The Government has submitted to the Chamber of Deputies a bill amending Act No. 37/2021 Coll., on the Register of Beneficial Owners (hereinafter the “BOR Act”). The bill was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies on 15 July 2026 as Parliamentary Print No. 260.
The main purpose of the bill is to transpose into Czech law the requirements of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 on the mechanisms to be put in place by Member States for the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937, and amending and repealing Directive (EU) 2015/849 (the Sixth AML Directive), particularly those concerning access to beneficial ownership information on the basis of a legitimate interest. The bill also responds to changes in the legal framework governing public access to the Register of Beneficial Owners following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter the “CJEU”) in the Sovim case and subsequent developments in Czech case law.
The bill is intended to replace the current situation, in which the public does not have unrestricted access to the Register of Beneficial Owners, with a comprehensive statutory framework distinguishing between categories of persons according to their access entitlements and the scope of the information they may access.
Access to the Register of Beneficial Owners before December 2025
Since its establishment, the Register of Beneficial Owners had been partially accessible to the public. The public had access to information on the name, country of residence, year and month of birth and nationality of the beneficial owner of a legal entity, as well as the nature of the beneficial ownership and the size of the interest held, where that interest gave rise to beneficial ownership. This information was available free of charge by remote access, without the person accessing the information having to disclose their details.
Anyone could therefore search the register without restriction by entering the identification number or name of a particular legal entity and obtain a partial electronic extract directly from the website, or confirmation that no information on the entity concerned was held in the register.
Closure of public access to the Register of Beneficial Owners in December 2025
The access arrangements described above were not sustainable in the long term, both because of the requirements of the Sixth AML Directive and in light of developments in European and Czech case law. In November 2025, the Ministry of Justice therefore announced that the Register of Beneficial Owners would no longer be accessible to the public, in view of the case law of the CJEU and the Czech supreme courts, which found the public access regime to be incompatible with the rights to privacy and the protection of personal data.
This development originated in the CJEU judgment in the Sovim case of November 2022,[1] in which the CJEU held that the requirement under the Fourth AML Directive to provide unrestricted access to beneficial ownership information to the general public constituted a disproportionate interference with the rights to privacy and the protection of personal data under Art. 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Although the CJEU acknowledged that public access to beneficial ownership information was an appropriate means of pursuing the objectives of AML legislation, it was not convinced or the necessity of this measure. A proportionate and appropriate measure should not entail unjustified or excessive interference with the protection of individuals’ personal data.
The Czech supreme courts subsequently followed this conclusion. First, in March 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court held that access by the general public to information held in the Register of Beneficial Owners constituted a disproportionate interference with the constitutionally guaranteed rights of beneficial owners and could not therefore be enforced by administrative authorities.[2] The Supreme Court subsequently held that broad public access to the Register of Beneficial Owners was contrary to EU law.[3] Entering beneficial ownership information in the register resulted in its automatic publication, meaning that compliance with the obligation simultaneously interfered with the beneficial owner’s fundamental rights. A situation in which entities required to register beneficial ownership information had to choose between complying with their statutory registration obligation and interfering with the beneficial owner’s rights to privacy and the protection of personal data was therefore unsustainable in the long term.
Public access to the register was ultimately closed on 17 December 2025. However, this change was not introduced by an amendment to the BOR Act, it was merely an administrative measure taken by the Ministry of Justice.
The current situation
At present, public authorities and obliged entities under the AML Act are permitted remote access to the Register of Beneficial Owners.[4] These obliged entities include banks, notaries, attorneys, auditors, tax advisers and other privileged entities. Entities required to register beneficial ownership information continue to have access to their own information after logging in via their data box.
The general public can now obtain a partial extract from the Register of Beneficial Owners concerning a legal entity only upon demonstrating a legitimate interest. This is based on an interpretation of the existing Section 15(1)(a) of the BOR Act in conformity with EU law. That provision expressly provides for such a procedure in relation to “legal arrangements”, a statutory term covering a trust or a foreign trust. The current access available to the general public to beneficial ownership information thus rests solely on an interpretation of a single provision of the BOR Act in conformity with EU law, while the register remains closed to unrestricted public access. This is a temporary situation arising from the Ministry’s administrative practice and needs to be placed on a statutory footing.
What the amendment to the BOR Act introduces
Compared with the position before 17 December 2025, the amendment restricts the scope of publicly accessible information in the Register of Beneficial Owners. The general public will retain access only to information on whether any beneficial owner is registered in respect of a particular person or entity. Certain additional information will remain public only in specific cases, particularly where the beneficial owner consents to its publication or where the information is already public in another public register. Public access to other information will be permitted only on the basis of a legitimate interest, such information will not be automatically accessible to the public.
A person demonstrating an interest in preventing or combating money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing is to be regarded as having a legitimate interest in accessing beneficial ownership information. According to the explanatory memorandum, anyone may potentially have a legitimate interest, which should not be equated with a legal interest. Both the amendment to the BOR Act and the Sixth AML Directive distinguish between a legitimate interest in access and a legitimate interest in preventing particular criminal activities. An interest in preventing particular criminal activities is a general prerequisite for allowing public access to the Register of Beneficial Owners. A legitimate interest in access therefore depends on demonstrating an interest in preventing criminal activities. Applicants are not required to establish a specific suspicion of criminal activity, but rather the nature of their activities or, where relevant, their relationship with the person or entity about which they are requesting information.
A legitimate interest will therefore depend on:
- whether the person is involved in activities relating to the prevention of crime; or
- whether, in a particular case, the aim is to prevent an intended legal relationship from being entered into with a legal entity or legal arrangement linked to criminal activity.
Who will have access and on what conditions
The amendment distinguishes between several levels of access for persons other than the beneficial owner and the entity required to register beneficial ownership information, depending on the category of applicant and the scope of the information made available.
Members of the public who have not demonstrated a legitimate interest have access only to information on whether a beneficial owner is registered in respect of the person or entity concerned.
Members of the public who have demonstrated a legitimate interest will be able to obtain a partial extract of current information, covering the beneficial owner’s name, country of residence, year and month of birth and all nationalities, the nature of the beneficial ownership, and the size of any direct or indirect interest giving rise to beneficial ownership.
For certain persons, a legitimate interest is presumed, the list of these categories is not exhaustive. Other persons may also apply for access if they demonstrate a legitimate interest in the particular case under the general rule, however, they must demonstrate that interest individually under that rule.
General access on the basis of a legitimate interest is available, upon demonstrating a specific relationship with the entity required to register beneficial ownership information, to persons carrying out customer due diligence and subject to AML obligations in third countries, persons entering into a business relationship with that entity, foreign authorities responsible for business registers, authorities administering EU funding instruments, contracting authorities and providers of AML products and services. These persons may obtain a partial extract of current information.
Privileged access on the basis of a legitimate interest, without the need to demonstrate a relationship with a particular person or entity, is granted to journalists, non-governmental organisations and members of academia engaged in matters relating to money laundering. All these categories are also to have access to deleted and superseded information.
In the case of journalists, non-governmental organisations and members of academia, the identity of the particular authorised person will not be disclosed to the beneficial owner. Upon request, the beneficial owner will receive only information on that person’s activities, function or occupation.[5] By contrast, in the case of other authorised persons, the registered beneficial owner will normally also be informed, upon request, of their name, country of residence or registered office, date of access and, where relevant, their relationship with the legal entity or legal arrangement.
This category also includes authorities of third countries with powers similar to those of the Financial Analytical Office, which, by contrast, must always demonstrate a connection with the particular case.
Access on the basis of a legitimate interest will require authorisation. Applicants will apply to the Ministry of Justice using a form available on the Ministry’s website. As a rule, applications will be submitted electronically and will include, in particular, the applicant’s details, facts demonstrating their legitimate interest and, unless the applicant is a journalist, a non-governmental organisation or a member of academia, identification of the legal entity or legal arrangement whose beneficial ownership information is requested, including a description of the applicant’s relationship with that person or entity.
The Ministry is to process the application within twelve (12) working days. In factually or legally complex cases, it may extend this period by a further twelve (12) working days. If the application is granted, the applicant will be sent a certificate granting access. If it is rejected, the Ministry will issue a decision against which no internal administrative appeal (rozklad) will be available, the applicant will, however, be able to seek review before an administrative court.
The method of subsequent access will vary according to the category of applicant. Once their legitimate interest has been verified, journalists, non-governmental organisations and members of academia will be granted access to the entire database, which they will be able to search for three years from the date of issue of the certificate. For other applicants, the application will relate to a specific legal entity or legal arrangement, and each application will result in one partial extract. If such an applicant requests information about another person or entity within the following three years, a new application will be required, but the procedure will be simplified and the Ministry is to process it within seven (7) working days.
Access without demonstrating a legitimate interest will remain available to public authorities and obliged entities under the AML Act, namely banks, notaries, attorneys and auditors, by remote access, with the range of those entitled to such access being further extended. The entity required to register beneficial ownership information and the beneficial owner will continue to have access to their own information via their data box.
Conclusion
Since its establishment in 2021, the Register of Beneficial Owners has undergone a fundamental transformation: as a result of the case law of the CJEU and the Czech supreme courts, a register that was partially accessible to anyone online became, in December 2025, a register to which the public no longer has unrestricted access.
The amendment to the BOR Act currently under consideration is intended to implement some of the requirements introduced by the Sixth AML Directive. The amendment is at an early stage of the legislative process and may undergo changes, including substantial ones. It is scheduled for consideration at the 34th sitting of the Chamber of Deputies, which is due to begin on 13 October 2026. The amendment is proposed to take effect on the first day of the second month following its promulgation, we therefore expect it to take effect in the first half of next year.
It is already clear that this amendment will not be the last change to the BOR Act: the Sixth AML Directive contains further requirements that will also need to be transposed into national law. However, we do not expect this further amendment, which has yet to be drawn up, to take effect before July 2027.
We will continue to monitor all changes to the BOR Act for you. If you have any questions concerning the Register of Beneficial Owners or any related matters, please do not hesitate to contact us.
[1] Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union dated 22 November 2022 in Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, WM and Sovim SA v Luxembourg Business Registers.
[2] Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic dated 12 March 2025, File No. 4 As 219/2024-96.
[3] Judgment of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic dated 25 August 2025, File No. 27 Cdo 1368/2024.
[4] Act No. 253/2008 Coll., on Certain Measures against the Legalisation of Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing, as amended.
[5] The explanatory memorandum justifies this special regime by the need to protect the investigative work and scrutiny role of journalists, non-governmental organisations and members of academia, which could be undermined by disclosing their identities to the beneficial owner.
Mgr. Nikola Tomíčková, attorney at law – tomickova@plegal.cz
Mgr. Karel Janeba, junior lawyer – janeba@plegal.cz
8. 10.2026