Familiar situation: you have collected documents, chosen a name, formed the registered capital — and went to open your s.r.o. (Slovak equivalent of LLC). Thousands of Ukrainians in Slovakia have gone through this path or are at its beginning. So here is the main point: from August 17, 2026 the rules change, and starting a business will become noticeably more expensive. In some calculations, the amount will exceed 500 € even before the company starts operating.
On August 17, a new law on the commercial register (zákon č. 29/2026 Z. z.) comes into force, which completely replaces the 2003 document. The Ministry of Justice presents the reform as a step towards less bureaucracy and fighting abuses, while the opposition and employers see it as a blow to entrepreneurs’ pockets. The changes will affect both those who are just opening a company and those who already have one.
Documents now only through a notary or lawyer
The main new requirement concerns founding documents. The articles of association or founding act for s.r.o. must be executed in the form of a notarial deed or a document authorized by a lawyer. A simple certified or electronic signature will no longer be enough. The exception is simplified founding through a special electronic form if legal conditions are met.
A notarial deed will also be needed later: when changing the shareholding ratio of participants, appointing or dismissing a director (konateľ — person representing the company), and when selling corporate rights. Previously, certified signatures of the parties were enough — now they are not.
The circle of those who can submit applications to the register has been narrowed separately: founder or director, lawyer, notary, or authorized company employee. External “registrars” who massively registered companies on behalf of proxy persons are effectively excluded from the process. The Ministry of Justice explains the reform as a fight against such schemes.
How much will the start cost
Calculations by lawyers and business associations agree that founding an s.r.o. will cost at least 60 € more, and the real amount may reach over 500 €:
- court fee for registration through a notary — 270.60 € including VAT;
- notarial deed or lawyer authorization — approximately 150–200 €;
- plus registered capital, extracts, translations, and other small expenses.
“Founding a company can easily exceed 500 euros. And we are only talking about allowing a person to start entrepreneurship,” said Marian Viskupič, deputy chairman of the parliamentary finance committee from the opposition SaS party. The party promised to submit an amendment to parliament in September to cancel these changes, but it is too early to count on it.
Fines for directors — up to 4,000 €, and more than once
If your company is already operating, this point concerns you directly. The maximum fine for a konateľ (person representing the company) for failing to fulfill obligations to the commercial register increases to 4,000 €, which is 600 € more than now. This concerns late submission of changes, submitting false data, ignoring the registration court’s requirements. The worst part: the fine can be imposed repeatedly until the violation is corrected.
The conclusion is simple: changing the address, director, or participants’ shares is no longer “something we will do later.” Each such change now costs notarial money and has strict deadlines.
What will become easier
Besides the price increase, the law has some improvements:
- Data published in the online commercial register become legally binding — no need to carry paper extracts (výpis) everywhere anymore. Access to the register on the Ministry of Justice website is free, and by the way, this is another reason to check contractors before a deal — now the online record has full legal force.
- The “chain ban” is canceled: a company with one participant can found other companies, and one individual can be the sole participant in more than three companies.
- At first registration, under certain conditions, an application can be submitted without a prior živnosť (sole-trader license — self-employment) — the permit for free trades will arise automatically with registration.
- A service for reserving a company name in advance will appear — for 50 €.
What to do if you were about to open a company
You have one week left under the old rules. The commercial register stops accepting applications under the current procedure on August 14, systems will be unavailable on August 15–16 due to technical work, and the new law applies from the 17th. An application not registered by August 14 will “burn” — it will have to be submitted again under the new procedure and with new costs.
So, there are two options: either catch up with the old rules by Thursday, or consciously wait for August 17 and budget an additional 300–500 € for lawyers at startup. If the company is needed “yesterday” and documents are ready — the first way is more logical. If founding is only planned, rushing with unprepared papers is worse than paying more for an orderly process.
And for those already doing business — check if all changes in your company are entered in the register. From mid-August, negligence in these matters will cost up to 4,000 €. And yes — repeatedly.
