The grounds for refusal are listed exhaustively in the Act: the statutes would point to activity not covered by the Act on association (for example gainful or political activity), they would compel membership or prevent free withdrawal, the association would be an impermissible one, or it would seek to perform the functions of state bodies. Before any refusal, however, proceedings may simply not begin, because the application or the statutes are defective. The registration authority gives notice of such defects within 15 days, and until the preparatory committee remedies them, no registration takes place.
A civic association is formed by registration (Section 6(1) of Act No. 83/1990 Coll.). Since 1 September 2025, the application is filed with the district authority in the seat of the region having jurisdiction according to the association’s registered office; associations were previously registered by the Ministry of the Interior (Section 7(1)). The Act distinguishes two situations that must be kept apart: an application with defects, where proceedings do not begin at all, and refusal of registration, which is a decision on the merits.
Defects in the application: proceedings do not begin
The application must meet the requirements of Section 6(2) to (4). It is signed by the members of the preparatory committee, stating their names, birth numbers and addresses; they designate an authorised representative, give details of the statutory body and attach the statutes in two counterparts. The statutes must contain the name, registered office, objective of the activity, the bodies and the manner of their appointment, a designation of who acts on behalf of the association, provisions on organisational units where these are to act in their own name, and the principles of financial management. The name must not be defamatory or offensive, nor capable of confusion with the name of a public authority or of another legal entity already operating in Slovakia.
If any of this is missing, or is incomplete or inaccurate, the registration authority notifies the preparatory committee within 15 days of delivery of the application that proceedings will not begin until the defects are remedied (Section 7(2)). Proceedings begin only on the day an application free of defects reaches the authority (Section 7(3)). Until the preparatory committee remedies the defects, the statutory period for registration does not run.
Refusal: four statutory grounds
The registration authority refuses registration where any of the grounds under Section 8(1) follows from the statutes submitted:
- the organisation is one to which the Act on association does not apply, that is, a political party or movement, association for gainful activity or to secure the performance of certain professions, a church or religious society, or association for the exercise of hunting rights (Section 1(3)),
- the statutes conflict with freedom of association, for example by compelling membership or preventing free withdrawal (Section 3(1) and (2)),
- it is an impermissible association, for example one aimed at restricting people’s rights on grounds of nationality, race or religion, at promoting violence or at breaching the Constitution and the laws, or an armed association (Section 4),
- the objectives of the association conflict with Section 5, that is, it would perform the functions of state bodies without a basis in a special Act, direct state bodies or impose duties on non-members.
The authority decides on refusal within 15 days of the commencement of proceedings and delivers the decision to the preparatory committee’s authorised representative. The Act allows no ordinary remedy:
No appeal lies against a decision refusing registration.
— Section 8(2) of Act No. 83/1990 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
If the authority finds no ground for refusal, it carries out the registration within 15 days of the commencement of proceedings and sends the authorised representative one counterpart of the statutes marked with the date of registration, which is the date of dispatch; no decision in administrative proceedings is issued (Section 9(1)).
How to avoid the risk
The authority assesses the association by what follows from the statutes. The objective of the activity should therefore be formulated specifically and in a way that does not read as gainful activity under another name. Membership and withdrawal should be regulated without obstacles that would conflict with the rule that anyone may freely withdraw from an association. Equal attention is due to the bodies and the manner of acting on behalf of the association, because the statutes must regulate them and general wording taken from precedents may not suffice.
We prepare the statutes and the application with regard to the requirements and the grounds for refusal that the registration authority examines, as part of our formation of a civic association service. The whole procedure from the preparatory committee to entry in the register is described in the article on registering a civic association, and the question of who acts for a new association is covered in who acts for a new civic association.
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.
