• Medical certificates shall be written by a specialist doctor. 
• If doctors have access to the health institutes’ health information system, they shall use standard forms which are available if applicable. 
• Doctors who do not have access to the health institutes’ health information system can use standard forms available below.  
• Submitting original medical certificates is emphasized, they should be typed and signed by a doctor. If the forms below are used, they must be stamped by a doctor. 
• It is important to fill in all appropriate fields on the certificates. 
• More specific information about medical certificates can be found under each item below. 

• Medical certificates are reviewed by the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund’s lawyer and specialist doctor. 
• The medical certificates are reviewed once per week, usually on Fridays. 
• If a medical certificate is deemed unsatisfactory or it is rejected, the doctor receives a copy of a letter from the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund to a parent regarding this. 
• It is not possible to contact the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund’s specialist doctor by phone.   
• The Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund’s staff will provide further information.  

In Article 17, of Act No. 144/2020, it is stipulated that if it is necessary for an expectant parent to be granted leave of absence due to health reasons related to the pregnancy or to cease participation in the labour market according to Article 22, paragraph 2, item b, more than a month before the expected birth date of the child, in the opinion of a specialist doctor, the parent shall be entitled to an extended maternity/paternity leave and payments from the Maternity/Paternity Leave Fund for the period in question, but though never for longer than two months. Should the birth occur prior to the expected birth date of the child, the authorization for extension under this provision shall cease to apply from that time. 

Health reasons refer to: 

1. illnesses arising due to the pregnancy and causing incapacity to work
2. illnesses, temporary or prolonged, which worsen during pregnancy and cause incapacity to work
3. preventative treatment to prevent premature birth or to protect the fetus’ health, in which case the treatment causes incapacity to work.

It is important that doctors provide detailed reasoning for an extended maternity/paternity leave according to one of items a-c above and emphasize the pregnant parent’s incapacity to work as a consequence of that during the last two months prior to the expected birth date of the child. It is also important to write the conclusion of the medical examination. 

Here you can find a standard form of a medical certificate:

Medical certificate for maternity leave due to disease of mother

According to Act No. 144/2020, Article 18, per Article 35, it is permitted to extend the maternity/paternity leave/grant of a parent who has given birth to a child by up to two months due to a serious illness related to the birth, provided that parents have during their maternity/paternity leave (or for the period the maternity/paternity grant was paid), been unable to take care of their child due to the illness in the opinion of a specialist doctor. 

It is important that a doctor provides detailed reasoning on one hand that the serious illness of the parent who has given birth to a child may be linked to the birth itself, and on the other hand that the parent has for those reasons been unable to take care of their child due to the illness and then for how long. It is also important to write the conclusion of the medical examination. 

Here you can find a standard form of a medical certificate:

Medical certificate for maternity leave due to disease of mother

Children born, adopted or taken into permanent foster care from the 1st of January or later: 

According to Act No. 144/2020, Article 19, per Article 36, parents are permitted to extend their joint entitlement to a maternity/paternity leave/grant for up to 7 months in the case of a child's serious illness or severe disability where greater care is required of the parent. 

In comments on these articles, it is stated that serious illness or severe disability of a child means that the child requires further care in addition to what is considered to be normal when taking care of infants, regardless of whether the child stays in a hospital for a longer or shorter period of time. This does not apply to incidental illness which children suffer from such as chickenpox, ear infections or other similar diseases even though the illness may be chronic. 

It is important that doctors emphasize their argument for the special further care, in addition to the normal care for infants, which is required because of the serious illness or severe disability and then for how long. It is also important to write the conclusion of the medical examination. 

For children who are born, adopted or taken into permanent foster care before January 1st 2021, Article 17, paragraph 1 of Act No. 95/2000 applies, per Article 22, paragraph 1, of the same Act. 

Here you can find a standard form of a medical certificate:

Medical certificate for maternity leave due to disease in a child

In Article 9, paragraph 5, per Article 30, paragraph 5, of Act No. 144/2020 it is stipulated that parents who are unable to take care of their child due to illness or the consequences of an accident during the first 24 months after birth, are permitted to transfer their unused entitlement to maternity/paternity leave/grant to the other parent in whole or in part. The parent's condition due to illness or the consequences of an accident which results in the parent being unable to care for the child during the aforementioned period, or give their consent to the transfer of their rights, shall be confirmed by a medical certificate from the specialist doctor caring for the parent. 

It is important that a specialist doctor who has taken care of the parent provides detailed reasoning regarding the parent’s ablity to meet the basic needs of their child, such as to feed, wash or dress without assistance during the aforementioned 24 month period. It is also important to write the conclusion of the medical examination. 

Since a standard form for transfer of rights due to illness or the consequences of an accident is not available, it is necessary to use a medical certificate for reasoning. 

For children who are born, adopted or taken into permanent foster care before January 1st 2021, Article 8, paragraph 9 of Act No. 95/2000 applies, per Article 18, paragraph 12 and Article 19, paragraph 15 of the same Act. 

An exemption from study progress and/or pursuing studies due to illness of a pregnant parent: 

Article 28, paragraph 3, of Act No. 144/2020, stipulates that it is permitted to pay a parent who has given birth to a child a maternity/paternity grant even though the parent has not met the requirement regarding study progress and/or pursuit of studies providing that the parent was not able to pursue studies during pregnancy due to health reasons related to the pregnancy. This refers to health reasons comparable to what is stipulated in Article 17, of the Act, regarding illness of a pregnant parent during pregnancy. 

It is important that doctors provide detailed reasoning their opinion of the expectant parent’s health reasons during pregnancy and if it will affect their study progress and/or the pursuit of studies, and then during which semester or semesters. It is also important to write the conclusion of the medical examination. 

Here you can find a standard form of a medical certificate:

Medical certificate for adequate educational performance and/or sufficient progress of studies