Yes. A sole trader is a natural person and business debts are that person’s own, so they do not cease to exist when the trade licence is cancelled. The commercial character of the obligation is assessed according to the nature of the parties when it arose, so the four-year limitation period under the Commercial Code also remains. Once an enforceable title has been obtained, enforcement may reach salary and bank accounts and, where the debt arose during the marriage, also assets in the community property of spouses.
You issued an invoice to a sole trader who carried out a subcontract for you or bought goods from you. After a time they stopped replying and the trade register shows that the trade licence has been cancelled. A creditor may gain the impression that the debt ceased to exist along with the business. A sole trader is, however, a natural person, not a company that ceases to exist on deletion from the register, and business debts are that person’s own obligations. Cancellation of the trade authorisation ends the right to carry on business; it does not extinguish the debts already incurred.
The commercial regime and the limitation period remain
The Commercial Code governs obligations between entrepreneurs where, at the time they arise, it is clear that they relate to their business activity (Section 261(1)). A later change in the debtor’s status is irrelevant:
In applying this Part of the Act under paragraphs 1 and 2, the nature of the parties at the time the obligation arose is decisive.
— Section 261(8) of the Commercial Code (unofficial English translation)
If you concluded the contract with them as an entrepreneur in the course of their business, the obligation continues to be governed by the Commercial Code, including the four-year limitation period (Section 397), default interest at the commercial rate and the fixed sum compensation for recovery costs. How the limitation period is calculated is explained in the question on when a receivable becomes time-barred.
Where to serve and how to sue
After the trade licence has been cancelled, the place of business tends to be out of date, so the debtor is identified by given name, surname, address of permanent residence and date of birth. The Act on the order for payment procedure permits a birth number or a company identification number instead of the date of birth, and the address of the place of business instead of permanent residence (Section 4(2) of Act No. 307/2016 Coll.); with a former sole trader, however, the address of permanent residence is the safer choice. The order for payment is served into the addressee’s own hands and, if the consignment is returned as undelivered, the court itself looks for another address in the registers available to it (Section 9(3) and (4)). If the debtor lodges an objection stating substantive reasons, the proceedings continue before the competent court, provided the claimant so requests within 15 days of the court’s invitation (Section 14(1)).
Enforcement: salary, accounts and spouses’ assets
If the former sole trader has taken up employment, enforcement may reach their income. In the schedule of the obligor’s assets the enforcement officer also ascertains the payer of salary and bank accounts (Section 39(2)(a) and (b) of the Enforcement Code), so enforcement by deductions from salary and by attachment of a claim from an account tends to be more realistic with a natural person than with a company that has ceased to exist. If the debtor is married, a debt that arose during the marriage may also be satisfied from the community property of spouses:
A claim of a creditor of only one of the spouses which arose during the marriage may, in the enforcement of a decision, also be satisfied from assets forming part of the community property of spouses.
— Section 147(1) of the Civil Code (unofficial English translation)
An exception applies where the spouses have narrowed the extent of the community property by agreement and the claim arose in connection with the use of assets not forming part of it (Section 147(2)). Where enforcement reaches assets in the community property, the obligor’s spouse is a party to the enforcement proceedings (Section 35(2) of the Enforcement Code).
Points to watch
Before filing, check the central register of enforcement proceedings to see whether other enforcements are already pending against the debtor, and the insolvency register, in which documents in debt discharge proceedings are published (Section 199(1) of Act No. 7/2005 Coll.), to see whether such proceedings are pending against them. After a discharge of debts the receivable against them may become unenforceable; what then remains open to the creditor is discussed in the question on a debtor who has gone through personal bankruptcy. If enforcement is already running against the debtor, each further matter is assigned to the same enforcement officer (Section 55(4) of the Enforcement Code), who already knows the debtor’s assets.
We will review a receivable against a former sole trader and pursue it through a demand letter, an order for payment and an enforceable title under debt recovery in Slovakia. If you already hold a title, we will prepare an application for enforcement under enforcement proceedings. Simply send the invoices, proof of delivery and whatever details of the debtor you have.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 12 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
