Czech Republic: rules and approvals
ATEX equipment is split into Group I for mining and Group II for surface industries, which matters in a country with coal mining as well as refining and chemicals.
The IS-04Z1 is an intrinsically safe Android handset designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21, built for Czech refineries, chemical plants, tank farms and coke ovens rather than for a catalogue. The Orlen Unipetrol group includes refineries and plants at Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo at Pardubice and Kolín, Spolana at Neratovice, and two research centres, and it is the only crude oil processor in the country. Distribution partners for Czech Republic are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Czech Republic has no appointed SAMS distributor yet: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued, launch planned for Q4 2026), and distributor applications are open.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Level of protection | ia, ib or ic matched to the zone | ib, for Zone 1 |
| Entity parameters | Uo, Io and Po within the device limits | Published with the certificate |
| Accessories | Chargers and cases certified with the device | Defined at certification |
| Where it applies | Czech Republic: Neratovice, Valašské Meziříčí, Pardubice | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Czech Republic. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The main operators, industrial areas and sites that the SAMS Czech Republic market guide covers.
ATEX equipment is split into Group I for mining and Group II for surface industries, which matters in a country with coal mining as well as refining and chemicals.
Gas use was 9.4 billion cubic metres in 2021 and 7.1 billion in 2023, so gas distribution and industrial gas burners remain widespread across Czech industry.
State operator MERO finished expanding the Transalpine pipeline at the end of 2024, delivering up to 8 million tonnes of oil a year, with the central oil depot at Nelahozeves as a key storage point.
The country has two refineries, both owned by Česká rafinérská, including the Litvínov refinery, so Litvínov and Kralupy are the best-known flammable-liquid processing sites.
Intrinsic safety limits the electrical and thermal energy in a circuit so that neither a spark nor a hot surface can ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even when a fault occurs. The ib level, used for Zone 1, tolerates one fault. It is the usual way to make a handheld device that a worker carries continuously through a hazardous area.
The IS-04Z1 is designed on this principle for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4). Intrinsic safety is a design basis, not a certificate: certification is in progress and none has been issued yet.
In Czech Republic. Rounds at Záluží, Nelahozeves or Ostrava involve walking long distances across extended plants in cold weather, with no charger inside a classified area. An intrinsically safe handheld is designed for those rounds, with a 4,000 mAh battery sized for a whole shift with the camera and a maintenance application in use.
SAMS is appointing authorised distributors ahead of the Q4 2026 launch. No territory has been granted for Czech Republic yet and applications are reviewed company by company. Because a certified Ex device cannot be opened by an ordinary phone workshop without invalidating its certificate, SAMS looks for partners who can provide competent technical support and after-sales service locally.
No. Nothing can be bought or taken into a classified area today: certification is in progress and launch is planned for Q4 2026. What is available now is the datasheet, the written certification schedule and evaluation units for safe-area use.
No price is published. While certification is in progress there is no list price and no committed lead time, and a supplier quoting a firm figure for an uncertified Ex handset is promising something it cannot stand behind. Indicative pre-launch pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
The circuits are designed to limit energy so a spark or hot surface cannot ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even with one fault (level ib, Zone 1). Certification of that design is in progress.
The market guide for Czech Republic covers Litvínov and Záluží, Kralupy nad Vltavou, Neratovice, Valašské Meziříčí, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Apply through the distributor page with your company details and the territory you cover. SAMS reviews applications company by company and has not yet granted a territory for Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic is an EU member, so ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU applies to equipment and employers zone workplaces under Directive 1999/92/EC. Refineries such as Litvínov typically also have internal device approval and permit-to-work procedures, so ask the HSE office before bringing phones in.
Czech is the usual site language, and ATEX user instructions are typically expected in the local language of the destination. A Czech-language instruction sheet with the certificate pack often speeds up acceptance. Ask the operator whether it also accepts English documentation for contractors.
FTZÚ in Ostrava-Radvanice is notified body 1026, and Czech engineers recognise it on an Ex certificate, so buyers often ask which body issued one before anything else. The certificate number, issuing body and marking string will be published for checking. No certificate exists yet, as certification is in progress.
Related guides for Czech Republic and for Czech Republic.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.