This guide is the checklist behind a Slovak bid: the logins, the signature, the declarations and the certificates a tender can ask for, in the order they come, and who is allowed to handle each one. For how Slovak procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, evaluation, payment and objections), see How to bid for public tenders in Slovakia.
Before you bid
1. Access to the state electronic platform. Invitations to sub-threshold procedures and the marketplace run on the state electronic platform (formerly EKS), operated by the Úrad podpredsedu vlády SR pre Plán obnovy a znalostnú ekonomiku. Registering is free. Each user authenticates with a chip eID card or, without a valid Slovak eID, with identification credentials the Office issues free of charge, delivered in person or electronically. The Office keeps an electronic profile of your company, filled from public registers.
- Who does it: the registration data can be prepared for you, but credentials are personal and are never shared. Your company registers and authorises each person who will act for it, and each of them logs in with their own eID or own credentials.
2. The e-tool named in the notice. Most above-threshold tenders, and many smaller ones, run on a private tool listed by ÚVO, such as JOSEPHINE, eZakazky, TENDERnet or NUNTIO. It is usually free for bidders and set up the same day: a company account with a named account for each user. Some tools want the bidder authenticated before it can submit, by eID, by an authorisation signed with a qualified signature, or by a certified document. The buyer must always let you log in with a chip ID card.
- Who does it: the account can be set up with you; if the tool asks your statutory representative to complete the company authentication, only they can do that step.
3. A qualified electronic signature (kvalifikovaný elektronický podpis), where it’s asked for. You need one if the buyer requires documents signed this way, and for electronic applications to the ÚVO list. The certificate must come from a provider on the EU trusted list and be in a format the buyer can process; the Slovak eID card carries one. Getting a certificate takes days, and it lasts for the certificate’s term.
- Who does it: it is personal to each signatory. Your statutory body signs with its own; an adviser acting under a power of attorney signs with theirs.
4. Optional: the ÚVO list of economic operators (zoznam hospodárskych subjektov). Entry proves your personal status to every buyer, and you need it for the marketplace route.
- Cost: EUR 50 for an electronic application or EUR 100 on paper; an extension costs EUR 50 / 100 and a change EUR 12.50 / 25 (fees since 1 April 2024).
- How long: 15 working days by law, but ÚVO warns its checks can add about 30 days.
- Valid: 3 years; apply to extend between 60 and 30 days before it expires.
- How: the application and attachments can be prepared for you. Your statutory body, or a person it authorises, signs the electronic application with a qualified signature, and each attachment must carry its issuer’s qualified signature or be a certified conversion (zaručená konverzia) of a paper original, which a notár can make. You supply the criminal-record data of your board and supervisory-board members and prokurists.
With your bid
5. The JED or a čestné vyhlásenie. At the bid stage a self-declaration stands in for the evidence: the JED (jednotný európsky dokument, the ESPD) in any procedure, and below the thresholds a sworn declaration works too. It is free, takes about a day and covers one procedure.
- Who does it: it can be completed for you and uploaded by an authenticated user of your company. Where the tool requires a signature, your statutory body or the holder of your power of attorney signs. You confirm it is true.
6. The sanctions declaration. In above-threshold tenders you declare, on the buyer’s template, that no Russia-linked persons or entities above the limits in art. 5k of EU Regulation 833/2014 are involved. It is free and done the same day; you confirm the facts, and it is signed and sent as the tool requires.
7. Your references (referencie). Most tenders set technical capacity, proved by a list of contracts you have delivered, with confirmations from the clients. ÚVO keeps a reference register for public contracts. The list can be compiled for you; you ask your clients for the confirmations, which takes days.
8. Financial standing, staff and certificates, where the tender asks.
- Financial standing: a bank statement on your solvency, financial statements or turnover, as the buyer sets. An accountant compiles them, audited where required; you ask your bank for its letter and approve the statements.
- ISO 9001/14001 and similar: a certification body accredited by SNAS or another EA member audits you; certificates run 3 years with surveillance audits.
- Liability insurance: often asked for as financial standing or as a contract condition. An insurer or broker issues the policy, which you sign; it runs for the policy term.
9. Official Slovak translations. Any document not in Slovak or Czech needs an official Slovak translation by an úradný prekladateľ on the Ministry of Justice list, unless the notice allows another language. Where both exist, the Slovak translation prevails. Allow days.
10. The zábezpeka ponuky (bid security), where the buyer requires it. You choose the form: a bank guarantee, guarantee insurance or a cash deposit. A bank or insurer issues the guarantee in your name for a market fee, usually in 1–5 business days, and it must cover the bid validity period. You apply and pay; the wording can be checked for you. The caps are in the main guide.
11. Submit in the electronic tool. Bids go in electronically, in Slovak or Czech, through the tool the notice names, before the deadline. Submission is free.
- Who does it: an authenticated named user of your company uploads and submits, with qualified signatures on the documents that require them. You approve the price and sign where a signature is required.
If you’re the winning bidder
The buyer asks for the evidence the JED stood in for. Everything must be no more than 3 months old.
| Document | Issued by | Who can get it for you | Valid if | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal-record extract (výpis z registra trestov), for the company and each statutory and supervisory-board member and prokurist | Generálna prokuratúra SR (Register trestov) | Each person provides it; for Slovak firms the buyer or ÚVO can obtain the data from public information systems once the details are supplied | ≤3 months old | Each person consents and supplies their data or extract |
| Arrears confirmations: tax office, customs, Sociálna poisťovňa and health insurers | Finančná správa, Sociálna poisťovňa, the health insurers | An accountant or tax adviser with your authorisation, where they don’t reach the buyer automatically | ≤3 months old | Grant the authorisation |
| Insolvency certificate (not in bankruptcy) | The courts | An accountant or tax adviser with your authorisation | ≤3 months old | Grant the authorisation |
| Business-register extract (výpis z obchodného registra) and IČO | Obchodný register (orsr.sk) or Register právnických osôb | Anyone: the informative online extract is free and same-day, and Slovak data flow into your electronic profile | ≤3 months old | — |
Before the contract
12. RPVS registration (Register partnerov verejného sektora). A buyer can’t sign a contract paying more than EUR 100,000 at once, or EUR 250,000 in total, with a partner that isn’t in the RPVS beneficial-owner register; the same applies to subcontractors over the limits.
- Who does it: only your oprávnená osoba: a Slovak advokát, notár, bank, auditor or tax adviser, or a foreign equivalent with a Slovak branch. It files with the registration court (Okresný súd Žilina) at rpvs.gov.sk, identifies and verifies your beneficial owners and issues the verification document.
- What only you do: sign the written agreement with the oprávnená osoba and give it your ownership chain and the identity of your beneficial owners.
- It doesn’t stop at registration: the beneficial owner is verified again when a contract is concluded or amended (no earlier than 10 days before, unless done in the last 6 months) and every year by 31 December.
13. Performance security, if the contract asks. The law sets no cap; the contract does. A bank or insurer issues it in your name, usually within days, for the term of the contract, and you sign.
14. Signing. Your statutory body or the holder of your power of attorney signs within 10 working days of the buyer’s invitation.
15. Invoicing. Structured e-invoicing obligations begin on 1 January 2027; check what your contract says.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| State platform and e-tool access | Registration data prepared for you | Register your users; each logs in with their own eID or credentials |
| Qualified electronic signature | An EU qualified trust service provider (or your Slovak eID card) | Each signatory keeps and uses their own |
| ÚVO list application | Prepared for you; a notár makes certified conversions | Your statutory body signs or authorises the signatory |
| JED and sanctions declaration | Completed for you; uploaded by an authenticated user | Confirm they are true; sign where the tool requires |
| References and financial evidence | Compiled for you; an accountant prepares the statements | Get client confirmations and the bank letter; approve |
| Translations | An úradný prekladateľ | — |
| Bid security and performance security | A bank or insurer | Apply, pay and sign |
| Submission | An authenticated named user of your company | Approve the price |
| Criminal-record extracts | Each person, or the buyer from public systems | Each person consents |
| Arrears and insolvency confirmations | An accountant or tax adviser with your authorisation | Grant the authorisation |
| Register extract | Anyone (public register) | — |
| RPVS registration | Only an oprávnená osoba | Sign the agreement; disclose your ownership |
| Contract | — | Your statutory body or attorney signs |
The professionals involved
| Profession | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Advokát | Slovenská advokátna komora | Act as your RPVS oprávnená osoba; represent you under a power of attorney in the procurement and in objections (námietky) to ÚVO; review contracts and consortium agreements |
| Notár | Notárska komora Slovenskej republiky | Act as your RPVS oprávnená osoba; certify copies and signatures; make certified conversions for ÚVO list applications; take sworn declarations of foreign operators |
| Audítor or daňový poradca | Úrad pre dohľad nad výkonom auditu; Slovenská komora daňových poradcov | Act as your RPVS oprávnená osoba (with a Slovak seat or branch); prepare financial-standing evidence; audit statements (auditors only); obtain tax-office confirmations under your authorisation |
| Bank or insurer | Národná banka Slovenska | Issue the zábezpeka ponuky as a bank guarantee or guarantee insurance, and performance guarantees; banks can also act as RPVS oprávnená osoba |
| Úradný prekladateľ (official translator) | Ministerstvo spravodlivosti SR | Make the official Slovak translations of documents not in Slovak or Czech |
| Certification body | Slovenská národná akreditačná služba (SNAS) or another EA member | ISO 9001/14001 and similar certificates used as technical-capacity evidence |
Objections to ÚVO are for an advokát acting under your power of attorney; you sign the power of attorney and pay the deposit.
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Slovak company to bid, but above EUR 100,000 you need a Slovakia-based oprávnená osoba to enter you in the RPVS before signature; who may bid from abroad is set out in How to bid for public tenders in Slovakia. For the paperwork:
- Third-country check: if your company is established outside the GPA and EU agreement countries, confirm your seat and where your supply chain comes from, and read the notice for a restriction before preparing anything.
- State platform: without a Slovak eID you receive free credentials from the Office.
- E-tools: foreign bidders usually authenticate with an authorisation signed with a qualified signature or a certified document; the rules depend on the tool.
- Signature: any EU qualified signature is valid under eIDAS.
- Register extract: your home register extract with an official Slovak translation; Czech is accepted.
- Criminal records: home-country extracts for people who aren’t Slovak citizens, or a sworn declaration where none is issued.
- Arrears and insolvency: home-country equivalents or sworn declarations.
- ÚVO list: home-country documents or sworn declarations no more than 3 months old.
- RPVS: foreign partners register the same way; a foreign oprávnená osoba needs a Slovak enterprise or branch.
- Financial statements and references: your home documents with an official translation.
- Certificates and guarantees: equivalent ISO certificates are accepted, and so are foreign bank guarantees.
Pitfalls
- Watch the 3-month limit. Every certificate and extract must be no more than 3 months old when you hand it in.
- Never share a login. Platform credentials and eIDs are personal; everyone who acts for your company, including advisers, uses their own.
- Start the RPVS early. Above EUR 100,000 the buyer can’t sign until you are registered, and only an oprávnená osoba can file. False data can be fined up to the benefit obtained or EUR 10,000–1,000,000.
- Translate anything not in Slovak or Czech. The official Slovak translation is the version that counts.
- Be ready to sign quickly. The contract is signed within 10 working days of the buyer’s invitation.
- One oprávnená osoba at a time. Under Act 315/2016 your company can have only one oprávnená osoba at a time, and it must declare that no relationship with you compromises its impartiality.
Doing it with askTender
In Slovakia, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on the state e-procurement platform and JOSEPHINE and works under their own login. You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: powers of attorney, documents that need your qualified signature, the agreement with your oprávnená osoba and the contract, and you approve the final bid and price. The askTender Desk prepares the JED, declarations and reference lists, assembles the bid and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as an advokát, a notár, a daňový poradca or an úradný prekladateľ, do the steps their licence covers.
Questions
Which documents go in with a Slovak bid?
The JED (the Slovak ESPD) or, below the thresholds, a čestné vyhlásenie; the sanctions declaration in above-threshold tenders; your price and technical documents; references, staff or ISO certificates where the tender asks; official Slovak translations of anything not in Slovak or Czech; and the zábezpeka ponuky where the buyer requires one. The certificates proving your status come later.
How old can the criminal-record and arrears documents be?
No more than 3 months old. That applies to the criminal-record extracts, the tax, customs, social-insurance and health-insurance confirmations, the insolvency certificate and the register extract. For Slovak firms much of this data reaches the buyer automatically from public registers.
Do I need a qualified electronic signature?
Only where the buyer requires one, and for electronic applications to ÚVO’s list of economic operators. It must come from a provider on the trusted list, in a format the buyer can process; the Slovak eID card carries one, and any EU qualified signature is valid under eIDAS.
Who can register my company in the RPVS?
Only an oprávnená osoba: a Slovak advokát, notár, bank, auditor or tax adviser, or a foreign equivalent with a Slovak branch. It works under a written agreement with your company, identifies and verifies your beneficial owners and issues the verification document. Without the entry, a buyer can’t sign a contract paying you more than EUR 100,000 at once or EUR 250,000 in total.
Is the ÚVO list of economic operators worth joining?
It’s optional, but it proves your personal status to every buyer for 3 years and you need it for the marketplace route. The electronic application costs EUR 50 (EUR 100 on paper) and takes 15 working days by law, though ÚVO warns its checks can add about 30 days.
Sources
- Act 343/2015 on public procurement, consolidated from 2 August 2026 (Slov-Lex)
- Act 388/2024 amending the Public Procurement Act
- Act 315/2016 on the Register of Public Sector Partners (RPVS)
- ÚVO: list of economic operators
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.