What a business website in Slovakia must show by law: checklist
Company details, IČO and register, privacy notice, cookie consent and online shop rules: what Slovak law asks your business website to show in 2026.
Nikolay Tolmachev, Founder, Tolman Studios
9 min readWebsites
In short
14 daysto withdraw from an online purchase in Slovakia, without giving a reason
- Every business website in Slovakia shows the company name, address, IČO, register entry, email and phone. VAT payers add their VAT number.
- If the site collects personal data or sets cookies that are not strictly needed, you need a privacy notice and cookie consent before those cookies load.
- An online shop adds pre-contract information, the 14-day withdrawal right with a model form, complaint rules, dispute resolution info and, since 19 June 2026, a withdrawal button.
On this page
Every business website in Slovakia has to show who is behind it: name, address, IČO, register entry, email and phone. VAT payers add their VAT number. If the site collects personal data, it needs a privacy notice. If it uses analytics or ad pixels, it needs cookie consent. An online shop adds the consumer rules on top: pre-contract information, 14 days to withdraw, complaints and dispute resolution.
This post is for anyone running a živnosť or an s.r.o. in Slovakia, including foreigners who have just registered one. The checklist covers Slovak businesses only. Austria, Germany and other countries have their own rules, for example the Austrian Impressum under the ECG and the MedienG. I'm not a lawyer. I build websites and read these laws so that my clients' sites follow them. Every law below links to its official text on Slov-Lex.
What must every business website show?
Two laws say the same thing in different words. The Commercial Code (Obchodný zákonník, § 3a) says every business must show its details on its website, if it has one. The e-commerce act (zákon č. 22/2004 Z. z., § 4) lists what a website owner must make available to visitors. Together they come to this:
Company details on every business website
- Name. For an s.r.o., the obchodné meno exactly as in the register, with the legal form. For a živnostník, your name and surname (and the trade name, if you use one).
- Address. Sídlo for a company. For a živnostník, the miesto podnikania. The e-commerce act also lists your home address. If both are the same, one address covers it.
- IČO, your company ID number.
- Register entry. Which register and which number. For an s.r.o., for example "Obchodný register Mestského súdu Bratislava III, oddiel Sro, vložka č. ...". For a živnostník, the trade register at the okresný úrad and your number there.
- Email and phone. Both. A contact form alone is not enough.
- Supervisory authority. The name and address of the body that supervises your activity. For most shops and services this is the Slovak Trade Inspection (SOI), the inspectorate for your region.
- VAT number, only if you are a VAT payer. The law says "tax identification number"; showing both DIČ and IČ DPH is the safe way.
- Share capital, only if you choose to mention it. Then you must also say how much of it is paid up.
The details must be easy to find and always available, kept apart from your ads and offers. In practice that means the footer of every page or a "Company details" page linked from it.
Lawyers, doctors, architects and other regulated professions add a few lines: their chamber, their professional title and where it was obtained, and a link to the chamber's rules.
The SOI checks this and can fine a business from €50 up to 1% of last year's turnover, at most €50,000. Typical mistakes are small: an old address after a move, or an s.r.o. name written without "s.r.o.".
Do I need a privacy notice and a cookie banner?
Privacy notice. If your site collects any personal data, GDPR Article 13 says you must tell people about it at the moment you collect it. A contact form, a booking form, a newsletter box and a chat widget all count. The notice says who you are and how to reach you. It says why you collect the data, on what legal basis and who else gets it (your email provider, your booking tool). It also says whether data leaves the EU, how long you keep it and which rights people have. That includes the right to complain to the Office for Personal Data Protection (Úrad na ochranu osobných údajov SR). Link the notice next to every form.
Cookies. Slovak law (zákon č. 452/2021 Z. z., § 109 ods. 8) says you may store or read anything on a visitor's device only with their provable consent. The exception is what is strictly needed to run the service the visitor asked for, such as a shopping cart or a language setting. Google Analytics, a Meta pixel, an embedded YouTube video or a Google map usually set cookies that need consent.
So the banner has to block those tools until the visitor clicks "Accept". Boxes ticked in advance don't count as consent. GDPR Article 7 adds that withdrawing consent must be as easy as giving it, so keep a "Cookie settings" link in the footer. Breaking the cookie rule can cost a business from €200 up to 5% of turnover. The telecoms regulator decides the fine.
A site with no tracking at all and nothing embedded may not need a cookie banner. It still needs the privacy notice if it has a form.
What does an online shop have to add?
The consumer protection act, zákon č. 108/2024 Z. z., has applied since 1 July 2024. Its distance-selling rules cover anything a consumer orders and pays for online, so vouchers and paid online bookings count too.
Extra items for an online shop
- Before the order: the main features of the product, the full price with delivery and all other costs, payment and delivery terms, and the delivery time (§ 5). If you don't show a cost upfront, the customer doesn't have to pay it (§ 15).
- Email and a postal address where customers can send complaints and withdrawals, if it differs from your sídlo (§ 15).
- The right to withdraw within 14 days without a reason. Explain the conditions, the deadline and the steps, say who pays for the return and add a model withdrawal form (§ 15, § 19, § 20). Name the exceptions you rely on, such as made-to-order goods or food.
- The withdrawal button. Since 19 June 2026 an online shop must offer a clearly labelled function, such as "odstúpiť od zmluvy tu", that stays available for the whole 14 days. It ends with a "potvrdiť odstúpenie od zmluvy" step, and you send a confirmation without delay (§ 20a).
- Complaints (reklamácie): the legal liability for defects, which is 2 years for goods (Civil Code § 619), and how to complain. You confirm a complaint in writing and, as a rule, fix it within 30 days (§ 622). Most shops put this in a "reklamačný poriadok" page in their terms.
- Dispute resolution: a line saying customers can ask you for a remedy, and a link to the alternative dispute resolution body. For most shops that is the SOI (§ 5 ods. 1 písm. l, zákon č. 391/2015 Z. z.).
- The order steps, how to fix typing errors before sending, whether you store the contract, and the language of the contract. This part must be in Slovak (zákon č. 22/2004 Z. z., § 5).
- Discounts show the previous price, which is the lowest price of the last 30 days (§ 7).
One item you can delete: the link to the EU's ODR platform. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 closed the platform, and the duty to link to it ended on 20 July 2025.
Language matters for many of my readers. The act says consumers get all information and documents in Slovak, or in another language they understand if they agree to it. If you sell to people in Slovakia, write the terms and the order pages in Slovak. You can add other languages next to them.
Which rules apply to me?
| What to show | Every business site | Online shop | Extra if VAT payer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name, address, IČO, register entry | Yes | Yes | No |
| Email, phone, supervisory authority (usually SOI) | Yes | Yes | No |
| IČ DPH (VAT number) | Only VAT payers | Only VAT payers | Yes |
| Privacy notice (GDPR Art. 13) | If there is a form, chat or tracking | Yes | No |
| Cookie consent | If analytics, pixels or embeds set cookies | Almost always | No |
| Right to a remedy and the dispute body | If you sell to consumers | Yes | No |
| Full price with delivery costs, terms | No | Yes | No |
| 14-day withdrawal info and model form | No | Yes | No |
| Withdrawal button (since 19 June 2026) | No | Yes | No |
| Complaints rules | No | Yes | No |
| Accessibility (EAA) | No | Yes, unless a micro-enterprise | No |
The last row is a separate topic. Online shops have been covered by the European Accessibility Act since 28 June 2025, but services with fewer than 10 people and up to €2 million turnover are exempt. I explain who is covered in my post on the European Accessibility Act.
What can I skip?
A simple presentation site needs
- Company details in the footer
- A privacy notice, if it has a contact form
- Cookie consent, if it uses analytics, a pixel or embedded maps and videos
- The remedy and dispute body line, if you work with consumers
It usually doesn't need
- A withdrawal button or model form
- Terms of sale and a reklamačný poriadok
- IČ DPH, if you are not a VAT payer
- A cookie banner, if nothing on the site sets non-essential cookies
A tradesperson or a salon with a five-page site is done after the first list. The online shop rules only start when people can order and pay on the site.
How do I handle this on the sites I build?
Before launch I ask for an extract from the business register (orsr.sk) or the trade register (zrsr.sk). I copy the name, address and numbers from it word for word. It is boring, and one wrong digit in an IČO is easy to miss.
The details go into the footer of every page. The privacy notice sits next to every form. The cookie banner loads analytics only after "Accept", and a "Cookie settings" link stays in the footer. For online shops the client writes or buys the terms (I don't write legal texts). I build the order pages, the withdrawal button and the confirmation emails to match them.
If you want to check your own site, start with the first checklist. It takes 10 minutes. For a wider look, my 12-point website checklist covers speed, phones and contact options too. If you need a new site, here is what I build, or write to me with the address of your current site.
Questions people ask
I am a živnostník with a one-page site. What is the minimum?
Your name, place of business, IČO, the trade register entry, email, phone and the supervisory authority. If you sell to consumers, add a line about the right to ask for a remedy and the dispute resolution body. If the site has a contact form or analytics, add a privacy notice and, for analytics, cookie consent.
Where should the company details go?
The law says they must be easy to find and permanently available. Most sites put them in the footer of every page or on a separate page linked from the footer. Both work.
Do I still need the EU ODR platform link?
No. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 shut the platform down, and the duty to link to it ended on 20 July 2025. Remove the old link. The Slovak duty to name the alternative dispute resolution body stays.
Can my online shop be only in Russian, Ukrainian or English?
The consumer protection act says a trader gives consumers all information and documents in Slovak, or in another language the consumer understands if they agree to it. If you sell to people in Slovakia, a Slovak version of your terms and order pages is the safe choice.
Who checks all this?
The Slovak Trade Inspection (SOI) checks company details and consumer rules. The Office for Personal Data Protection checks GDPR. The telecoms regulator checks cookie consent. Each can fine you.
Sources
- Zákon č. 22/2004 Z. z. o elektronickom obchode (§ 4, § 5, § 7a), Slov-Lex, checked 22 September 2026
- Zákon č. 513/1991 Zb. Obchodný zákonník (§ 3a), Slov-Lex, checked 22 September 2026
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679, General Data Protection Regulation (Articles 4, 7, 13), EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the EU, checked 22 September 2026
- Zákon č. 452/2021 Z. z. o elektronických komunikáciách (§ 109 ods. 8, § 124), Slov-Lex, checked 22 September 2026
- Zákon č. 108/2024 Z. z. o ochrane spotrebiteľa (§ 4, § 5, § 7, § 15, § 19, § 20, § 20a), Slov-Lex, checked 22 September 2026
- Zákon č. 40/1964 Zb. Občiansky zákonník (§ 619, § 622), Slov-Lex, checked 22 September 2026
- Zákon č. 391/2015 Z. z. o alternatívnom riešení spotrebiteľských sporov (§ 3, § 11), Slov-Lex, checked 22 September 2026
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 discontinuing the European ODR Platform, EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the EU, checked 22 September 2026
Facts and prices are as of the dates in the sources.
Nikolay Tolmachev
Founder, Tolman Studios
I build websites, AI chatbots and ads for small businesses, working from Slovakia. Before that I spent over 4 years managing IT projects. I hold PMP and Certified ScrumMaster certificates.