Internal Regulation of the Director of the National Archives
of 17 July 2026
issuing the Research Rules of the National Archives
issued pursuant to Section 36(a) of Act No. 499/2004 Coll., on Archives and Records Management and on Amendments to Certain Acts, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”).
(1) Access to archival records shall be permitted only after the conditions laid down by the Act have been met and in premises designated for this purpose (hereinafter referred to as the “research room”) or remotely through the National Digital Research Room. Applicants for access to archival records (hereinafter referred to as the “researcher”) shall not be granted access to the premises in which archival records are stored. Access to digital reproductions of archival records and to digital archival records in the research room on the basis of access granted by an employee assigned to provide service and supervision in the research room shall not be considered remote access.
(2) Upon entering the National Archives (hereinafter also referred to as the “Archives”) or the research room, the researcher shall prove his or her identity or register in the research room visitor book, stating the date of the visit, his or her name or names and surname, and the purpose of the visit. Persons who are soiled, under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other psychotropic substances, or armed persons shall not be admitted to the research room. When accessing archival records or reproductions of archival records remotely through the National Digital Research Room, the researcher shall prove his or her identity by means of the Citizen’s Electronic Identity, and the researcher’s access shall be recorded by the National Digital Research Room.
(3) In the Archives’ research room, the researcher shall, in cooperation with an Archives employee, truthfully complete the researcher’s registration form, which also constitutes an application for access to archival records, unless the researcher has already done so remotely through the National Digital Research Room or at another archive. The researcher shall prove his or her identity to the employee assigned to provide service and supervision in the research room (hereinafter referred to as “research room supervision”) by presenting a valid identity card, passport or other similar identity document. The research room supervisor shall verify the accuracy of the information provided in the researcher’s registration form.
In the case of an electronic researcher’s registration form, the form shall be completed by the research room supervisor in the full presence of the researcher, who shall check all information after the form has been printed and sign the form. In the National Digital Research Room, the researcher shall prove his or her identity by means of the Citizen’s Electronic Identity and shall complete the researcher’s registration form personally.
A new researcher’s registration form shall always be completed for each calendar year in which the researcher accesses archival records, whenever the purpose of access changes, whenever the subject of study changes, and also whenever the researcher’s first name(s) or surname changes. The requirement to complete a new researcher’s registration form for each calendar year shall not apply at the National Archives.
(4) If the researcher is unable to prove his or her identity to the research room supervisor by presenting a valid identity card, passport or other similar identity document, access to the archival records shall be refused.
(5) Archival records shall be produced for the researcher on the basis of an express request. Such request may also be submitted to the Archives in advance through a postal service provider, or sent or communicated by electronic means of communication (e-mail, fax or telephone), using the contact details published by the Archives on its official notice board, if one is maintained, and on its website, or through its data box. A request may also be submitted through the National Digital Research Room or delivered personally in the research room.
If a request submitted or sent in writing does not contain all the particulars specified in paragraph 6, or if the request for the production of archival records is unclear, inaccurate or insufficiently specific, such request shall be regarded as informational only, and on its basis the researcher may be provided only with archival records for which there is no doubt that they are intended to be consulted. The researcher may also be requested to specify the request further.
If the request does not contain sufficient identification information to locate the archival record, the Archives shall make the archival record available for consultation according to its capabilities, taking into account its physical condition and the state of archival processing. The Archives shall determine whether such archival record will be produced, as well as the time limit and manner of its production.
The researcher shall have the right to use archival finding aids recorded in the National Archival Heritage Register and published on the portal at https://digitalnibadatelna.nacr.cz, or, where applicable, in paper form in the research room, and to order archival records for consultation on the basis thereof. A request sent to the National Digital Research Room from the portal referred to in the preceding sentence shall be deemed sufficiently specific.
In the request, the researcher shall also propose the date and time of the visit to the research room, in accordance with the periods specified in Article 2(5).
(6) In the research room, the researcher shall complete a request form for the production of archival records for consultation, stating his or her name or names, surname, subject of study, name of the archival collection, box number, book number, where applicable the inventory number, reference code or folio requested for study, and shall sign and date the form.
The request form for the production of archival records for consultation shall constitute an annex to the researcher’s registration form. If the researcher has used the procedure for requesting archival records for consultation under paragraph 5 and the request meets the requirements of the form under this paragraph, the document delivered by the researcher to the Archives shall be attached to the Archives’ researcher’s registration form.
If an incomplete or inaccurate request has been delivered to the Archives, the researcher shall complete the request form for the production of archival records for consultation in the research room. If the researcher has proceeded under paragraph 5 and requests the production of additional archival records beyond those requested in advance, the researcher shall complete the request form only to the extent of the newly requested archival records for consultation.
The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply at the National Archives.
(7) Before entering the research room, the researcher shall leave his or her coat (outer garment), hand luggage and other similar items in the designated place. The researcher may enter the research room only with a pen, pencil, his or her own loose sheets of paper without opaque covers, and recording equipment such as a mobile telephone, camera, video camera, handheld scanner or laptop computer without a case.
Upon completion of the study, the researcher shall present his or her belongings for inspection in order to determine whether he or she is removing archival records from the research room (in particular, the researcher shall open the laptop or scanner and present the sheets of paper brought into the research room). Items brought into the research room by the researcher shall also be presented for inspection upon request before the commencement of study in the research room.
(8) Silence shall be maintained in the research room and the study environment shall be respected. It shall not be disturbed by noise, loud communication with other researchers, excessive movement around the research room or other disruptive behaviour inconsistent with the purpose of a visit to the research room.
Smoking and the use of other addictive substances, eating, drinking and making telephone calls are prohibited in the research room. For equipment that the researcher brings into the research room with the permission of the research room supervisor, the researcher shall switch off all sound signals.
(9) National Digital Research Room (hereinafter also referred to as the “NDRR”) is a software application accessible through the National Archives Portal at https://archiv.gov.cz, which enables researchers to monitor the status of their orders and to access digital and digitised archival records that have not been made available through the National Archives’ Digital Research Room portal at https://digitalnibadatelna.nacr.cz. Archival records may also be ordered online through the Digital Research Room.
Access to the NDRR requires, in the case of citizens of European Union Member States, an electronic identity (eIdentity); citizens of non-EU countries must use a username and password issued upon registration in the Research Room. The NDRR also permits orders to be placed without authentication; in such cases, however, the researcher is always required to appear in person at the Research Room. An unauthenticated researcher is likewise not permitted to access digital or digitised archival records remotely.
(1) When consulting archival records, the researcher shall follow the instructions of the research room supervisor. The research room supervisor may require the researcher to use only ordinary pencils of soft or medium hardness when making excerpts and notes from certain types of archival records. The research room supervisor shall not be obliged to provide the researcher with assistance in reading the text of archival records, translating it into other languages, providing explanations of historical circumstances relating to the archival records, etc.
(2) When consulting archival records, the researcher shall handle the archival records with the utmost care. Archival records shall not be used as writing surfaces, copied directly using carbon paper, underlined, crossed out, written in, or otherwise used in any manner or for any purpose other than consultation. Physical damage to an archival record caused by the researcher shall result in the immediate termination of the researcher’s permission to consult archival records.
(3) Researchers are prohibited from removing archival records from the research room. The removal of any archival record from the research room shall result in the immediate termination of the researcher’s permission to consult archival records.
(4) Only one person may consult archival records requested by a researcher at any one time, namely the researcher in whose researcher’s registration form the archival records make available for consultation have been recorded. In justified cases (for example, for didactic purposes or during excursions), the research room supervisor may permit more than one person to consult the archival records.
(5) Archival records shall be make available for consultation within the time limit and in the total quantity and quantity per visiting day determined according to the operating conditions and technical capabilities of the Archives, taking into account the significance and purpose of the consultation. Only such a quantity of archival records shall be produced as can be readily checked by the research room supervisor as to both number and condition upon return.
At the National Archives, archival records that have been sufficiently identified pursuant to Article 1(5) shall be produced for the researcher within 1 to 5 days from the date of ordering, ordinarily in a quantity not exceeding 5 boxes or 10 individual items per day.
In the case of unpublished digitised archival records, a maximum of 2,000 digitised reproductions (scans) or 10 audiovisual or audio recordings shall be produced per day.
Registration of new researchers and the issuing of archival records for study shall end 30 minutes before the end of the research room’s opening hours.
(6) The Archives shall not reserve archival records for a researcher in the research room or in the National Digital Research Room if the researcher does not commence consultation of the archival records within thirty calendar days of the agreed date for their production, or if the researcher interrupts consultation for a period exceeding thirty days.
Archival records shall be reserved for the researcher in the research room for the period necessary for consultation. If the researcher does not consult the reserved archival records continuously or regularly and does not return the reserved archival records personally, the archival records shall be deemed to be reserved for a period of three months from the date of ordering.
After the expiry of this period, the reservation may, in justified cases, be extended for a further period, ordinarily no longer than until the end of the calendar year. When extending the reservation, consideration shall also be given to whether there are other applicants wishing to consult the archival records concerned.
The researcher shall always confirm receipt of the archival records, stating the date on which they were produced, by signing, in the research room, the document recording the archival records produced and returned.
In the National Digital Research Room, consultation of digital or digitised archival records shall be recorded by technical means.
The provision of the third sentence (concerning non-continuous consultation) shall not apply at the National Archives.
(7) The Archives shall permit archival records reserved for one researcher to be consulted by another researcher if the researcher for whom the archival records were initially reserved consents to such consultation by the other researcher, or if each of the researchers can demonstrably be shown to be consulting the archival records for a different purpose or studying a different topic.
If two or more researchers were to consult the archival records simultaneously, the Archives shall permit consultation only by the researcher for whom the Archives reserved the archival records first.
In disputed cases, the matter shall be decided by the person heading the Archives.
The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply at the National Archives.
(8) The research room supervisor shall decide whether archival records reserved for another researcher may be consulted. Such archival records shall be recorded in the researcher’s registration forms of all researchers consulting them.
(1) In the research room, researchers may, subject to conditions specified by the research room supervisor (for example, maintaining silence in the research room), and provided that other researchers are not disturbed and the archival record is not physically endangered, use their own reproduction equipment without flash, free of charge to make reproductions of archival records for their personal study purposes, but only with the consent of the research room supervisor.
Consent shall be expressed by the supervisor’s signature on the researcher’s written application for consent to use his or her own reproduction equipment. The template of this application forms an annex to the model Research Rules (Annex to Decree No. 645/2004 Coll.).
This shall be without prejudice to the protection of any property rights, copyright and related rights.
The written application for consent to use one’s own reproduction equipment pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be prepared by the researcher, and the research room supervisor shall approve it only in cases where the archival record:
a) contains personal data of living persons or persons who are probably still living,
b) explicitly describes or depicts violence or its consequences for a person, or depicts dead human bodies,
c) constitutes a work protected by the Copyright Act,
d) or where the owner, donor or seller has reserved, in a contract, the right to permit reproduction.
The Archives may, unless otherwise provided by other legislation or contractual obligations, impose conditions for making the reproduction in the consent.
After completing the work, the researcher shall add information concerning the number of reproductions made and their identification.
(1a) When using his or her own reproduction equipment to reproduce archival records marked with a security classification for which no indication of declassification has been provided, the researcher shall use, during reproduction, a declassification label pursuant to Section 157(3) of Act No. 412/2005 Coll., as amended, which shall be lent to the researcher upon request by the research room staff.
The following words shall constitute security classifications: “Vyhrazené”, “Důvěrné”, “Přísně důvěrné”, “Tajné”, “Přísně tajné” and “Přísně tajné zvláštní důležitosti”, or their abbreviations V, D, T, PT, PTZD, where stated on an archival record without any additional qualification.
In the event of failure to comply with this obligation, the researcher shall be denied access to the archival records.
(1b) In the case of remote consultation through the National Digital Research Room, the Archives may refuse access to archival records or parts thereof if the archival records fall within the categories specified in paragraph 1(a) to (d).
(2) After completing consultation of archival records, the researcher shall leave his or her place in the research room in proper order. The researcher shall not leave excerpts, notes or other aids or belongings in the research room, but shall take them away.
(3) After each completion of consultation of archival records, the researcher shall return the archival records in the same number, sequence and condition in which they were make available for consultation. Failure to comply with this obligation shall result in the immediate termination of the researcher’s permission to consult archival records.
(4) Before the researcher leaves the research room, the research room supervisor shall check the number and condition of the archival records returned by the researcher and confirm their proper return by signing the document recording the archival records produced and returned in the researcher’s registration form.
(5) The researcher shall use information obtained from archival records only for the purpose stated in the researcher’s registration form.
When using such information in scientific or other works or when publishing it, the researcher shall state at least the name of the Archives and the archival collections used, together with a more detailed identification of the archival records (citation) from which the information was obtained.
If the researcher passes information obtained from archival records to another person, he or she shall draw that person’s attention to the obligation set out in the preceding sentence.
(6) If a researcher has published a work based on consultation of archival records deposited in the Archives, he or she shall send one copy of the work to the relevant archive (for example, an edition of archival records), or, where applicable, a link to the published work.
If the researcher has used archival records deposited in several archives, he or she shall send the published work only to the archive from whose archival records he or she drew the most information; the other archives shall be provided with the bibliographic details of the published work or, where applicable, the work shall be sent to them electronically in PDF format, or a link to the published work shall be provided.
(6a) If a researcher or another person intends to publish a reproduction of an archival record in his or her work, that person shall settle any claims arising from copyright and related rights, where the content of the archival record constitutes a copyrighted work, or any other claims of third parties.
The Archives shall not be responsible for settling such claims.
(1) The Archives shall enable researchers to consult finding aids. For the purposes of these Research Rules, finding aids shall not be considered archival records, and the obligations that a researcher must fulfil in order to consult archival records shall not apply to them.
The researcher may use finding aids recorded within the National Archival Heritage and published on the portal at https://digitalnibadatelna.nacr.cz.
(2) Finding aids made available for consultation, unless they constitute official works and provided that they meet the criteria for protection under the Copyright Act, shall be treated as literary works.
Finding aids published by the National Archives shall be considered official works.
The Archives shall make and provide reproductions of archival records that the researcher is studying or needs for the purposes of official work or his or her own work specified in the researcher’s registration form, subject to any prior consent of the owner of the archival records and to the protection of any copyright and related rights.
Reproductions of archival records shall be provided subject to the operating conditions and technical capabilities of the Archives.
Reproductions of archival records shall not be provided where their physical condition does not permit reproduction.
(1) The lending of original archival records for consultation at an archive other than the archive in which they are deposited may be permitted exceptionally by the person heading the Archives, taking into account the purpose, objective and circumstances of their use, the security of transport, the protection of the archival records at the place of temporary storage, and the costs involved.
Archival records shall not be sent by post; instead, they shall always be transported, under conditions agreed in advance, by an authorised employee designated by the person heading the Archives that lends the archival records.
(2) The lending of original archival records outside the Archives shall be permitted exceptionally by the person heading the Archives or a person authorised by him or her, under the conditions set out in paragraph 1, only to:
a) the owner or, as applicable, the creator of the archival records;
b) a state authority (organisational unit of the state);
c) a cultural or scientific institution for an exhibition or other public presentation organised by that institution;
d) a territorial self-governing unit; and
e) persons who are authorised under special legislation to consult documents, where consultation is required for the purpose of performing an official function and the original cannot be replaced by a reproduction or certified copy.
The lending of original archival records may not be refused to the creator, donor or seller of archival records if the archival records were deposited in the Archives on the basis of a custody agreement or a donation or purchase agreement and that person reserved the right to have the archival records lent to him or her in the agreement.
(3) If an archival record deposited in a public archive is not owned by the Czech Republic, a legal person established by law, or a territorial self-governing unit, the written consent of its owner shall be required for lending the archival record.
(4) When lending archival records, the Archives shall issue the borrower a loan receipt (revers) containing:
a) an exact list of the archival records being lent;
b) the purpose of the loan;
c) the date of the loan and the deadline for returning the archival records;
d) the borrower’s first name(s), surname and address of residence in the territory of the Czech Republic or address of residence abroad, as stated in the identity document, where the borrower is a natural person; or
e) in the case of a legal person, the borrower’s registered office address and the first name(s) and surname of the person authorised by it;
f) the borrower’s handwritten signature or, where applicable, the handwritten signature of the person authorised by the borrower, if the borrower is a natural person; in the case of an authorised person, his or her first name(s), surname and address of residence in the territory of the Czech Republic or address of residence abroad as stated in the identity document, together with the date of the power of attorney presented;
g) the handwritten signature of the borrower’s statutory body or authorised person placed next to the name or business name of the legal person that is the borrower; where the specimen signature of persons acting on behalf of the legal person contains an imprint of its stamp, the imprint of the legal person’s stamp shall also be affixed next to the signature.
(5) Lent archival records shall be entered in a special register of loans and lending. At the National Archives, the register of loans and lending shall be replaced by documentation relating to the loan or lending.
(6) If the borrower fails to return the archival records lent within the agreed deadline and does not agree an extension of the deadline, no further archival records requested by the borrower shall be lent until the lent archival records have been returned.
The researcher may use books, periodicals and newspapers from the Archives Library in connection with and within the scope of his or her subject of study.
The use of books, periodicals and newspapers for study purposes from the Archives Library shall be governed by the lending rules issued by the person heading the Archives.
The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply at the National Archives, because the National Archives operates a public library governed by separate library rules.
(1) Data identifying a researcher as a natural person shall not be used for purposes other than the consultation of archival records by the person concerned and communication with the researcher. Exceptions are set out in paragraph 4(h).
(2) Archives may use data concerning archival records consulted in relation to the subject of study where the researcher cannot be identified, in particular:
a) for consultation activities in cases involving similar subjects;
b) as publishable open data.
(3) In the case of the National Digital Research Room, the researcher’s personal data and information concerning archival records ordered or studied shall be accessible to and shared by all archives using the National Digital Research Room.
(4) Information provided to the data subject pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation, hereinafter the “GDPR”):
a) The controller of personal data in the research room and the National Digital Research Room is the National Archives, Identification No. (IČO): 70979821, postal address: Archivní 2257/4, 149 00 Prague 4. Contact details of the Data Protection Officer: Mgr. et Mgr. Karolína Šimůnková, National Archives, Archivní 2257/4, 14900 Prague 4, e-mail: poverenec@na.gov.cz, Data Box ID: fe3aixh, tel. +420 974 847 351.
b) The purpose of processing personal data is the researcher’s consultation of archival records pursuant to the Act.
c) The legal basis for processing is Article 6(1)(c) GDPR — processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation laid down in Sections 34(1), (3), (4), (5) and (6), 35, 37(2) to (13), 38(1)(c), (d) and (e), 38(2), 38(5) and 38a of the Act; and Annex No. 3 to Decree No. 645/2004 Coll.
d) The processor of personal data is the archive established or accredited pursuant to Section 42 of Act No. 499/2004 Coll., in accordance with the Act referred to above.
e) The period for which personal data shall be stored:
f) Rights of the data subject: Pursuant to Article 15 GDPR, the data subject shall have the right of access to personal data concerning him or her.
Pursuant to Article 16 GDPR, the data subject shall have the right to request the controller to rectify inaccurate personal data concerning him or her.
Pursuant to Article 17 GDPR, the data subject shall have the right to request erasure of personal data concerning him or her.
The right to erasure shall not apply where processing is carried out for the purposes of archiving in the public interest; consequently, pursuant to Article 17(3)(d) GDPR, personal data shall not be erased from archival records (as defined in Section 2(f) of Act No. 499/2004 Coll.) deposited in or outside the Archives.
The data subject shall have the right to obtain restriction of processing of his or her personal data in the cases specified in Article 18 GDPR.
The data subject shall have the right to request that the controller inform him or her of the recipients of personal data pursuant to Article 19 GDPR.
The controller shall carry out the processing of personal data by automated means, but on the basis of the legislation referred to in subparagraph (d). The right to data portability under Article 20 GDPR shall therefore not apply.
Pursuant to Article 21 GDPR, the data subject shall have the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning him or her where the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority pursuant to Article 6(1)(c) GDPR.
Where the processing of the data subject’s personal data is based on the data subject’s consent to the processing of his or her personal data, the data subject shall have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
The data subject shall have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, namely the Office for Personal Data Protection, Pplk. Sochora 27, 170 00 Prague 7; e-mail: posta@uoou.cz; Data Box ID: qkbaa2n.
g) The controller does not carry out automated decision-making or profiling in the processing of personal data.
h) Recipients or categories of recipients: The researcher’s personal data pursuant to Sections 37(3) and 35(a), (b) and (c) of Act No. 499/2004 Coll. (to the extent of the first name, surname, date and place of birth, nationality, address of residence in the territory of the Czech Republic, or, where applicable, address of residence abroad, and addresses to which documents are to be delivered under special legislation) shall, in connection with obtaining consent to consult archival records containing personal data of living persons, be provided to the data subject whose personal data are to be consulted (pursuant to Section 37(2) and (3) of the Act).
Organisational units of the state, the armed forces, security forces, intelligence services of the Czech Republic, territorial self-governing units, as well as persons authorised under special legislation to consult documents, shall be entitled to consult in archives archival records created by the state or a territorial self-governing unit pursuant to Section 38(5) of Act No. 499/2004 Coll.
i) The controller shall not transfer and does not intend to transfer personal data to a third country or an international organisation.
j) The provision of personal data by the researcher is a statutory requirement; if such data are not provided, the researcher shall not be permitted to consult archival records.
During an excursion to the Archives, visitors shall register in the research room visitor book.
Entry to premises of the Archives other than the research room shall be permitted by the person heading the Archives and shall take place only in the company of an employee authorised by that person.
The provisions of this Article shall not apply at the National Archives.
The amount of charges for costs associated with making an extract, transcript or copy of an archival record in analogue form, or with making a replica of an archival record in digital form, the costs associated with locating archival records and their subsequent processing, and the preparing an archival research report shall be governed by the price list of services issued by the National Archives on the basis of the schedule of maximum charges for costs set out in Decree No. 645/2004 Coll.
(1) If a researcher violates any of the fundamental obligations imposed by the Research Rules, further consultation of archival records may be refused to the researcher or the consent already granted may be revoked.
(2) The Instruction of the Director of the National Archives issuing the consolidated version of the Research Rules of the National Archives of 21 July 2025, Ref. No. 3091/12-2015, is hereby repealed.
(3) This Service Regulation shall enter into force and effect on 1 August 2026.
1 This means the researcher’s first name and surname and, in particular, the name or number or abbreviation of the archival collection, the storage unit number (box, book, etc.), where applicable the inventory number, the identifier of the archival record in the digital archive, the reference number, file reference or reference code.