Starting a business · Slovakia
General partnership (v. o. s.) formation
Are you starting a business with partners who will personally manage it? General partnership formation from the partnership agreement to registration, focusing on relations between partners who are jointly liable with all their assets.
What we'll do for you
Select an item to see the details.
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Consultation and proposal
We discuss your plans and the relations between the partners and explain the consequences of unlimited liability — openly, before signing.
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Partnership agreement
Acting on behalf of the partnership, decision-making, allocation of profits and losses, non-compete obligations and rules for a partner's departure or death.
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Registration
The registration application with attachments and management of the proceedings until the partnership is registered.
Deliverablea registered general partnership with a partnership agreement governing the partners' relations and liability
How it works
Does this process fit your matter? Describe it to the attorney →
- Consultationday 0
Relationships, risks and rules — proposed arrangements and price.
- Documents
The partnership agreement and the partners' signatures.
- Registrationsubject to the register's processing time
Filing and monitoring the proceedings through to registration.
A general partnership is a form for partners who commit themselves to the business — including unlimited liability. For precisely that reason, it deserves a more carefully considered partnership agreement than any other form: rules that support the relationship even in difficult times.
We handle the entire formation process and discuss openly whether a v. o. s. is really the right form for your plans.
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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What does unlimited liability mean in practice?
Partners in a v. o. s. are liable for the partnership's obligations with all their assets, jointly and severally — a creditor can choose which partner to pursue for payment. This is the most significant decision when choosing this form, and we discuss it frankly; an s.r.o. is more suitable for many plans, and we will tell you when that is the case.
Why does anyone choose a v. o. s.?
For its simplicity without mandatory share capital, for its personal character — and sometimes for the tax regime under which profits are taxed at partner level. Tax assessment is for your tax adviser; we ensure the legal arrangements work.
What happens when a partner wants to leave?
A partner's departure can affect the very existence of a v. o. s. — without provisions in the partnership agreement, it can lead to dissolution. That is why we include rules on withdrawal, expulsion and death from the outset, including settlement.
How long does formation take?
A matter of weeks — once the supporting documents are ready, timing depends mainly on the Commercial Register proceedings.
Legal Q&A
Common questions on this topic
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Am I liable for the debts of a general partnership even after I leave it?
Yes, for obligations that arose before your participation ended. Leaving does not end liability for old debts; it only closes off its extent: you are no longer liable for obligations arising to the partnership after your participation ends. The opposite applies on joining, since a new partner is liable also for obligations of the partnership that arose before their accession.
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What happens to a general partnership when only one partner is left in it?
A general partnership must have at least two partners; it cannot exist with one. If, following a partner's death, bankruptcy, notice of withdrawal or dissolution, a single partner is left, that partner may decide within one month to take over the partnership's net assets as its legal successor without liquidation; they must, however, be registered in the Register of Legal Entities, Entrepreneurs and Public Authorities. If they fail to do so within the period, the dissolved partnership enters liquidation.
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Must every partner act for our general partnership, or can just one of us do it?
By operation of law, every partner is the statutory body of a general partnership and each of them may act for it alone. The partnership agreement may change this: it may provide that the partners act jointly, or it may authorise only some of them to act in all the partnership’s affairs, in which case only those partners are the statutory body. Business management, that is internal decision-making, is regulated separately.
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Further reading
A partner’s departure, death or enforcement: how to preserve a general partnership and a limited partnership
A general partnership is dissolved by operation of law on events affecting even a single partner: death, bankruptcy, enforcement or notice. This article explains when that happens, how the remaining partners can save the partnership, what the heirs are entitled to and what should be agreed in the partnership agreement. These rules apply mutatis mutandis to the general partners of a limited partnership.
Read more →
General and limited partnerships: when a partnership makes sense instead of an s.r.o.
Alongside the s.r.o., the Commercial Code also offers the general partnership and the limited partnership. This article explains how they differ from an s.r.o. in liability, capital, management, taxation and on a partner’s departure, and for whom they may be the better choice.
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 →