The Business Register keeps records of legal persons incl. government departments and natural persons enjoying the status of an entrepreneur.

The legal persons include associations of natural or legal persons (hereinafter only “associations”,) associations of property by purpose, units of territorial self-government and other entities as required by law.

The most frequent cases of associations are commercial companies, civic associations, political movements and parties, trade unions and special interest and church associations, chambers (of notaries, architects, pharmacists, etc.). Business companies include general commercial partnerships, limited liability companies, limited partnerships limited by share and joint-stock companies. Purpose associations of property including various foundations (funds) established for purposes of benefit to the public, make another group.

The natural persons include private entrepreneurs in business in compliance with the Trades Licensing Act, self-employed farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs – natural persons and natural persons carrying out business activities governed by regulations other than the Trades Licensing Act.

Private entrepreneurs in business under the Trades Licensing Act (tradesman) include natural persons having business permit under Act No. 105/1990 Sb., on the Private Enterprise of Citizens (before the end of 1991) or natural persons with trade licence (from 1992).

Self-employed farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs include the group of self-employed farmers in business under regulations other than the Trades Licensing Act and since 1 May 2004 also agricultural entrepreneurs carrying out business under Act No. 252/1997 Sb., on Agriculture, as amended.

Private entrepreneurs in business activities other than the Trades Licensing Act (free-lance professions) include member of professional chambers and other natural persons whose business activities are governed by separate regulations.

Classification by prevailing activity corresponds to sections and subsections of industrial classification of economic activities (OKEČ). The Czech Statistical Office (by communication in the Collection of Laws no. 244/2007) introduced, with effect from 1 January 2008, the Classification of Economic Activities (CZ-NACE) fully replacing OKEČ. CZ-NACE reflects technological development and structural changes in the economy, it is more relevant with respect of economic reality and better comparable with international classifications. The yearbook includes a new table containing organizational statistics data as at 31 January by CZ-NACE (broken by section).

The institutional sector is an aggregate of economic entities (institutional units) of the same economic behaviour. The economic behaviour of each entity (institutional unit) is then clearly determined by a principal economic function and nature of activity.

The Business Register is used mainly in the state statistical service for identification of the reporting units for statistical surveys. The Business Register is regularly updated with the date from statistical surveys, Business Register, Trades-Licensing Offices and administrative sources. An entity reporting economic activity according to the information from statistical survey, or administrative source, is seen as statistical enterprise-type unit.