Stricter rules for fireworks apply in the Czech Republic since the beginning of December. For New Year’s Eve in Prague, however, this changes little, as many of the regulations are already enshrined in the city ordinance.
Since 1 December 2025, a new amendment to the Pyrotechnics Act has come into force in the Czech Republic, introducing stricter regulations for the sale and use of fireworks. For the New Year’s celebrations in Prague, however, little changes: the rules largely resemble those of previous years. Most of the new provisions of the law have already been incorporated into the city ordinance for several years.
Since 2020, there has been a ban on fireworks in the historic Old Town, along the Vltava, in city parks, and near hospitals and social institutions – including on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The new amendment to the law has little impact on this existing ordinance. The City of Prague only needs to adjust a few technical details; the basic structure of the regulations remains unchanged.
“For us, the amendment does not change anything significant. We have already defined zones without pyrotechnics in our ordinance. Citizens therefore need not expect any surprising changes at Christmas or New Year. For the coming year, however, we will discuss in the city council what adjustments we want to make to the ordinance,” explained Jana Komrsková, Deputy Mayor for Environmental and Climate Planning of the City of Prague.
The ordinance aims to increase public safety and limit noise, which injures or kills numerous animals each year. The firework ban applies exclusively in sensitive areas of the city: these include heritage zones, bodies of water and their banks up to 50 metres, reservoirs, dams, ponds, specially protected areas, nature parks, and up to 250 metres around facilities with veterinary emergency services.
In line with the city ordinance, the new amendment to the law also prohibits the use of fireworks within 250 metres of hospitals, care homes, facilities for people with disabilities, animal shelters, or zoos. New is the extension of the ban to buildings with special care regimes, day or weekly centres, as well as rescue stations, emergency centres, and certain agriculturally used animal housing facilities.
Compliance with the regulations is monitored by the Prague City Police and the Czech Police on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Violations can be fined on the spot up to 10,000 CZK; in administrative proceedings, penalties of up to 100,000 CZK apply for private individuals. Exempt from the regulations are category F1 fireworks and professional fireworks, which require authorisation under the Pyrotechnics Act. All details, as well as an interactive map, are available on the website pyrotechnika.praha.eu (ENG).
