Districts of the Czech Republic

In 1960, Czechoslovakia was re-divided into districts (okres, plural okresy), often without regard to traditional division and local relationships. In the area of the Czech Republic, there were 75 districts; the 76th Jeseník District was split from Šumperk District in 1996. Three consisted only of the statutory cities of Brno, Ostrava and Plzeň, which gained the status of districts only in 1971; Ostrava and Plzeň districts were later expanded. The capital city of Prague has a special status, being considered a municipality and region at the same time and not being a part of any district, but ten districts of Prague (obvody) were in some ways equivalent to okres.

A reform in effect since January 2003 replaced the districts with 205 Administrative Districts of Municipalities with Extended Competence (abbreviated AD MEC; správní obvody obcí s rozšířenou působností, abbreviated SO ORP),{{efn|often also translated into English as Administrative Districts of Municipalities with Extended Power (AD MEP)}} also called third-level municipalities, or unofficially "little districts". These municipalities took over most of the administration of the former district authorities. The old districts still exist as territorial units and remain as seats of some of the offices, especially courts, police and archives.

In 2007, the borders of the districts were slightly adjusted and 119 municipalities were moved into different districts.{{cite web |title=Změny hranic okresů k 1. 1. 2007|url=https://csu.gov.cz/stc/zmeny_hranic_okresu_k_1_1_2007|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|language=cs|access-date=2025-05-19}} In 2021 another reform was made and 18 municipalities were moved between districts or between administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence.{{cite web |title=Obecně o novém zákonu č. 51/2020 Sb.|url=https://www.mvcr.cz/clanek/obecne-o-novem-zakonu-c-51-2020-sb.aspx|publisher=Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic|language=cs|access-date=2021-06-02}}

After the 2021 reform, borders of AD MECs respect borders of districts, with only exception granted by law being AD MEC of Turnov, which is partly in districts of Semily, Jablonec nad Nisou and Liberec. The reasons are the vastness of this territory and different requirements of the territory's population.

Administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence are further divided into 393 Administrative Districts of Municipalities with Commissioned Local Authority (abbreviated AD CLA; správní obvody obcí s pověřeným obecním úřadem, abbreviated SO POÚ), also called "second-level municipalities"). A municipality with commissioned local authority is a municipality to which the state delegates part of its powers, but not to the extent that it delegates it to a municipality with extended competence.

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| image1 = Okresy ČR 2007.PNG

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| caption2 = Map of administrative districts of municipalities with extended competences (borders as of 2016)

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• Regions of the Czech Republic
• ISO 3166-2:CZ

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{{Articles on second-level administrative divisions of European countries}}

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Category:Subdivisions of the Czech Republic

Districts

Czech Republic 2

Districts, Czech Republic