When to apply for parental allowance and how to arrange it. The birth of a child is usually a happy event, but it can also bring certain worries and concerns. Can you take good enough care of your child and have everything ready in time? Besides packing your hospital bag and preparing the baby’s layette, think about the financial side of things too. Do you know how to go about arranging parental allowance (rodičovský příspěvek)?
Are you entitled to parental allowance?
Parental allowance is financial support from the state for parents with children up to the age of 4. It is governed by Act No. 117/1995 Coll. You can apply for the allowance right after your child is born. If you are entitled to maternity benefit (peněžitá pomoc v mateřství), you can only apply once you have used it up (usually when the child is 4 to 5 months old).
In which cases are you not entitled to maternity benefit? This tricky situation can easily arise if you have not had 270 days in a row of sickness insurance (including if you are self-employed, OSVČ), or if your employer has ended your employment. A fixed-term employment contract that has ended is also a complication. In that case, you can only rely on parental allowance.
To receive parental allowance, you must be a Czech citizen, or have permanent residence here, and also actually live in the Czech Republic.
Changes to drawing parental allowance
Many of you still think of drawing parental allowance as a fixed amount, paid to caring parents at different levels depending on how long their parental leave lasted. When drawing it up to the age of 3, this was 7,600 CZK (about 350 USD), and when drawing it up to four years, it was only 4,000 CZK (about 180 USD).
Over the past ten years, this area of social benefits has also seen major changes. Under the newly applicable legislation, parents are allocated a financial package, which they can set up according to their current financial needs and their planned return to work.
Until December 2019, this was 220,000 CZK (about 10,000 USD), which parents could plan to draw between their child’s 2nd and 4th birthday. From January 2020, the amount was newly raised to 300,000 CZK (about 14,000 USD). If twins or more children are born, the amount is 450,000 CZK (about 21,000 USD).
Since 2020, you have been able to set the amount of your parental allowance individually, up to a maximum of 70% of 30 times the daily assessment base (denní vyměřovací základ). Your average income from employment over the last 12 months is important for calculating the daily base.
💡 Tip: Also read our article about shared custody and what to watch out for if a family breaks up: Shared custody: conditions, child support and alimony
How do you “correctly” choose the amount of parental allowance?
You can split up parental allowance and draw it gradually from your child’s birth up to the age of 4. An important factor for drawing it is whether the mother caring for the child is employed or unemployed.
If you have an open-ended employment contract, your employer is legally required to let you return to the same job after three years of parental leave.
The situation is different if you were unemployed before the child was born, or if your fixed-term employment ended. In that case, accept that you will automatically be assigned to draw parental allowance up to the age of four.
As an employed mother, you are in a more advantageous position, because you decide both the amount of the allowance and how long you draw it. The shortest period for drawing the allowance is six months. You can also apply for it retroactively, but only up to three months back. You can change the amount of parental allowance you draw every three months. The condition is that you report the change to the Social Security Administration (Správa sociálního zabezpečení).
Extra income while drawing parental allowance
While drawing parental allowance, you can also earn a bit extra, and so make a real difference to your family budget. Just watch out for the limits that apply to children under two, and for the legal form of the work. A devoted grandmother will surely give you a few moments to yourself, or a few hours at the computer.
If you place a child younger than two in a nursery (jesle), bear in mind there is an hourly limit on how long the child can stay there. The Labour Office (Úřad práce) only allows you to place a child in a nursery for 92 hours a month. For children older than two, officials no longer monitor the situation.
If you decide to work during parental leave too, it is best to work with the company only on a DPP contract (dohoda o provedení práce). This way, the Social Security Administration will not count this period towards your pension entitlement. Lower social and health insurance contributions can easily store up another problem for later.
💡 Tip: Also take a look at our article about part-time work, which lets mothers with small children work at least part of the time: Popular part-time work in the 21st century
Which documents do you need for your parental allowance application?
To successfully submit your application for parental allowance, prepare your ID card, the child’s birth certificate, and, if applicable, proof of the amount and length of your maternity benefit. Also fill in and submit the Application for Parental Allowance and hand it in to the clerk at the relevant Social Security Administration office (part of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, Úřad práce ČR).
If you are not entitled to maternity benefit, the Social Security Administration will ask you for another document. This is the Confirmation of Entitlement to Benefits (Compensation) Affecting Entitlement to and the Amount of Parental Allowance. This also applies if you are drawing the allowance for an older child.
Keep track of using up your parental allowance in full
While drawing parental allowance, keep a close eye on making sure you use up your full entitlement. Until July this year, the rule was that if you did not draw it in time, you simply lost it for good.
The good news for you is that an amendment has been made to help families with small children. If you do not use up your parental allowance because another child is born, you can apply to be paid the remaining part of the package. However, the condition is that at least one parent must be working, whether as an employee, a self-employed person (OSVČ), or on a DPP contract (with the obligation to pay social and health insurance).
Arranging parental allowance is not a difficult task. If you prepare and think everything through properly, you can easily handle it in a single visit to the Social Security Administration. You can also submit the application electronically or through a data box (datová schránka). To make dealing with authorities easier, you can also set up a bank identity.
USD amounts are approximate, converted at the Czech National Bank rate of 21.80 CZK per USD on 2 October 2026.
