A živnosť is the Slovak equivalent of a sole trader licence and the most popular way to work for yourself legally in Slovakia. It can be set up in a few days, and the contribution burden in the first months is minimal. Here is the process, step by step.
Who can open a živnosť
Any adult foreigner with legal status in Slovakia can open one: temporary residence (prechodný pobyt), permanent residence, or dočasné útočisko. Temporary protection status carries the same right to do business as a residence permit — the most common case among Ukrainians. If your permit was issued for business, keep in mind that at renewal the police check last year’s income from the živnosť — details in our article on residence permit renewal in Slovakia.
Step 1. Choose your activities
Business activities (predmety podnikania) fall into three groups:
- Voľné — free trades: consulting, IT, retail, advertising, bookkeeping (vedenie účtovníctva). A simple notification is enough.
- Remeselné — craft trades: construction, hairdressing, car repair. You must prove qualifications or practice.
- Viazané — regulated trades: driving schools, real-estate brokerage, massage and similar. They require specific authorisations.
For a start, free trades cover most people — you can pick several at once and there is no extra charge per activity.
Step 2. Prepare the documents
- passport or ID card;
- proof of your status in Slovakia;
- the address of your place of business (a virtual office works);
- a criminal record extract from your country of citizenship (výpis z registra trestov), no older than 3 months, with a certified translation — for every type of živnosť, free trades included: a clean record (bezúhonnosť) is a general condition under § 6 of Act 455/1991.
Step 3. File the notification
You file at the živnostenský úrad responsible for your place of business, either in person or electronically through slovensko.sk (which requires an electronic signature). Filing electronically, free trades carry no fee; in person it is €7 per activity.
Step 4. Registrations after you open
Within a few days you receive the osvedčenie o živnostenskom oprávnení. After that:
- the tax office — registration and your DIČ number, often handled automatically;
- the health insurer — notify them that you have started doing business;
- the bank — open a business account, not mandatory but convenient.
What it costs and what you pay
Health insurance is paid from the first month: the minimum advance in 2026 is €121.92 a month. Since 1 January 2026 social insurance no longer starts “in the second year” but on the first day of the 6th calendar month after the month you registered the živnosť. From 1 July 2026 an income test applies: with annual income up to €2,876.90 no Sociálna poisťovňa contributions are due, up to €9,144 you pay the mikroodvod of €131.34 a month, above that the minimum is €303.11 a month. Income tax is calculated after the paušálne výdavky flat-rate deduction of 60%, so the effective rate on smaller incomes is genuinely mild.
Common mistakes
- choosing a craft trade without proof of qualification — the notification comes back;
- forgetting to notify the health insurer — a debt builds up;
- missing the March deadline for the tax return.
Would rather not work through it yourself? We will set up your živnosť end to end, from choosing the activity codes to registering with the insurer. And if you are weighing a živnosť against your own s.r.o., look at residence through business.