Legal Q&A · Company formation in Czechia and Slovakia

Can a business name be reserved before a company is formed?

Law as at 29 August 2026

Answered by , Czech and Slovak attorney, admitted to the Slovak and Czech Bars (SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654).

Short answer

Yes. Since 17 August 2026, a business name can be reserved in the register of reserved business names maintained by the Žilina District Court. Applications are submitted electronically through a dedicated portal, with a court fee of EUR 50. The reservation lasts until the name is entered in the Commercial Register, up to a maximum of 60 days after delivery of the confirmation. It only protects against an identical registered name; it does not resolve conflicts with trade marks or other business names.

Yes. The register of reserved business names, introduced by Act No. 29/2026 Coll., has operated since 17 August 2026. You can therefore secure a name before applying to register the company, typically when preparing a brand months in advance and wanting to prevent someone else from registering it in the meantime.

How the reservation works

The register is maintained by the Žilina District Court and is available through a dedicated portal (Section 109 of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.). Anyone with a legal interest in the reservation, typically a prospective founder, may apply. There is no paper route:

A reservation application is submitted to the competent court using the designated electronic form and dedicated portal and must be authorised by the applicant; otherwise, the court disregards it.

— Section 110(2) of Act No. 29/2026 Coll. (unofficial English translation)

Here, authorisation means the applicant’s electronic signature on the filing, rather than authorisation by a lawyer: these are two different legal procedures. The application carries a court fee of EUR 50 (item 17a of the fee schedule to Act No. 71/1992 Coll.). Once it is paid, the court sends confirmation of the reservation (Section 111).

How long the reservation lasts

The reservation ends when the reserved business name is entered in the Commercial Register, and in any event no later than 60 days after delivery of the confirmation of reservation of the business name.

— Section 111(3) of Act No. 29/2026 Coll. (unofficial English translation)

The 60-day period therefore runs from delivery of the confirmation and is final: Act No. 29/2026 Coll. does not provide for an extension. If the company is registered in the meantime, the reservation has served its purpose and ends upon registration. If the period expires unused, the name becomes available to anyone else. Signing the incorporation documents in the required form must therefore also fit within the reservation window. We discuss the required form of the memorandum of association in notarial deed or lawyer authorisation.

What a reservation protects, and what it does not

While a reservation remains in force, no further reservation of the same name can be made. A name already entered in the Commercial Register cannot be reserved either (Section 111). Reserved names are published on the dedicated portal, so anyone can check availability beforehand. Protection also works in the other direction: before registering a name, the registry court or registrar checks for identical reserved names and will register an identical name only for someone who proves their entitlement to use it (Section 51).

A reservation addresses only identical names in the register. It does not guarantee that the name does not infringe someone else’s rights, such as a trade mark, a competitor’s earlier business name or unfair competition rules. The court will also cancel an obviously vexatious or grossly offensive reservation on its own initiative (Section 111). Before reserving a name, it is therefore worth checking trade mark registers as well as the Commercial Register.

How we can help

We check for conflicting names and submit the application through business name reservations. The next step is forming an s. r. o. in Slovakia, including the incorporation documents and registration. If you are still deciding on a legal form, our choice of legal form service can help.

If the name is for a larger project, contact us before applying. We will time the reservation so that incorporation follows smoothly.

This answer provides general information on the law as at 29 August 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.

More legal questions

All questions and answers
  1. Do we still need a separate trade licensing office step before forming an s. r. o.? If the company will carry on only the specified unregulated trades in Annex 4a to the Trade Licensing Act, the trade licensing office is not needed: authorisation arises directly on the date of entry in the Commercial Register. The application must not include any other trade. Craft and regulated trades, and unregulated trades outside the list, continue through the notification route, with professional competence demonstrated where required.
  2. Must our company's responsible representative be an employee? Slovakia compared with Czechia In Slovakia, generally yes: the responsible representative must have an employment relationship with the entrepreneur. For an s. r. o., the main exception is a member, who needs no employment contract while their membership continues. In Czechia, employment is unnecessary; since 2008, any contractual relationship, even unpaid, is sufficient. Watch this difference when making changes: selling an ownership interest ends the Slovak exception, and the company has fifteen days to put a new arrangement in place.
  3. Our s. r. o. needs authorisation for a regulated trade. How do we notify it and what evidence is required? The notification is submitted to the trade licensing office. The key attachments are evidence of the responsible representative's professional qualifications, their declarations and consent to appointment. Authorisation arises on the notification date, meaning the date on which the filing contains all required particulars. The office confirms a complete notification by issuing a certificate within three working days. If there are defects, it instead issues a request allowing at least fifteen days to correct them, delaying the start.
  4. Must a memorandum of association now take the form of a notarial deed, or is lawyer authorisation sufficient? A lawyer is sufficient. Since 17 August 2026, incorporation documents must take the form of a notarial deed recording a legal act or a document authorised by a lawyer; both forms are legally equivalent. The lawyer drafts the agreement, verifies the founders' identities, authorises it and deposits it in the central authorisation register. A notary who drafted the document may not register the same matter themselves. An exception applies to an s. r. o. formed under the simplified procedure using the state electronic form.

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Mgr. Patrik Tulinský, LL.M. Czech and Slovak attorney · SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654

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