Legislation

Even smoke has its boundaries.

Heating with wood is nice, but it should also be the right thing to do - not only respectful of your neighbours, but also respectful of the regulations. The legislation around wood burning is not just a scarecrow, but a useful guide to worry-free heating. Sometimes it's easy to get lost in it, so we've put together a round-up of the essentials. No paragraph hell, just the essentials.

Laws

Laws are the foundation - without them, anarchy would reign in our chimneys. Here you will find the main ones that concern heating, boilers and air protection.

Number	Name	What it solves
201/2012 Coll.	On air protection	Wood burning, ban on burning waste and wet wood, boiler inspections (once every 3 years)
369/2016 Coll.	Act amending Act No. 201/2012 Coll., on air protection, as amended, and Act No. 634/2004 Coll., on administrative fees	It tightens the rules for the combustion of fuels in small pollution sources, introduces checks on the technical condition of boilers and specifies the administrative fees for certain air protection activities.
541/2020 Coll.	Waste Act	Prohibits the burning of waste (including e.g. painted wood)
22/1997 Coll.	On technical requirements for products	CE marking, compliance with standards, sponsored access to selected CSNs
283/2021 Coll.	New Building Act	Heater location, project documentation, construction processes
133/1985 Coll.	Fire Protection Act	Determines the obligations of authorities, organisations and citizens and the position and powers of state administration bodies in the field of fire protection
183/2006 Coll.	Older Building Act (temporarily valid for some cases)	Design and implementation of buildings including heaters

Decrees

The ordinances are so local "traffic signs" for heating. Each county or municipality may add Rulesmainly for the clean air.

Number	Name	What it solves
415/2012 Coll.	Decree on the Air Act	Emission limits, equipment categorisation
23/2008 Coll.	Decree on technical conditions of fire protection of buildings	Technical conditions of fire protection for the design, implementation and use of the building
246/2001 Coll.	Decree on fire prevention	Establishes the conditions for fire safety and the exercise of state fire supervision
34/2016 Coll.	About cleaning, inspection and revision of the flue	It specifies the method of cleaning, inspection and revision of the flue pipe. The annexes give time limits for cleaning and inspection of flue gas ducts for different types of fuel, including explanatory notes and conditions, and specimen reports on the cleaning, inspection and inspection of the flue gas duct.

Standards

Standards are not laws, but they say how it should right work. They help with stove construction, boiler inspection and fuel selection.

Standards are not binding, but only until they are directly referred to by law or decree. After that, they are legally binding in their entirety.

Remark: For some parts of the EN 16510 standard series, a transition period is running during which both the new and the previous harmonized European standard can be used in parallel for the purposes of harmonization. For EN 16510-2-5, EN 16510-2-7, and EN 16510-2-10, this period ends on February 9, 2027. For the other parts of the EN 16510 series listed here, the previous transition period already ended on November 9, 2025.

General standards for appliances

Number	What it solves
ČSN EN 16510-1 ed. 2 (06 0211)	General requirements and test methods for solid fuel domestic appliances
CSN 724710	Ceramic stoves - Requirements, test methods and marking

Specific standards for stoves, fireplaces and cookers

Number	What it solves
CSN 73 4230	Fireplaces with open/closable fireplace
CSN 73 4231	Custom-built stoves (tiled stoves, etc.)
EN 15544	Custom-built tiled/plastered stoves – sizing
EN 15250:2007	Storage appliances – for harmonisation purposes applicable in the transitional period until 9 February 2027; replaced by EN 16510-2-5
CSN 73 4232	Individually built cookers
ČSN EN 16510-2-1 (06 0211)	Stones
CSN EN 16510-2-2 (06 0211)	Built-in appliances including fireplace inserts
ČSN EN 16510-2-3 (06 0211)	Stoves
ČSN EN 16510-2-5 (06 0211)	Slow heat release appliances – storage appliances Note: For harmonization purposes, EN 15250:2007 may also be used in parallel until February 9, 2027.
ČSN EN 16510-2-6 (06 0211)	Stoves, built-in appliances and cookers with mechanical wood pellet feed
ČSN EN 16510-2-7 (06 0211)	Combined log wood and pellet appliances Note: For combined log and pellet appliances – not for standard log stoves or standalone pellet appliances – EN 13240:2001 and EN 14785:2006 may also be used in parallel for harmonization purposes until February 9, 2027.
ČSN EN 16510-2-10 (06 0211)	Wood-burning sauna heaters Note: For harmonization purposes, EN 15821:2010 may also be used in parallel until February 9, 2027.

Exhaust gas ducts

Number	What it solves
CSN 73 4201	design, implementation and connection of fuel appliances
EN 1443 (73 4200)	general requirements
EN 15287-1 (73 4241)	Design, execution and acceptance - Part 1: Chimneys and flues for open fuel appliances