comma and a new letter zj),
which shall read as follows (including footnote), is being inserted:
“zj) benefits provided in connection with the performance of volunteer services under
special legal regulations. 4h)
4h) Act No. 198/2002 Coll., on Volunteer Services, amending certain regulations
(Volunteer Services Act).”.
7

2. In Art 19, para 1, the dot after letter zb) is being replaced by a comma and a new letter zc),
which shall read as follows, shall be inserted:
“zc) income related to the performance of volunteer services rendered under special legal
regulation. 4h)”.

PART SIX
Amendment of the Act on Inheritance Taxes, Gift Taxes and Real Estate Transfer Taxes
Article 16
In Art. 20, para 15 of the Act No. 357/1992 Coll ., on Inheritance Taxes, Gift Taxes and Real
Estate Transfer Taxes, as amended by the Ac t No. 117/2001 Coll., the term “free gain of
property in connection with performance of volunteer services rendered under special legal
regulation
13b) ” is being inserted after the term “purposes”.
Footnote No. 13b) shall read:
“4h) Act No. 198/2002 Coll., on Volunteer Servic es, amending certain regulations (Volunteer
Services Act).”.
The current footnote No. 13b) shall be marked as footnote No. 13c), including reference to the
footnote.

PART SEVEN
Effectiveness
Article 17
This Act comes into effect as of 1 January 2003.

Klaus
Havel
Rychetský

8