Starting a business · Slovakia
Cooperative formation
Cooperative formation from the statutes and constituent meeting through to entry in the Commercial Register, for business, housing and social cooperatives.
What we'll do for you
Select an item to see the details.
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Consultation and draft statutes
We discuss the cooperative's purpose and operation and prepare tailored statutes covering its bodies, membership contributions, admission and termination of membership, voting and settlement.
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Constituent meeting
We prepare the agenda and documents for the constituent meeting, including coordination with the notary whose attendance is required by law.
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Registration
The registration application with all attachments and management of the proceedings until the cooperative is registered.
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Arrangements after formation
Membership records, application forms and internal documents for the cooperative's bodies — so it continues to work beyond its first day.
Deliverablea registered cooperative, including its statutes, minutes of the constituent meeting and Commercial Register extract
How it works
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- Consultationday 0
Purpose, members and contributions — we propose the arrangements and confirm the price.
- Documents and meeting
Statutes, invitations and the constituent meeting with a notary.
- Registrationsubject to the register's processing time
Filing with the Commercial Register and monitoring the proceedings through to registration.
A cooperative is a legal form for running a business together with open membership — and its formation has rules of its own that differ from those of an s.r.o. more than you might expect: statutes instead of a memorandum of association, a constituent meeting with a notary, membership contributions and membership records.
We handle the entire formation of your cooperative and structure membership arrangements so they continue to work as membership grows.
No-obligation enquiry
Ready to start?
Send us an enquiry. We usually reply within 24 hours with a price confirmation and next steps. The first 30-minute consultation is free and commits you to nothing.
- 1Send your enquiry via this form
- 2Usually within 24 h you get a price confirmation and plan
- 3We start work only after your approval
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Or email us about this matter.
What clients ask
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When is a cooperative a better choice than an s.r.o.?
When membership should be open and members' votes broadly equal — a cooperative accommodates a changing membership without amending the founding documents each time someone joins or leaves. An s.r.o. is usually more practical for a closed group of owners with different ownership interests; we compare the options during the consultation.
How many members does a cooperative need?
The law requires a minimum number of founding members, which depends on whether they are individuals or legal entities. During the consultation, we check whether your proposed membership meets the requirements and, if needed, how to supplement it.
Must a notary attend the formation?
Yes, the proceedings of a cooperative's constituent meeting are certified in a notarial deed. We arrange the notary and prepare the meeting so everything can be completed in one session.
How long does formation take?
Most of the time goes into preparing the statutes, convening the constituent meeting and paying up the contributions, not into the register — a flawless application is registered within two business days of its delivery (Section 58(1) of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.). We confirm the timetable during the consultation.
Legal Q&A
Common questions on this topic
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We are admitting a new member to our cooperative. Must this be entered in the Commercial Register?
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.
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A member is leaving the cooperative. How much will the cooperative pay them, and when?
A departing member is not entitled to the return of their membership contribution, but to a settlement share. Unless the statutes provide otherwise, its amount depends on the contribution paid up, the number of completed years of membership and the net business assets shown in the financial statements for the year preceding termination of membership, disregarding the indivisible fund. It falls due three months after those financial statements are approved. The statutes may regulate both the calculation and the maturity differently, but they cannot exclude the entitlement itself.
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Are the members of a cooperative liable for its debts?
No. A cooperative is answerable for its obligations with all its assets and its members are not liable for them to creditors. The statutes may, however, impose a loss-coverage obligation, that is, a duty on members to contribute to the cooperative up to a specified amount over and above their membership contribution to cover losses, where the members' meeting so decides. A member must also pay up the whole membership contribution they undertook to make, and the statutes may accelerate its maturity in the event of a loss.
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Further reading
Cooperative or civic association: which form can carry a joint project
Joint purchasing, a shared workshop, a community space or joint sales of produce: a group of individuals or companies often hesitates between a cooperative and a civic association. We compare both forms by purpose, founders, capital, decision-making and the members’ property entitlements.
Read more →
Constituent meeting of a cooperative: what it must decide and what follows up to registration
A cooperative is not formed by an agreement but at a constituent meeting, the proceedings of which are certified by a notary. For founders, we explain what the meeting must decide, who votes at it, what has to be done once it ends and how the application for registration is filed under the Act on the Commercial Register in force from 17 August 2026.
Read more →
A joint-stock company in Slovakia or in the Czech Republic: how incorporation, capital and bodies differ
The Slovak and the Czech joint-stock company share a name but are governed by different statutes. We compare who may incorporate them, what capital they need, what bodies they must have and what shares they issue, for businesses deciding in which country to incorporate a joint-stock company.
Read more →