A penalty order is a peculiar kind of post. It looks like a decision, it reads like a decision, and it is one. It just came into being without you. The authority concluded that everything was clear from the police report and the photo, and went straight to the verdict: guilty, fine, points, possibly a driving ban. Nobody asked you anything, because they did not have to.
The good news: the whole piece of paper can be cancelled with a single filing. The bad news: you have eight days for that filing and nobody will extend them.
The objection
Against a penalty order you file an objection (odpor). It needs no reasons; it is enough to write that you are filing it and send it to the authority that issued the order. Filing the objection cancels the order and the proceedings continue normally: you receive a notice that proceedings have been opened, you can inspect the file, propose evidence, attend an oral hearing. Only there is it established what really happened.
An objection that arrives on the ninth day is merely noted by the authority, and the order is final. The Regional Court in Brno dealt with a case where the authority did not even tell the applicant that her objection was late, and carried on with the proceedings as if it had been in time. A deadline is a deadline.
Worth knowing before you file
- After an objection, no harsher penalty may be imposed than the one in the order, except for a reprimand. You need not fear that objecting will make things worse.
- You do not have to testify. A person accused of a misdemeanour need not defend themselves, need not produce evidence against themselves, and their silence is not a confession. The same as in criminal proceedings.
- Liability for a misdemeanour lapses after one year from when it was committed. The notice opening proceedings interrupts that period and a new one begins, but overall the authority must reach a final decision within three years at the latest. The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that if the authority does not make it within the year, the proceedings are discontinued.
- An appeal against the decision after an objection has fifteen days and always has suspensive effect.
When to fight and when to pay
A fine of a thousand crowns for bad parking is no reason to go to war. A penalty order that brings points, a driving ban or a high fine is. That is about your job, about your licence for a year, and about whether the next small thing turns into twelve points. If you are not sure, write to us with what arrived and when you received it. The date of receipt is the most important piece of information in the whole letter.
What this rests on
No advice on this page is an opinion. Each one has a section of the law and a court decision behind it. Click through, the full text is on Europaius.
Statute
- § 150 správního řádupenalty order: objection within 8 days of notification, filing the objection cancels the order and proceedings continue; without an objection it is final
- § 90 zák. o přestupcíchafter an objection, no other type of penalty may be imposed except a reprimand, nor a higher amount than in the order
- § 30 zák. o přestupcíchlimitation period of 1 year, or 3 years for misdemeanours with a fine of CZK 100,000 or more
- § 32 zák. o přestupcíchinterruption of the limitation period by the notice opening proceedings; liability lapses 3 years after the act at the latest
- § 97 zák. o přestupcícha timely appeal against a decision on a misdemeanour always has suspensive effect
- § 83 správního řáduappeal period of 15 days from the day the decision is notified
Case law
- 3 As 159/2024 (Nejvyšší správní soud, 15. 7. 2024)the limitation period was one year and was interrupted by the notice opening proceedings; when no decision was made within the year, the authority correctly discontinued the proceedings
- 4 As 83/2024 (Nejvyšší správní soud, 13. 5. 2024)the preclusive period for misdemeanour proceedings is one year; interruption of the period must be distinguished from the duty to reach a final decision within it
- 72 A 5/2024 (Krajský soud v Ostravě, 29. 9. 2025)a person accused of a misdemeanour need not testify at all, need not tell the truth and may not be forced to testify; they are not obliged to defend themselves or produce evidence
- 31 A 21/2025 (Krajský soud v Brně, 26. 2. 2026)a late objection does not cancel the order; the authority should notify the filer that it was late, otherwise it deprives them of the chance to ask for the missed deadline to be excused
A different situation?
- You have reached 12 points
- You want your driving licence back
- The police took your driving licence on the spot