From next year, it will no longer be necessary to take a printed green card with you abroad, but an electronic version stored on a mobile phone will suffice. This was announced last week by the Czech Insurers’ Bure its member insurers.
Obligation to accept the electronic green card
While in the Czechia it has been possible to present an electronic green card for several years, the legal regulation in other countries of the green card system may have been different. “This is why we always recommend printing out a green card when travelling abroad,” explains Martin Podávka, co-founder of Pillow Insurance. In 2019, the organization that defines the green card rules (Council of Bureaux, CoB) decided that it is no longer necessary to have green color of cards, but that white is sufficient. European insurance companies have switched to the new format during 2020, so now a black and white printer is sufficient to print a green card when travelling abroad.
“And this year, CoB made another logical decision,” reveals Martin Podávka. “It has ordered all member countries to accept the green card in electronic PDF format, perhaps stored on a mobile phone, from 1 January 2025.” The easiest user experience is to have the insurance company’s mobile app installed on your phone, which always contains the up-to-date green card, which is available even without an internet connection. “But beware – only Pillow and a few more modern insurers have a mobile app. Most Czech insurance companies do not yet have a native mobile app for their clients,” Martin Podávka points out.
Green card in Pillow mobile app
In the Czechia, one step further this year
But the electronic version is not the final state. This year, drivers in the Czechia will be completely exempt from having to present any card (electronic or paper). The change will come with the new law on motor third party liability insurance (MTPL). From approximately 1st October (the exact date will depend on when the law is officially published), insurance companies will have to send information about every MTPL insurance incurred almost immediately to a central database. As a result, police officers will always have accurate information about the insurance of the vehicle being checked in the online database. Thus, the obligation to carry a green card will end this year in the Czechia. And from next year, an electronic form will be sufficient when travelling abroad.