Slovakia document authentication law implementation

On September 1, 2026, Slovakia implemented Law No. 78/2026 Z. z., which updated regulations for document and signature authentication, replacing legislation used since 2001.

The new law restricts municipal and district offices from certifying copies of documents that contain security features—such as watermarks, holograms, relief seals, or optical variable elements—if the copying process would obscure these features. This includes items like diplomas, identity cards, driver’s licenses, and health insurance cards. For these documents, citizens may need to utilize notary services or request duplicates from the issuing institutions. Furthermore, officials are prohibited from certifying signatures on incomplete forms or blank documents.

In conjunction with these changes, concerns have been raised regarding personal data protection. Because documents like driver’s licenses contain extensive personal information, authorities advise citizens to practice data minimization and exercise caution when providing digital copies to third parties to ensure compliance with Slovak privacy laws.