Acknowledgement of debt under Slovak and Czech law: three regimes, three different outcomes

When a debtor agrees to instalments, a prudent creditor asks for a written acknowledgement of debt. An acknowledgement strengthens the evidential position and extends limitation, but its effects differ according to the law governing the obligation. The Slovak Civil Code, the Commercial Code and the Czech Civil Code regulate acknowledgement differently, and the difference only shows once the debtor stops paying and the claim goes to court.

Which regime applies is determined by the law applicable to the contract. Under the Rome I Regulation, the law applicable to a contract also governs the various ways of extinguishing obligations, and prescription and limitation of actions (Article 12(1)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008). With a Slovak customer under a contract governed by Czech law, the Czech regime therefore decides, and vice versa. The exception is a sale of goods between a Slovak and a Czech company: there limitation, including the effects of an acknowledgement, is governed by the Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods, which we discuss in the article when an invoice between a Slovak and a Czech company becomes time-barred and in the question a Czech customer proposes instalments. The comparison below applies to other contracts, for instance for services and works.

The Slovak civil regime: ground, amount and ten years

If a person acknowledges in writing that they will pay their debt, determined as to its ground and amount, it is presumed that the debt existed at the time of the acknowledgement. In the case of a time-barred debt, such an acknowledgement has that legal consequence only if the person who acknowledged the debt knew that it was time-barred.

— Section 558 of Act No. 40/1964 Coll. (unofficial English translation)

A right acknowledged in writing as to its ground and amount becomes time-barred after ten years from the date of the acknowledgement; where the acknowledgement contains a period for performance, the limitation period runs only from its expiry (Section 110(1)). The same period applies to individual instalments, each from its own maturity, and where failure to pay an instalment makes the whole debt due, the ten-year period runs from the maturity of the unpaid instalment (Section 110(2)). Interest and recurring payments falling due after the acknowledgement, however, become time-barred in three years (Section 110(3)). With a time-barred debt, the debtor’s knowledge of the limitation is decisive; with a consumer there are additional requirements as to a separate document and an instruction, which we describe in the question why an acknowledgement of debt should be in a separate document.

The Slovak commercial regime: a new four-year period

Between businesses under the Commercial Code, an acknowledgement does not give ten years:

If the debtor acknowledges its obligation in writing, a new four-year limitation period runs from that acknowledgement. If the acknowledgement concerns only part of the obligation, a new limitation period runs as regards that part.

— Section 407(1) of Act No. 513/1991 Coll. (unofficial English translation)

Payment of interest and part performance from which it may be inferred that the debtor also acknowledges the remainder are likewise treated as an acknowledgement (Section 407(2) and (3)). Unlike the civil regime, a written acknowledgement has effects even where the right was already time-barred at the time of the acknowledgement, regardless of the debtor’s knowledge (Section 407(4)). Repeated acknowledgements cannot, however, extend limitation indefinitely: the limitation period ends at the latest on the expiry of 10 years from the day on which it first began to run (Section 408(1)). The Commercial Code offers one further tool: the debtor may extend the limitation period by written declaration, including repeatedly, up to a total of 10 years from its first commencement (Section 401). The detail on an instalment agreement between businesses is in the question debt acknowledgement and an instalment schedule between businesses.

The Czech regime: ten years, and beware of negotiations

The Czech Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll.) attaches to a written acknowledgement of debt as to its ground and amount the presumption that the debt exists, to the extent acknowledged, at the time of the acknowledgement (Section 2053). The right then becomes time-barred after ten years from the date of the acknowledgement; if the debtor also specifies in the acknowledgement the time by which they will perform, the ten-year period runs from the last day of that time (Section 639). Without an acknowledgement, the general limitation period is 3 years (Section 629(1)). Payment of interest is treated as an acknowledgement of the sum on which it is paid, and part performance as an acknowledgement of the remainder if this follows from the circumstances; with an already time-barred claim, however, these effects do not arise (Section 2054).

For out-of-court recovery, Czech law has one further provision worth knowing: if the creditor and the debtor enter into an agreement on out-of-court negotiations concerning a right, the limitation period does not run during the negotiations and starts again only once one of the parties expressly refuses to continue them (Section 647). Where the obligation is governed by Czech law, it is therefore worth having negotiations about instalments confirmed in writing at the outset.

The three regimes side by side

	SK Civil Code	SK Commercial Code	CZ Civil Code
What the acknowledgement must contain	in writing, ground and amount	written acknowledgement of a specified obligation	in writing, ground and amount
Limitation after the acknowledgement	ten years from the acknowledgement or from the period for performance	a new four-year period, at most 10 years from its first commencement	ten years from the acknowledgement or from the end of the specified time
Acknowledgement of a time-barred debt	effective only if the debtor knew of the limitation	a written acknowledgement is effective even without that knowledge	neither payment of interest nor part performance has the effects of an acknowledgement

What to bear in mind when negotiating

Draw the acknowledgement up as a separate document listing the invoices, the amount of the principal and the accessories, signed by a person authorised to act for the debtor. If you add a period for performance or instalments to the acknowledgement, bear in mind that under the civil regime in Slovakia and in Czechia this postpones the start of limitation. Under the commercial regime, do not count on ten years and watch the new four-year period. Where the obligation is governed by Czech law, conclude a written agreement on out-of-court negotiations. If you do not want to have to sue first when instalments fail, record the acknowledgement in a notarial deed; we describe its effects and limits in the article acknowledgement of debt in a notarial deed.

We prepare an acknowledgement of debt with an instalment schedule under both Slovak and Czech law through our debt acknowledgement and instalment schedule service. If you would like a lawyer to conduct the negotiations with the debtor and to produce the acknowledgement as their outcome, we take that on as part of out-of-court debt recovery. How to allocate partial payments during repayment is discussed in the question what a partial payment is allocated to.

How this will work under the new Civil Code

On 1 October 2026, the National Council of the Slovak Republic approved the new Slovak Civil Code, which will take effect on 1 July 2027. The Commercial Code is not being repealed for now, so for obligations between businesses the position will be settled definitively only by the implementing amendment. The approved text moves towards a single Slovak regime of acknowledgement of debt for new obligations:

• a written acknowledgement will create a presumption that the debt exists to the extent acknowledged, even if it does not specify the ground and amount; the ten-year period from the acknowledgement or from the end of the period for performance will, however, run only from an acknowledgement as to both ground and amount,
• such an acknowledgement of a time-barred debt will start a new ten-year period regardless of whether the debtor knew of the limitation; the exception is a consumer who neither knew nor ought to have known of it,
• payment of interest and part performance from which it may be inferred that the debtor also acknowledges the rest of the debt will have the effects of an acknowledgement, but will start only a three-year period and will change nothing for a time-barred debt,
• the parties will be able to agree in writing a limitation period of one to ten years, even once it is running, but not to the detriment of a consumer.

It remains the case that interest falling due after the acknowledgement becomes time-barred in three years. The new code does not introduce suspension of limitation during out-of-court negotiations as known in Czech law. An acknowledgement of debt made after a suretyship arose will be effective against the surety only with the surety’s consent. Neither the Czech regime nor the choice of applicable law changes.

Claims under contracts concluded by 30 June 2027 will become time-barred under the existing rules described in this article. Until the courts clarify which law governs an acknowledgement of an old debt signed from 1 July 2027, draft it to hold up under both regimes: in writing, stating the ground and amount, and, for a commercial debt, tracking the four-year period. How the general limitation period is changing is described in our article on limitation under the new code.

Status as of 22 October 2026: the act has been approved and was signed by the President on 20 October 2026, but has not yet been promulgated in the Collection of Laws. Until 30 June 2027, the rules described above in this article apply.