Slovak Republic

Starting a Business in

Slovak Republic

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Spolocnost s Rucenim Obmedzenym (s.r.o.)
  • City: Bratislava

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Check the uniqueness of the proposed company name

There is an option to check the name on line without charge (EUR 3 at the Commercial register maintained by the Commercial Court).
1 day EUR 3.00 for research in the Commercial Register
2 Notarize articles of association and related documents

A company is established by articles of association signed by every founder. Signatures shall be officially verified. According to the Item C, point 3 of The Rate Tariff, which is an appendix of Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 31/1993 Coll. on Fees and Compensations of Notaries, the fee for verification of one signature is 1.99 EUR (without VAT).

 1 day EUR 1,99 (excluding VAT) for notary signature
3 Apply at the One stop shop for trade licenses, income tax registration and health insurance company

One-stop shop centres (centres of first contact) were introduced at the Trade Licensing Offices. The one application form contains application for trade licenses, for income tax registration and registration with the health insurance company.
An individual, who is already registered in the system of mandatory health insurance submits with the application for trade license also the name of the insurance company, where he/she is registered.
For nationals, it is only necessary to submit data required to obtain an extract from the criminal record. The Trade Licensing Office will apply for the extract from criminal record itself.
According to the fee schedule dated as of May 31 2010, administrative fees for the licence are now 5 EUR for a "free" trade licence, 15 EUR for a trade. Concessions do not exist anymore from June 1, 2010 .


 1 week Administratives fees are EUR 5.00 for a standard license (one free busines activity) and EUR 15.00 for a craft related business activity or a regulated activity.
4 Open a bank account

The cost of opening a bank account varies from bank to bank but in average is EUR 16,5 . Minum shareholder´s capital to be paid is EUR 750, before registering the company at least 30% of each shareholder´s capital (30% of EUR 750) and a total of at least EUR 2500 must be paid
1 day EUR 16,5
5 Apply for registration at the District Court

Registration changed from a judicial to an administrative process, and court clerks became responsible for company registration. A special registration form is required to apply for registration at the County Registry Court. This form may be downloaded from the Slovak Commercial Register Web site (www.orsr.sk).The registration form can also be submitted by electronic means. The form must be signed by a secure electronic signature. In this case, the signature of the executives or the authorised person need not be certified. (There are transitional technical problems with getting electronic stignatures so the online system is not commonly used yet).
165,75 euros if the application is submitted electronically, 331,5 euros (hardcopy)


The proposal for company registration must be signed by all executives, and their signatures must be certified. If the executive is represented by an authorized person, the signature must be certified in the power of attorney.

The County Registry Court must enter changes to a Commercial Register entry, and add or delete an entry, within 5 working days of receiving the completed registration form and its supporting documents.

The business identification number is assigned by the Trade Licensing Office. The Registry Court only assigns a business identification number if one is not assigned by the Trade Licensing Office, most commonly if the licenses for the company's commercial activities are issued by another state authority.
7 days EUR 165,75 if the application is submitted electronically, EUR 331,5 (hardcopy)
6 Register with pension, sickness, and disability insurance and unemployment insurance at the local social insurance company (Socialna poistovna)

For social security, the company must register itself as an employer within 8 days of its first employment contract becoming effective and must register all new employees with the Social Insurance Company before their first working day. The registration forms are available at the official Social Security Company Web site (www.socpoist.sk). The forms must be submitted electronically, by fax, or by SMS and supplemented by submitting a written official form in 3 days. If an company has more than 8 employees, monthly reports must be submitted electronically to the Social Security Company.
1 day no charge
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