Descriptive house number (č. p.)

Under Section 31 of the Czech Municipalities Act No. 128/2000 Coll., a building must be marked with a číslo popisné (descriptive number, č. p.). Recreational houses, temporary buildings and some buildings that do not need a permit under the Building Act get a registration number (číslo evidenční, č. e.) instead. The municipal office decides on the number. Every descriptive or registration number must be unique within a part of the municipality.

How to read it

• A descriptive or registration number belongs to the building as a whole. According to the Ministry of the Interior's guidance, a building has only one number; the exception is a transitional state after several buildings are joined into one.
• The street number (číslo orientační, č. o.) helps orientation in the street and should be unique within it. It can only be assigned to a building that already has a descriptive or registration number.
• In an address, the street number follows the descriptive number, separated by a slash, e.g. 1800/9 (Section 6 of Decree No. 359/2011 Coll.).
• A descriptive or registration number once assigned is never reused, not even when buildings are renumbered.

Where you will see it

Numbering, renumbering or cancelling a number takes effect by entry in the RÚIAN register (Section 31a of the Municipalities Act). The land register identifies a building by the parcel it stands on, its descriptive or registration number and the part of the municipality (Section 8 of the Cadastral Act). The descriptive number is unrelated to the parcel number; a house usually stands on a parcel with a different number, so it helps to know both when searching the register. The descriptive number is also part of a unit number, e.g. 1234/12.

Frequently asked questions

When does a new house get a descriptive number?

For a new building that requires a permit, the municipal office assigns a number at the written request of the building authority. In other cases it does so at the owner's request, accompanied by a survey plan and proof that the building has been put into use (Section 31a of the Municipalities Act).

Does every house have a street number?

No. Street numbers are assigned mainly where a street system is in place. According to the Ministry of the Interior's guidance, only in Prague must all buildings with a descriptive number in streets also have a street number.