The notice can be found on the official website of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic. Therefore, if you wish to continue using a qualified electronic signature, you must apply for a new document at any Police Force document issuance department or at the competent Foreigners' Police department (in the case of foreign nationals); a fee of €7 applies to the application for an identity card. You can also book an appointment electronically via the ministry's reservation system.
The above applies to approximately 130,000 holders of an identity card with a chip or a residence document for a foreigner with a chip (CardOS v5.4) issued between June 21, 2021 and November 30, 2022, which contains a qualified certificate for a qualified electronic signature expiring on September 28, 2026. An alternative solution offered by the certificate issuer is the issuance or loading of a qualified certificate for a recognized authorization method—for example, via the new version of the eID client application made available by the Ministry during August 2026.
What is the difference between a qualified electronic and signature recognized method of authorization?
In its advisory, the Ministry of the Interior states that "for submissions requiring an officially certified signature in paper form, only a qualified electronic signature—which has the legal effect of a handwritten signature—may be used. The recognized authorization method introduced as a solution for older types of documents—also known as an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate—does not allow for this“.
If you do not apply for a new document by the specified date or opt to use a certificate for a recognized method of authorization, you may continue to use the "old" document for electronic communication, but only in connection with services that require logging in solely via a personal security code.
The list of electronic services (filings) that you can complete without a qualified electronic signature only with a so-called qualified certificate for a recognized method of authorization can be found in the announcement on the portal slovensko.skOpens in a new window.
Source: Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic
