Planning to start renting out an apartment via Airbnb or Booking.com in Slovakia? Here is the whole process in the right order — from trade licence to first guest — with links to a detailed guide for each step. The order is not arbitrary: some registrations take days to weeks, and some must be done before you accept your first payment or guest at all.
Checklist at a Glance
| # | Step | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trade licence for accommodation services | before launching your listing | trade licensing office / slovensko.sk |
| 2 | VAT identified person | before you first receive a service from a platform based in another EU country | Financial Administration SR |
| 3 | Accommodation provider registration | before your first foreign guest | Ministry of Interior SR / portal.minv.sk |
| 4 | Registration for the accommodation tax | before your first guest | municipal office |
| 5 | Guest register | from your first guest, ongoing | kept by you (paper or digital) |
| 6 | Reporting foreign guests | within 5 days of check-in, for every guest who is not a Slovak citizen | portal.minv.sk |
| 7 | Statistical return CR 1-12 | monthly, within 20 days after the month ends | Statistical Office SR |
| 8 | Short-term rental register | from 1 Jan 2027 before your first platform listing (hosts already listing in 2026: by 28 Feb 2027) | Ministry of Tourism and Sport SR |
Step 1: Trade Licence (or Business Scope)
A typical short-term rental with services — cleaning, linen, check-in — legally counts as an accommodation service, not rental, and requires a trade licence (a free trade licence). When it does and does not apply is covered in a dedicated guide. For an s. r. o., this is a business scope entry instead of a sole trader’s trade licence.
Step 2: VAT Identified Person
A lesser-known but time-critical step: the duty to register as an identified person under §7a of the VAT Act applies if you are not a VAT payer and receive a service from a business based in another EU country — Airbnb’s or Booking.com’s commission, or the Best Guest subscription. You must file the application before you receive the service (§7a(1)), and the tax office has up to 10 days to register you (§7a(3)). Don’t wait for the first invoice — by then you have already received the service. Apply before your first platform booking. That is why this step belongs at the start of the checklist, not the end.
Step 3: Accommodation Provider Registration with the Ministry of Interior
If you will be accommodating foreign guests (and via platforms, you will), you need to register as an accommodation provider in the Ministry of Interior’s system in advance — it is a precondition for accessing the electronic reporting form. You need an eID with activated KEP and access to your electronic mailbox. This is the step most often put off — and the most common source of delay, because the reporting deadline is only 5 days from check-in and registration is not instant.
Step 4: Local Accommodation Tax
Before your first guest, register with your municipal office as a payer of the local accommodation tax. The rate, exemptions, and remittance schedule are set by your municipality’s own ordinance (VZN) — there is no national cap, and every municipality has its own rules.
Step 5: The Guest Register
From your first guest onward, keep a guest register — as you go, not retroactively. A digital format is fine, as long as the record is complete and can be produced during an inspection.
Step 6: Reporting Foreign Guests — the Ongoing Routine
Report every guest who is not a Slovak citizen to the Foreigners Police within 5 days of check-in — calendar days, not working days (§113(c) of Act No. 404/2011 Coll.). This includes guests from Czechia, Germany and other EU countries: under §2(2), a foreigner is anyone who is not a Slovak citizen. Full details, including the difference between slovensko.sk and portal.minv.sk, are in a dedicated guide. The fine for non-compliance runs up to €3,300 — see the overview of penalties.
Step 7: The Statistical Return
If the Statistical Office SR lists you in its Register of Accommodation Facilities, you file the monthly CR 1-12 return with it within 20 days after the end of each month (Decree No. 425/2023 Coll., survey no. 54).
Step 8: The Short-Term Rental Register (from 2027)
A new obligation under Act No. 133/2026 Coll., which takes effect on 1 January 2027 and implements the registration procedure of EU Regulation 2024/1028: every unit offered via a platform will need a registration number. Hosts who start listing from 1 January 2027 must register the unit before their first platform listing; hosts already listing in 2026 must register by 28 February 2027 (§14). Details in a dedicated article.
What Can Be Automated
Steps 1–4 and 8 are one-off registrations tied to your identity — software cannot do those for you. The ongoing routine (steps 5–7), on the other hand, is exactly what can be automated: Best Guest builds the guest register automatically from your guest’s online check-in, calculates the accommodation tax according to your municipality’s VZN, and prepares the documents for the foreign-guest report for submission via portal.minv.sk. See the features overview and pricing.
This article is informational and does not replace legal or tax advice.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
In what order should I handle registrations when starting a rental?
First, a trade licence for accommodation services; then accommodation provider registration in the Ministry of Interior's system (for reporting foreign guests); then registration for the local accommodation tax at the municipal office; and registration as a VAT identified person before you first receive a service from a platform based in another EU country (in practice, before your first platform booking). The guest register and statistical returns follow once you are operating. From 2027, registration in the national short-term rental register is added.
How many registrations do I actually need at the start?
Typically four to five before your first guest: a trade licence, accommodation provider registration with the Ministry of Interior, accommodation-tax registration with the municipality, and VAT identified-person registration; from 2027, also entry in the short-term rental register. Ongoing obligations follow: guest reporting, the guest register, tax remittance, and the monthly statistical return.
What is the most common mistake when starting out?
Putting off accommodation provider registration with the Ministry of Interior until the first foreign guest is already in the apartment. The reporting deadline is only 5 days from check-in, and registration is not instant — an unregistered host falls behind immediately, on their very first guest.
Does this process also apply to an s. r. o., or only to sole traders?
The steps are the same; only the form changes. An s. r. o. has accommodation services in its business scope instead of a sole trader's trade licence, and handles accommodation provider registration and the electronic mailbox through a person authorised to act on the company's behalf, with their own eID and KEP.
Sources
- Slov-Lex — Act No. 404/2011 Coll. on Residence of Foreigners
- Slov-Lex — Act No. 582/2004 Coll. on Local Taxes
- Ministry of Interior SR — Accommodation provider duties under the Act on Residence of Foreigners (FAQ no. 35)
- slovensko.sk — Reporting short-term stays of foreigners
- Slov-Lex — Act No. 133/2026 Coll. on the register of short-term rental units
Verified against
Informational only
This page is provided for general information and is not legal or tax advice. Rates, deadlines and exemptions are set by law and municipal ordinances and can change — always verify current requirements with your municipality or a qualified advisor.