Establishment of a non-profit organization

If you have decided to establish a non-profit organization, we recommend that you realize the very purpose and essence of a non-profit organization before completing the entire procedure. Law no. 213/1997 Coll. on non-profit organizations providing services of general benefit defines a non-profit organization as a legal entity established under this Act, which provides services of general benefit under pre-determined and equal conditions for all users, and whose profit may not be used for the benefit of founders, members of bodies or its employees, but must be used in its entirety to ensure generally beneficial services.

With this definition supplemented by an amendment in 2003, the legislator also wanted to emphasize two important specifics of non-profit organizations, namely the provision of generally beneficial services and non-profitability, as the name implies and which must be considered throughout the existence of a non-profit organization.

If you want to start a non-profit organization, do not hesitate to contact us at office@akmv.sk or by phone at +421 915 046 749.

A non-profit organization can be established by a natural person, a legal entity or the state. A certificate of incorporation is required, while the authenticity of the signatures of all founders must be officially certified. The charter must also include the so-called the statute of a non-profit organization, which regulates the details of the organizational structure, activities and management of the non-profit organization. It is necessary that the signatures on the memorandum and articles of association are from the same day, since the statute essentially forms part of the memorandum of association.

Please note that it is necessary that the articles of incorporation contain an exact indication of the legal form, i.e. “a non-profit organization providing services of general benefit”. It is not enough to state only the abbreviated “non-profit organization.”

After the establishment of a non-profit organization, and thus after the preparation of both documents and the official verification of signatures, or signature in the case of a single founder, the 60-day period begins to run, during which it is necessary to submit a written proposal for the registration of a non-profit organization in the register. The registry office is the district office in the seat of the region, competent according to the seat of the non-profit organization. The proposer can be the founder or a person authorized to do so, while again it is necessary to officially certify the signature on the proposal. The proposal must include:

Please note that the proposal can also be submitted electronically, in which case the administrative fee is reduced to EUR 33, but even in the case of submission of the proposal in electronic form, it will be necessary to send the statute in paper form as well.

If a non-profit organization is to provide services also regulated by special regulations, e.g. by law no. 355/2007 Coll. on the protection, support and development of public health and on the amendment of certain laws as amended, it is necessary not only to fulfill the conditions specified by special regulations, but also to prove their fulfillment to the registry office within 30 days.

The registry office will verify the submitted documents and the data in them, and if no deficiencies are found, it will issue a decision on registration and make an entry in the register. The identification number is assigned to a non-profit organization by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic at the request of the registry office, which will also send the data on registration to the Ministry of the Interior for the purpose of recording in the central register and the Trade Bulletin.

The law stipulates the functioning of a non-profit organization by setting several requirements, and the relevant registration office supervises their fulfillment by evaluating the content of annual reports. Their preparation is a legal obligation, but it is far from the only one – care must be taken to ensure that the non-profit organization really fulfills the purpose for which it was founded, it can only do business if this achieves a more efficient use of the non-profit organization’s assets and the quality is not jeopardized , scope and availability of the services for which it was established, may not participate in the business of other persons. By not respecting the law, there is a risk that the non-profit organization will be canceled at the initiative of the registration office.