No. The Act on the Commercial Register does not list members among the particulars entered for a cooperative, so the admission of a new member is not notified to the register. Membership arises on admission on the basis of a written application once the entry contribution has been paid, and the cooperative records it in the list of members that it maintains itself. Only a change in the registered particulars goes to the register, for example the registered capital, the statutory body or the ultimate beneficial owner.
Anyone with experience of an s. r. o. is used to every new member meaning a change in the entry in the Commercial Register. In a limited liability company the members are indeed a registered particular (Section 11 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.). For a cooperative, the Act on the Commercial Register in force from 17 August 2026 lists the registered particulars separately and members are not among them (Section 14). What is entered includes the business name, the legal form, the registered office, the identification number, the registered capital, the amount of the basic membership contribution, the objects of business, the statutory body, the procuration holder, the supervisory committee and the ultimate beneficial owner.
The difference follows from the nature of a cooperative. The Commercial Code frames it as an association with a changing body of members:
A cooperative is an association of an open number of persons established for the purpose of carrying on business or of meeting the economic, social or other needs of its members.
— Section 221(1) of Act No. 513/1991 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
How membership arises after the cooperative is formed
During the life of the cooperative, membership most often arises on admission as a member on the basis of a written application for membership; the Act also permits a transfer of membership or another manner laid down by law (Section 227(2)). The condition is payment of the basic membership contribution, or of the part of it that the statutes designate as the entry contribution, and membership does not arise before the entry contribution is paid (Sections 223(4) and 227(4)). The details, such as who decides on admission and within what period, belong in the statutes (Section 227(5)). If the statutes do not entrust this to another body, the decision rests with the board of directors, which has charge of all matters not reserved by the Act or the statutes to another body (Section 243(1)).
In practice this dictates the order of steps: a written application, a decision of the competent body on admission, and proof of payment of the entry contribution. If one of them is missing, the cooperative will later struggle to prove from when the new member has been a member and with what rights.
The cooperative maintains the list of members itself
The role performed by the Commercial Register for an s. r. o. is taken over in a cooperative by its own records:
A cooperative maintains a list of all its members. In addition to the name and registered office of a legal entity, or the name and residence of a natural person, as a member, the list records the amount of that member’s membership contribution and the amount to which it has been paid up.
— Section 228 of Act No. 513/1991 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
Changes are noted in the list without undue delay. Anyone who demonstrates a legal interest may inspect it, and a member has the right to require the cooperative to issue a certificate of their membership and of the content of their entry. The list is therefore the principal record of who is a member and how much they have paid up. It is worth maintaining on an ongoing basis, together with the applications and the decisions on admission, because voting at the members’ meeting and the calculation of property entitlements on a member’s departure both depend on it.
When an application to change the entry is filed after all
A new member increases the share capital, which is made up of the total membership contributions that the members have undertaken to pay (Section 223(1)). The registered capital, however, is determined by the statutes (Section 223(3)) and changes only by a decision of the members’ meeting (Section 239(4)(e)). The admission of a member therefore does not of itself trigger a change in the entry.
The ultimate beneficial owner, who is entered in the Commercial Register for a cooperative, deserves attention. This is, among others, a natural person with a direct or indirect interest of at least 25% in the voting rights or in the share capital (Section 6a(1)(a) of Act No. 297/2008 Coll.). If a new member makes a large contribution, or the statutes tie voting to the amount of the contribution, it is necessary to check whether the registered particular on the ultimate beneficial owner has changed.
What we recommend
We set the rules on admitting members, the entry contribution and the maintenance of the list when preparing the statutes as part of our forming a cooperative service, so that growth in the number of members requires neither an intervention in the register nor contentious interpretation. Related questions are examined in our answers on what a member receives on leaving a cooperative and on whether members of a cooperative are liable for its debts.
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.
