Czech public construction is entering a new stage. Act No. 330/2025 Coll., on the management of information about buildings and the built environment, was promulgated in September 2025 and takes effect on 1 January 2027. The Czech Agency for Standardisation also states that from that date the use of BIM will be mandatory for above-threshold public contracts for the construction of a building with an estimated value of roughly CZK 135 million excluding VAT and up. For a public client this does not only mean buying software. It means setting up processes, roles, data requirements and quality control of information.
What is actually changing
The essence of the change is not that a nicer 3D model is added to conventional documentation. The BIM Concept of the Czech Agency for Standardisation describes BIM as work with a structured database of information about a building, shared in a common data environment (CDE). The digital model of the building is only one part of a wider information model that is meant to serve from design through construction to operation, renovation and eventual demolition.
If a public client takes it up only as a graphic model without clear rules for the data, it gets more expensive documentation, but not better project management. The new law therefore targets information management above all. In practice this means the client must be able to define what information it needs, in what quality, at what time, in what format and for what purpose of use. Only from such requirements do the EIR, the pre-contract BEP, the final BEP, the choice of a CDE and the checking of IFC models make sense.
Who the obligation applies to
In the first wave it will mainly concern public clients for above-threshold construction contracts. That does not mean smaller projects can wait until the end of 2026. A client that starts dealing with the EIR, the CDE and model checking only when it is announcing a large contract will be under pressure from suppliers, software vendors and badly prepared templates.
In reality 2026 should be used as a preparation phase: test the process on a smaller project, clarify internal roles and unify the minimum information requirements.
It is also important to understand that the BIM obligation does not fall only on a "digital department". It touches the investment department, asset management, project management, lawyers and the future operation. For existing buildings an old problem remains: the owner must have documentation or a building record, and the Ministry for Regional Development explicitly reminds owners that current documentation is needed for a sale, a renovation and demolition work.
A public client that wants BIM for a new project often first needs to put the data state of its existing property in order.
What a public client must have ready
First you need to decide why you require BIM on the contract at all. Do you want to minimise coordination errors? Do you want a more precise handover to operation? Do you need to check classification, element properties or the room structure? Only the answer to these questions provides a basis for the EIR. According to the official template, the EIR is an attachment to the contractual document BIM protocol and part of the tender documentation; the appointed party then answers it through the BEP.
The second step is the CDE. The materials of the BIM Concept define the CDE as the agreed source of information for a project or asset. The BIM protocol adds that all electronic exchange of data should go through the CDE. This is essential not only for tidy files, but also for versions, responsibilities, approvals and archiving of information containers. A CDE is not a "drive" where PDFs are uploaded. It is a process node of the project.
The third step is the data standard and checking. The Agency explains that the Building Data Standard (DSS) defines the data structure and data templates so that information only needs to be entered once and is available to various disciplines in the required form. buildingSMART adds two key layers: IFC as an open standard for data exchange and IDS as a way to describe by machine what an IFC model should contain and how its compliance can be checked automatically.
For a public client this is very practical: it stops checking the "impression of the model" and starts checking specific, predefined content.
The minimum a client should have solved before the tender
| Area | Minimum for the client | Typical mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose of BIM | 3–5 clear use cases for the project and operation | "We want BIM because it is mandatory" |
| EIR | Structured requirements for information, formats and milestones | A copied generic template unrelated to the project |
| CDE | Roles, rights, workflow and archiving | A mere shared drive with no version control |
| Standard | IFC, DSS and minimum rules for checking | A vendor-only model without an open export |
| Acceptance | Criteria for knowing that a delivery is in order | Acceptance by feeling or screenshots |
This table is deliberately simple. The point is not to create another theoretical document, but to get the public client to a state where it knows what it wants and how it will check it. The weakest point of Czech BIM contracts is usually not the modelling software, but insufficiently formulated information requirements and weak acceptance of outputs.
Why buying software is not enough
In 2026 public clients will hear many offers of the type "we will introduce a BIM platform for you". That alone is not much. openBIM matters precisely because it protects the client from having its data locked into one tool or one supplier. buildingSMART explicitly states that openBIM supports smooth sharing of data across platforms and that for asset owners it gives access to the data throughout the life cycle of the asset.
A public client should therefore evaluate not only the software, but also whether the proposed workflow really supports open standards and a future handover to operation.
Staff readiness is just as important. If the client's internal team does not know what an information requirement is, what a CDE is for and how to read the output report of a model check, no platform will save it.
How to start in 2026
A sensible approach for a public client has four steps.
- A short BIM readiness audit: what types of buildings you procure, what data you really need and who will use it in operation.
- Your own, not copied, EIR for one pilot project.
- Unifying the minimum requirements for IFC, the CDE and the acceptance of data.
- Only then selecting tools and partners for the implementation.
At this stage a combination of a physical data base and automated checking is very valuable: a building record, 3D scanning and scan-to-BIM for preparing documents usable in operation; and an AI tool such as Validorix for a pre-check of construction documentation, budgets and IFC/BIM models.
Five questions you must be able to answer
Before 2027 every public client should be able to answer at least five questions:
- What information do we really need?
- Who will create it?
- Who will check it?
- Where will it be stored?
- How do we know it is of sufficient quality for acceptance and operation?
Whoever answers these questions before the competition will not see the BIM obligation as a bureaucratic burden, but as a way to reduce chaos in briefs, checks and asset management.
If you are a foreign investor or owner
The law targets public clients, but it shapes the market you will work in: designers, contractors and facility managers in the Czech Republic will increasingly deliver structured data and IFC models. If you commission a model or a survey of a building, ask for open formats (IFC) and agree what data the model must contain. See BIM modelling and surveys in the Czech Republic.
Our services
The Validorix team has long worked on digitising construction data. Through our services we help with:
- AI review of documentation, budgets and IFC models: upload a project at validorix.com and get a report within minutes.
- Digitisation of projects and design support: converting paper and PDF documentation into structured data and BIM models, and bringing older documentation up to today's standards.
- Building surveys, 3D scanning and scan-to-BIM: a measurable digital base for property management and renovation.
- Consulting and training: workshops for designers, investors and public clients on BIM, EIR/BEP, IDS and documentation review.
The scope and price are agreed individually. To enquire, write to info@validorix.com.
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