Can I take wood from the forest in Czechia?
Brushwood yes, timber no. The Forest Act lets everyone hand-collect dry brushwood lying on the ground — fallen branches up to 7 cm in diameter at the thick end (bark excluded) — for personal use, even in someone else's forest. Anything thicker (trunks, logs, chainsaw work, hauling by trailer) is already timber extraction, allowed only to the owner or with the owner's consent — without it, it is theft. The classic mistake: a trunk downed by a storm is not a finders-keepers windfall but the owner's timber, and so is a standing dead tree. For cheap firewood, ask the owner: Lesy ČR sells self-harvest — marked wood you process yourself at an agreed price per cubic metre.
📋 The rules
- Brushwood to 7 cm at the thick end, dry and fallen: free to collect for own use
- Hand collection only — no saws, axes or trailers
- Thicker wood: only with the owner's consent (self-harvest schemes)
- Felling anything — dry trees included — is banned without consent
- Collecting brushwood for sale needs the owner's consent
🔓 Exceptions
- Owners may temporarily restrict collection (logging, fenced areas, storm damage)
- Self-harvest: the owner marks wood and a price, you process it yourself
- Brushwood for sale: even brushwood may be freely taken only for personal use; selling it needs the owner's consent
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Taking wood beyond brushwood is an intrusion into someone else's property: below CZK 10,000 it is a property misdemeanour, above that it becomes theft as a criminal offence — and the owner sets the value of the wood. The Forest Act adds its own layer: the state forest administration can fine you up to CZK 15,000. Using a chainsaw, an axe or a trailer makes it worse, because that turns collection into extraction and haulage. After storm damage forest entry is often banned outright, so hauling downed trunks breaks two rules at once.
📎 Official sources
- České stavby · Brushwood yes, timber no (CS) →
- dTest · Carrying wood from forests has rules (CS) →
- Lesy ČR · Forest-owner FAQ (CS) →
❓ Frequently asked
What exactly is brushwood?
Dry branches fallen to the ground, no more than 7 cm in diameter at the thick end, bark excluded. Trunks, logs and freshly cut limbs are not brushwood — they all remain the owner's timber and you may not take them.
May I take a storm-felled trunk?
No, a trunk is the owner's timber however it fell, and hauling it away is theft. After storm damage forest entry is often banned outright, so you also risk a fine for simply being in the stand. Brushwood to 7 cm you may still take.
How does self-harvest work?
The owner — at Lesy ČR via the district forester — marks specific wood, you agree a price per cubic metre and process it yourself. It is the cheapest legal route to firewood, and whole villages heat this way.
Can I use a chainsaw on brushwood?
Collection is meant to be by hand, so no saw, no axe, no trailer. Sawing in someone else's forest without consent goes beyond the collection right and is treated as unauthorised extraction, with all that follows.
Same rules in municipal forests?
Yes, state, municipal and private forests all follow the same rules: brushwood up to 7 cm by hand and for personal use, anything thicker only with the owner's consent. Municipal forests have a manager too.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “collect firewood czech forest”
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