How the mortgage adviser market works
Arranging mortgages is a licensed, supervised activity, and everyone allowed to do it is listed in the Czech National Bank's public register. That register has two tiers, and those numbers say more about the market than any brochure. We downloaded it and did the maths.
The register has two tiers
224 firms and sole traders hold their own licence, and 22,590 people and firms are listed as tied agents, meaning they work under someone else's licence. Calculated from the Czech National Bank's open data as of 21. 9. 2026. The register covers consumer credit as a whole, not just mortgages.
The upper tier are independent intermediaries. They hold authorisation from the Czech National Bank, are responsible for their own activity, and must carry insurance at all times in case they cause a client harm. That insurance isn't optional, the law requires it.
The lower tier are tied agents. They work under someone else's licence, either under one of those firms with their own licence, or directly under a bank or other provider. If they make a mistake that affects you, the firm they fall under is responsible for it. The vast majority of people you'll meet as a client are from this tier, and that's nothing worse. If anything, it's the opposite: a supervising firm stands behind them, not just the individual.
Among tied agents, roughly 91 in a hundred are individuals rather than firms. So the market runs on individuals, overseen by roughly two hundred licensed entities.
A tied agent always has just one network
The law sets this firmly. A tied agent may only act for one principal, and if more than one firm reports them, the Czech National Bank registers them under the first one only.
The practical effect is bigger than it sounds. The range of banks you'll see isn't that person's own offer, it's the network's they fall under. The network negotiates the agreements with banks, and the tied agent offers whatever it has available.
That's why it's worth asking two separate questions: which network does this person fall under, and which banks does that network offer? "We'll compare the whole market for you" doesn't necessarily mean every bank; almost nobody holds agreements with all of them.
Where the money flows
The bank pays the commission, and pays it for a completed deal, not for a meeting. The network then passes part of it to the individual intermediary; the split is set by the network itself and usually rises with how much business someone brings in.
Clawbacks travel the same route in reverse. If the loan ends in its first years, the bank takes the commission back from the network, and the network takes it back from the individual. That's why the adviser wants your mortgage to last, and why moving elsewhere in the first years doesn't pay off for them.
We cover both in detail on the Mortgage adviser page, including what you're legally entitled to ask.
Who even gets into the register
Registration isn't a formality. Everyone must have their professional knowledge verified by an exam at a body accredited by the Czech National Bank, and the exam for home loans has its own scope, including case studies. On top of that, the law requires at least secondary-school education. This applies to bank branch staff too.
An independent intermediary also has to go through an authorisation process and hold liability insurance. The Czech National Bank supervises both, and can cancel the registration.
The word "adviser" itself isn't protected, and anyone can put it on a business card. What's protected is the registration. So the only question that actually means anything is this: are you in the register, and under whom?
The register changes continuously
When we downloaded the data, the most recent entry was from 18. 9. 2026, just a few days earlier. People move between networks, firms are set up and wound down, and entries get cancelled.
There's only one practical takeaway: check the register today, not last year's business card and not a logo on a website. Searching by name or company ID takes a minute and also tells you which firm that person falls under.
Open the CNB register ↗ You can check our own entry the same way; our company ID is in the footer.
Frequently asked questions
How many mortgage advisers are there in Czechia?
The Czech National Bank register lists 22,590 tied agents and 224 independent intermediaries with their own licence, of which roughly a fifth are sole traders rather than firms. We calculated this from the CNB's open data as of 21. 9. 2026. The register covers consumer credit as a whole, not just mortgages. Which firm a given tied agent falls under is visible in the register's own search; it isn't shown by the open data alone that we used for the calculation.
Is a tied agent worse than an independent intermediary?
No, it is simply a different status. A tied agent works under someone else's licence, and that firm is liable for their mistakes, which if anything works in your favour. The difference that actually matters to you is not the title, it is which banks their network offers and how well they explain why they picked that particular one.
Can an adviser work with more than one network at once?
Not as a tied agent. The law says they act exclusively for one principal, and if more than one firm reports them, the CNB registers them under the first one only. Someone with their own independent-intermediary licence agrees terms with banks directly.
Does a mortgage adviser need to pass an exam?
Yes. Professional knowledge is verified by an exam at a body accredited by the Czech National Bank, and the exam for home loans has its own scope, including case studies. The law also requires at least secondary-school education. This applies to bank branch staff too, not only to intermediaries.
How do I check that someone is really in the register?
Search for them on the Czech National Bank's website by name or company ID. You will see their registered status and which firm they fall under. It takes a minute and is the only check that actually carries weight; a business card, a stamp or a network's logo on a website guarantee nothing.
Does every adviser offer every bank?
No, and almost nobody on the market holds agreements with absolutely all of them. The range on offer depends on the network a person falls under, since the network is the one that signs agreements with banks. So ask directly for the list of banks, not whether they compare the whole market.