Changing the Business Name of an LLC Online With a Qualified Electronic Signature

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Choosing a company’s business name is one of the significant steps before establishing any business. A company’s business name is the first calling card you hand to everyone you come into contact with in the course of business, and at first glance it reveals important information about you. We will guide you through the process of preparing the documents you need to change your business name in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic, and we will show you how to handle the entire process online with a qualified electronic signature.

If you have a qualified electronic signature (QES) and a qualified time stamp, you can arrange the change of an LLC’s business name quickly, more cheaply and conveniently online.

What Is a Company’s Business Name?

A company’s business name is the name under which an entrepreneur carries out legal acts in their business activity. The purpose of this designation is the identification and individualization of the entrepreneur entering into legal relationships. A company’s business name distinguishes the entrepreneur from other business entities, which is also why it must not be identical to an already existing name of any other entity.

Expert advice:

Your business name also represents you in activities other than business, for example in sponsorship or volunteer work.

The business name of a limited liability company is the name under which it is registered in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic. The business name of a limited liability company must also include an addition designating its legal form, whereby, under the law, you can choose from the following variants:

• spoločnosť s ručením obmedzeným (limited liability company),
• s r. o.,
• r. o.

The business name of a natural person – entrepreneur must contain the first name and surname and may also contain, for example, an addition distinguishing the entrepreneur or the type of their business.

The business name of a commercial company contains the name that is registered in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic and must contain an addition designating the legal form.

Expert advice:

With your company you always have the obligation to state, alongside the business name, the current legal status of your company if it is other than ordinary business activity. So if, for example, you are in bankruptcy or in liquidation, or your company is undergoing restructuring, you must state this legal status on all documents bearing your company’s business name – on all records and instruments and in all official and unofficial communications.

When to Change a Company Name?

You can carry out a change of a limited liability company’s business name at any time during your business. In some specific situations, however, such as the aforementioned bankruptcy, liquidation or restructuring, this step is subject to certain statutory limitations and rules.

In practice, companies change their business name usually in the following situations:

• during a company rebranding (a change of brand),
• when changing the direction or focus of the business,
• during a merger or division of companies,
• when selling the company,
• for other legal reasons, such as the name being confusable with another company,
• when changing the marketing strategy and for other strategic reasons.

The requirement that the business name not be confusable:

At this point we would like to emphasize once again that a company’s business name must not be confusable with the business name of another entrepreneur, and must not evoke a misleading impression of the entrepreneur or of the subject of their business.

How Does Changing a Business Name Online Work?

Changing the business name of an LLC takes place in the following steps:

Preparing the Founding Documents

Preparing the founding documents involves drawing up the following written documents:

• the decision of the sole partner or the minutes of the company’s general meeting at which the partners adopt the relevant resolution to change the business name,
• an update of the company’s founding deed or articles of association,
• the electronic signing of all these documents with a qualified electronic signature and a qualified time stamp.

Expert advice:

You can obtain a qualified electronic signature and a qualified time stamp in just a few clicks via the NFQES online platform, which is a trust service provider under the European eIDAS Regulation.

Filling In the Electronic Form

In this step, you upload the signed founding documents via the dedicated electronic form for registering a change of data in a limited liability company on the Slovensko.sk web portal, in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic section.

Another Signature With a Qualified Electronic Signature

Before submitting it to the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic, you must again sign the electronic form for registering a change of data in a limited liability company, which is located in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic section, with a qualified electronic signature.

Paying the Court Fee to the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic

After a successful submission, within a few hours the electronic system will prompt you, via an email notification delivered to your electronic mailbox, to pay the court fee. This is currently (in 2026) EUR 50.

Registering the Change in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic

After the court fee is paid, the registry court will begin to act and, within a few days, will register the requested change of business name for you. After registration, it will also be visible in the public section of the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic.

What Else Needs to Be Done After Changing the Business Name of an LLC?

After the change of business name is registered in the Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic, it is advisable to also carry out the following acts:

• verify whether the new business name is also recorded at the tax office,
• inform your bank and business partners, and possibly also your customers, about the change of business name,
• change the business name in legal documents, contracts and on invoices,
• change the business name on your websites and in marketing materials.

What to Watch Out for When Changing the Business Name of an LLC

When changing your business name, watch out for the following:

• The new business name of the LLC must not copy another already existing name of any entity and must not be confusable with it – it must not even resemble it.
• The business name must contain the addition designating the legal form of the LLC and the other designations listed above, according to your choice.
• The founding documents must contain the legally prescribed information and must be signed with a qualified electronic signature and a qualified time stamp (otherwise your signature must be officially certified at a notary or registry office).
• Carefully check the electronic form as well. Errors in the form or in the founding documents result in the rejection of the submission; in such a case the Commercial Register will prompt you to correct the errors in the submission and/or the founding documents (to change and/or supplement them), which, however, usually extends the entire process by several more days. The Commercial Register of the Slovak Republic will continue the change registration process only after the errors are corrected and a new submission is made, which you again sign with a qualified electronic signature.

Also read the brief guide on how to handle changing the registered office of an LLC using a qualified electronic signature.