New Act on the Certification of Documents and Signatures Approved: What Changes Will It Bring in Practice?
On 14 April 2026, the National Council of the Slovak Republic adopted Act No. 78/2026 Coll. on the Certification of Documents and Signatures on Documents, which is intended to replace the current Act No. 599/2001 Coll. on the Certification of Documents and Signatures on Documents by District Offices and Municipalities.
On 14 April 2026, the National Council of the Slovak Republic adopted Act No. 78/2026 Coll. on the Certification of Documents and Signatures on Documents, which is intended to replace the current Act No. 599/2001 Coll. on the Certification of Documents and Signatures on Documents by District Offices and Municipalities. The new legislation was proposed by the Government of the Slovak Republic and prepared by the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic with the aim of addressing long-standing practical issues and reflecting changes in the functioning of public administration that have occurred during more than two decades of application of the original Act.
According to the explanatory memorandum, the purpose of the new legislation is to provide a more comprehensive definition of the concepts, rules, and principles governing the certification of documents and signatures, eliminate ambiguities in the existing legislation, and unify the administrative practice of district offices and municipalities. The adoption of the new Act was also prompted by the growing number of disputes and differing interpretations of the provisions of the original legislation, as well as the absence of certain concepts that have become necessary in practice.
The new Act also reflects developments in public administration, particularly the reorganisation of local state administration under the ESO programme (Effective, Reliable and Open Public Administration), the abolition of regional and district offices, and the ongoing modernisation of public administration. The objective of the new legislation is to strengthen legal certainty for both citizens and the certifying authorities, namely municipalities, cities, city districts, and district offices.
The legislation provides a more detailed regulation of the powers of district offices and municipalities in certifying copies of documents and verifying the authenticity of signatures, as well as the exercise of state professional supervision in this area. It also more precisely defines the circumstances in which a district office or municipality must refuse certification, with the aim of eliminating inconsistencies in administrative practice. In addition, the Act introduces changes relating to the content requirements of certification registers used for certifying copies of documents and signature authenticity.
The Act also takes into account the needs of vulnerable groups. Under the new rules, signature certification may be carried out outside official premises, for example in hospitals, social care facilities, or at the home of a person who is unable to visit a municipality or district office. The legislation also expressly regulates the certification of signatures for persons who are unable to read or write.
In the following sections, we examine in greater detail the most significant changes that the new Act on the Certification of Documents and Signatures introduces into practice.