Electronic signatures in real estate documents in the Czech Republic

Generally, any document may be electronically signed by any of the methods set out in column 4 and take legal effect unless they must be notarial deeds or submitted for registration to the Czech Real Estate Register. This includes:

• Leases (not registerable in the Czech Real Estate Register);
• Licences for alterations;
• Non-disclosure agreements;
• Exclusivity agreements;
• Side letters; and
• Pre-emption rights agreements (not registered in the Czech Real Estate Register).

Any documents requiring use of a notary public, attorney or an administrative authority (the “Verified Signature”) for registration on the Czech Real Estate Register cannot use an electronic signature. These include:

• Transfers and agreements for transfer;
• Easements;
• Mortgages;
• Negative pledge restricting dealings with the property (akin to a restriction on title);
• Pre-emption right agreements;
• Agreements on establishment of right to build on third party land (a relatively new land right akin to a licence to build); and
• Leases (if registered in the Real Estate Register).

The requirements stipulated by:

• eIDAS;
• Act No. 297/2016 Coll., on services building trust for electronic transactions (the “SET”); and
• Section 561 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, as amended (the “CC”).

Under the CC, SET and eIDAS, four types of electronic signatures exist all of which are valid means of electronic signing:

1. Electronic Signature: a digital signature used to simply indicate the authorship of an electronic document;
2. Advanced Electronic Signature: a digital signature which must unequivocally identify the holder, depend only on the will of the holder and be linked to the data to which it relates in such a manner that any subsequent change of the data is detectable;
3. Qualified Electronic Signature: a digital signature or other type of Advanced Electronic Signature that satisfies additional security requirements and is created by a secure signature creation device; and
4. Digital Signature: a particular type of Qualified Electronic Signature allowing the holder using the private key and a third party using the public key, respectively, to verify the origin and authenticity of one or more digital documents.

On 1 February 2022, an amendment of Act No. 21/2006 Coll., will come into effect allowing for electronically signed documents to potentially carry the same weight as a Verified Signature.

The following issues could prevent a document being entered into in electronic format:

• if the executing company has a provision in its constitutional documents which restricts or prevents it from signing electronically. While not common in constitutional documents, this may exist and should be checked; or
• if the document has to be treated as executed in a foreign jurisdiction. It may be preferable to have physical signing in the event that the place or location of signature has particular legal consequences.