Reviewed by the editorial team of Symbol Consulting DMCC
Since 17 August 2026 the entry of a foreign entity branch, that is an enterprise or organisational unit of an enterprise of a foreign legal entity, in the commercial register has been governed by Act No. 29/2026 Coll., which repealed Act No. 530/2003 Coll. (primary source Slov-lex, Act No. 29/2026 Coll. on the commercial register, § 128, version in force from 17. 8. 2026). The registry court carries out the registration and, for a first entry, so does the registrátor, who is a notary; both have two working days for a successful registration, but a registrátor who called for the filing to be supplemented counts the period from the end of the 15 days.
What a foreign entity branch is and what applies to proceedings begun before 17 August 2026
A foreign entity branch is an enterprise or organisational unit of an enterprise of a foreign legal entity located in the Slovak Republic; the Commercial Code ties a foreign entity’s business in Slovakia to such an enterprise or unit. The authorisation to do business arises on entry in the commercial register, within the registered business purpose, and ends on deletion (primary source Slov-lex, Commercial Code, § 21 paras 3, 4 and 5, from 17. 8. 2026).
The authorisation therefore belongs to the foreign legal entity, not to a new entity: its enterprise or organisational unit is entered, and its legal capacity is governed by the legal order under which it was established (Commercial Code, § 22).
Proceedings on an entry that began and were not finally concluded by 16 August 2026 are completed under the rules in force up to that day (Act No. 29/2026 Coll., § 126 para 1). A new filing in the same matter is rejected by the registry court or the registrátor under § 59 para 2, and neither objections nor qualified objections are admissible against it (§ 126 para 3).
Who files for a foreign entity branch and when the simplified route applies
The foreign legal entity itself files the registration of a foreign entity branch (§ 46 para 6 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.); it may be represented under a power of attorney only by an advocate, a notary or its employee (§ 47 para 1). The simplified route under the Commercial Code (§ 21 para 6) is open only to an entity seated in an EU member state or an EEA contracting state.
The prerequisites of the simplified route are set out by the electronic service of the Commercial Register of the SR (primary source Commercial Register of the SR, electronic service for simplified entry, opened 7. 10. 2026):
- the enterprise or organisational unit is established for the purpose of doing business;
- the business purpose consists only of selected activities from the list of free trades, at most 15;
- the foreign legal entity holds an account with a bank or a branch of a foreign bank seated in a member state of the European Union or of the EEA Agreement;
- the head of the branch has legal capacity, is at least 18 years old, has a clean record and is entered in the register of natural persons.
Under § 53 paras 1 and 3 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll. the court or the registrátor also examines use of the designated electronic form, that the head of the branch is not listed as a debtor in the register of execution authorisations, and that no exclusion decision blocks the entry.
For the simplified route the competent registry court is the District Court of Žilina (§ 4 para 4 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.); on the standard route it is the court in whose district the registered person, that is the enterprise or organisational unit, has its seat address (§ 4 para 3 and § 2 letter b)). The filing may also be made to a registrátor from the list of notaries kept by the Notarial Chamber of the Slovak Republic (§ 95), if it is a first entry and the applicant is neither exempt from the court fee nor filing through the single point of contact (§ 42 para 2). A registrátor must not carry out the registration if he prepared the entry documents for the person being registered (§ 96).
Which entry documents are attached under Decree No. 203/2026 Coll.
The filing for a first entry of a foreign entity branch is accompanied by the documents under § 14 of Decree No. 203/2026 Coll.; the simplified route, under § 15, takes those in § 14 letters a) to c) and e) plus three further declarations and documents, without the authorisation document of § 14 letter d). The general documents under § 1 of the decree are added in the cases it specifies.
| Entry document | Standard first entry (§ 14) | Simplified route (§ 15) |
|---|---|---|
| Founding document of the foreign legal entity | yes (letter a) | yes |
| Articles of association of the foreign legal entity, if adopted | yes (letter b) | yes |
| Decision to establish the branch in the territory of the Slovak Republic | yes (letter c) | yes |
| Certificate of entry in the foreign register or a declaration that the law of the state imposes no such entry | yes (letter e) | yes |
| Document on the authorisation for the activity entered as the business purpose | yes (letter d), except for an entry consisting solely of business purposes under a special regulation | no |
| Declaration of the foreign natural person proposed as head of the branch that he or she has legal capacity | no | yes (letter a) |
| Criminal record extract of the proposed head of the branch, if not a citizen of the Slovak Republic | no | yes (letter b) |
| Declaration on an account with a bank seated in a member state | no | yes (letter c) |
| Document on ownership or use of the real property that is to be the seat, or the owner’s written consent with an officially certified signature | under § 1 para 1, if the right does not arise from the cadastre | under § 1 para 1, if the right does not arise from the cadastre |
| Power of attorney, if the filing is made by an authorised person; for an employee also the representative’s declaration that he is the applicant’s employee | under § 1 para 2 | under § 1 para 2 |
| Residence permit of a foreign natural person entitled to act on behalf of the registered person; not required from citizens of the EU, the EEA or the OECD | under § 1 para 3 | under § 1 para 3 |
| Applicant’s declaration with an officially certified signature for an entered datum that does not arise from another attachment | under § 1 para 6 | under § 1 para 6 |
The filing is made exclusively electronically and must be authorised by a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal; according to the electronic service, completing it takes about 60 minutes on the standard route and 30 to 60 minutes on the simplified route. For a paper power of attorney of an employee the principal’s signature must be officially certified, an electronic power of attorney is authorised by the principal (§ 47 para 2 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.). The service lists the document on rights to real property among mandatory attachments on the standard route and among optional ones on the simplified route; the decree requires it only if the right of use does not arise from the cadastre (primary source Commercial Register of the SR, electronic service for first entry, opened 7. 10. 2026).
How the registration proceeds after filing and within what deadlines
The registry court or the registrátor examines the conditions of registration under § 50 and § 51 and, if they are met, carries out the registration within two working days of delivery of the filing. A registrátor who called on the applicant to supplement the filing counts the same period from the end of the 15 days set for the supplement (§ 45 para 6 and § 58 para 1 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.).
The effects of delivery of the filing to the registry court arise on the day the information on payment of the court fee reaches it, and only if 15 days have not passed since filing (§ 44 para 3); for a registrátor they arise on the day the filing is delivered (§ 45 para 3). The examination also covers data on persons: for a foreign natural person entitled to act on behalf of the registered person, a residence permit is checked, which is not required from a citizen of a member state or of an OECD member state (§ 51 para 4). Compliance of the business purpose with an authorisation is not examined for a branch established by the simplified route (§ 51 para 5 letter d) (primary source Slov-lex, Act No. 29/2026 Coll., § 44 to § 51, version in force from 17. 8. 2026).
After the registration the court or the registrátor issues a confirmation of the registration and an extract from the commercial register and sends both to the applicant without delay; the act sets no fixed deadline in days (§ 58 para 4). For a branch established by the simplified route the registration is not made as of a future date stated in the filing (§ 58 para 3).
Rejection of the registration and objections under Act No. 29/2026 Coll.
If the examination finds a condition of registration unmet, the registration is not carried out and the court or the registrátor sends a notice of rejection within two working days after the registration deadline (§ 59 paras 1, 2 and 5). Objections go to the court within 15 days of delivery of the notice; against a registrátor’s rejection, qualified objections go to the registry court within the same period (§ 60 para 1, § 62 para 1).
The court decides on objections within ten working days of their delivery: it either carries out the registration or sends a repeated notice, against which qualified objections are admissible (§ 60 paras 4 to 6, § 62 para 2). For qualified objections the applicant must be represented by an advocate or a notary (§ 62 para 3). Objections under § 60 are exempt from a fee, qualified objections cost 50 eur (item 17 of the Schedule of Court Fees).
A registration that has been carried out cannot be challenged by objections: against a registration carried out by the court objections are not admissible, and against one carried out by the registrátor qualified objections are not admissible (§ 58 paras 5 and 6).
Publication of the entry, notifications to authorities and the court fee
The entry is published without delay, with the content of the extract also in the Commercial Bulletin (§ 100 para 1). The extract is made available to the competent tax office within seven days of the registration under § 101 para 1 letter a), and the entry is notified without delay to the foreign register of the foreign entity under § 102 para 3 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.
The foreign entity states the data on the entry of the enterprise or organisational unit in the commercial register on the business documents of the branch, in written official dealings and on its website, if it has one; it adds the designation of the foreign register and the data on its entry there, if the law of its state requires it (primary source Slov-lex, Commercial Code No. 513/1991 Coll., § 21 paras 8 to 10, version in force from 17. 8. 2026).
A court fee of 220 eur is payable for the first entry of an enterprise or organisational unit of an enterprise of a foreign entity; item 17 letter a) point 4 of the Schedule of Court Fees sets it for registration by the registry court and includes the fee for publication in the Commercial Bulletin (Act No. 29/2026 Coll., Art. VI point 3). Act No. 29/2026 Coll. does not regulate the registrátor’s remuneration. For a flawless filing, the registration therefore takes at most two working days from delivery, the confirmation and extract follow without delay and the tax office receives the data no later than seven days after the registration; the number of documents depends on the route and on the general documents under § 1 of the decree.
Zdroje a dáta
Primary sources: Slov-lex — Act No. 29/2026 Coll. on the commercial register (Art. I and Art. VI), Commercial Code No. 513/1991 Coll. (§ 21 and § 22) and Decree No. 203/2026 Coll. (§ 1, § 14 to § 16), all in the version in force from 17 August 2026; Commercial Register of the SR — electronic services for entering an enterprise of a foreign entity; Ministry of Justice of the SR — page on simplified establishment.
This material was reviewed by the editorial team of Symbol Consulting DMCC, an advisory firm that provides company setup and licensing, tax and regulatory compliance, and market entry consulting across multiple countries.
This text is a general analysis of legislation in force and does not constitute legal, tax, immigration or financial advice.