Who runs Prague? A city, a region and 57 districts in one

A tram stops, a school roof leaks and a resident permit expires. In Prague these can be three problems for three different bodies: the city's transport company, the district that runs the school, and the district office that issues the permit. The government of the capital is layered, and learning the layers is the quickest way to stop being sent from one counter to another.

This explainer covers the structure. For current office-holders and the coalition, go to the official city website. Names and majorities change at every election, while the architecture changes rarely, and the architecture is what a resident needs.

A city with a double status

Prague is the capital and by far the largest city. In law it is both a municipality, like thousands of others, and a region, one of the 14 territorial units into which Czechia is divided. It is governed under its own statute, the Act on the Capital City of Prague. Elsewhere a regional authority sits separately from the towns inside it. In Prague the two roles are combined.

The effect is that the city government has the powers of a town council and, in addition, those of a regional authority. That is one reason City Hall is larger and busier than the town hall of any other Czech municipality, and why decisions on regional matters such as secondary schools and regional roads are taken by the same institutions that run city streets.

The Assembly

The City Assembly (Zastupitelstvo hlavního města Prahy) is the elected legislature, chosen by voters every four years in municipal elections. Its size is set by law (as of 2026; check the official source). It approves the budget, sets the main rules, adopts strategic plans and appoints the mayor and the council. After each election a coalition forms, and its coalition agreement is the best guide to a term's priorities.

Assembly sessions are public and papers are published in advance. For anyone trying to understand why a decision was taken, the agenda and the attached materials are more informative than the press summary the next day.

The council and the mayor

The Council of the City (Rada hlavního města Prahy) is the executive, made up of the mayor, deputy mayors and other members chosen by the Assembly. It runs the city between Assembly meetings, prepares proposals and supervises the city's offices and companies.

The mayor (primátor) leads the council and represents the city, and is elected by the Assembly, not directly by voters. That is a point foreigners tend to miss. A voter in Prague elects assembly members, and the mayor emerges from the coalition they form. Deputy mayors take charge of areas such as transport, finance or culture.

City Hall

The Magistrát hlavního města Prahy is the administrative office, the civil service that carries out the decisions of Assembly and council. It sits in the Old Town and runs departments for transport, planning, the environment, social care and more, and exercises a number of powers delegated by the state.

The city also owns or controls companies for transport, water, roads, waste and culture. The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) is one. The Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Praha) prepares plans and data. Following a service back to its owner is a useful habit: a stopped tram points to DPP, which points to the city.

The municipal districts

Below the city, Prague has 57 municipal districts (městské části). Each has an elected assembly, a council, a mayor (starosta) and a district office (úřad městské části). They differ hugely in size, from small outlying districts to large, dense ones.

Districts run what the city's statute gives them: local roads and public spaces in their remit, local schools, social services, some housing and local events. They have their own budgets, topped up with money from the city. Hence the distinction every resident learns: City Hall decides city-wide questions, and the district decides what happens on your street.

The administrative districts

Separately, Prague is divided into 22 administrative districts (správní obvody), numbered Prague 1 to Prague 22. They determine which district office carries out state administration for you, such as ID cards, residence registration and certain permits. The numbering is explained in our next article, which also sets out how the cadastral areas and postal districts fit around it.

The two maps do not coincide, which is the root of a great deal of confusion. The 57 municipal districts are bodies with elected politicians. The 22 administrative districts are a way of allocating state administration. A district office can be both the local government and the state's agent, which explains why the same building handles your school and your ID card.

Who does what

The district office handles ID cards, residence registration, many local permits and local services. City Hall handles city-wide transport, planning, major roads, strategy and the budget. State bodies in Prague, such as ministries, courts, the Financial Administration and the immigration offices, are a third category altogether.

If you are unsure which applies, the district office is usually the better first call. It can tell you if the matter belongs elsewhere.

Why the layers exist

The structure grew with the city. Prague absorbed surrounding villages and towns as it expanded, and the municipal districts keep the identity of the places that joined. The capital's double status as city and region reflects the same logic: one institution for a built-up area that works as a single unit. The compromise is a balance between a strong centre for city-wide matters and districts with real, if limited, powers.

Public participation

Residents have a say through elections, public hearings on planning, comments on drafts and, in some cases, participatory budgeting (as of 2026; check the official source). Assembly sessions are public and can in most cases be followed online.

For a foreign resident the voting position is narrower than it first appears. EU citizens living in Czechia can vote in municipal elections, subject to registration, while non-EU residents cannot (check the current rules for your own case). That makes the district office and the public consultation the practical routes for everyone else.

Reading a coalition agreement

After each municipal election the parties that form a majority publish a programme for the term. It is the closest thing the city has to a roadmap, and it is written in plain terms: what the coalition intends to build, change or stop. Read it alongside the budget and you can tell which promises have money behind them. A programme that names a metro extension, a tram line or a planning reform and a budget that contains no line for it tells you something about priorities. The same document, a few years later, is a useful yardstick for judging what was delivered. It is on the City Hall website, in Czech, and worth a translation tool if you do not read the language.

A first step

Search your address on the City Hall website to find your municipal and administrative districts. Bookmark the district office page, which lists opening hours, services and how to book an appointment.