Cadastral registration by deposit (vklad) is the decision of a Slovak district office that enters a contractual right to real property in the cadastre, and the right is created, changed or ended only by it. A signed contract binds the parties, but the buyer of a plot or a hall becomes owner only when the decision allowing the deposit is final. Under the Cadastre Act that happens on the day the decision is issued.
How cadastral registration by deposit works in Slovak law
The Cadastre Act 162/1995, in the text in force since 1 April 2025, names three ways in which a right reaches the cadastre. Section 4(1) defines the deposit as an act of the district office by which a right to real property arises, changes or ends. A record (záznam) under section 4(2) only enters a right that already exists. A note (poznámka) under section 4(3) marks a fact and has no effect on rights.
Section 28 applies the deposit to rights from contracts. Those rights are entered by deposit and arise, change or end with it, unless the act says otherwise. Section 1(1) lists the rights the cadastre holds, among them ownership, pledges, easements and pre-emption rights with effect in rem. The Civil Code repeats the rule for the main cases. Section 133(2), in the text in force since 31 July 2026, lets a buyer acquire real property under a contract only by deposit. Section 151e(2) creates a pledge over real property by entry in the cadastre.
What the district office checks before it allows a deposit
Proceedings start only on the application of a party to the contract, under section 30(2). The contract goes in two copies, with a power of attorney where someone acts for a party. Section 30(5) allows only one contract per application, and the application must cover every act in it that needs a deposit and every property concerned. Section 42(1) accepts contracts in Slovak, in Czech or in an officially certified translation, free of typing and calculation errors.
Section 42(3) requires the seller’s signature to be certified, and the same applies to an owner who grants an easement or a pre-emption right. The rule does not apply when a state body, the Slovak Land Fund, a municipality or a region is a party, or when the transfer contract is a notarial deed or is authorised by a lawyer.
Section 31(1) sets the review. The office checks the essential terms and the form, whether the seller may dispose of the property, and whether the wording is clear and definite. It also checks that the contract does not break or get round the law and is not against good morals. For a transfer contract drawn up as a notarial deed or authorised by a lawyer, section 31(2) narrows the review to the cadastral file and the procedural conditions. Errors found after filing can only be fixed by an addendum under section 42(4).
How long a deposit takes, and what the plomba tells a buyer
Section 32(1) gives the district office 30 days from delivery of the application, or 15 days for a strategic investment. A transfer contract made as a notarial deed or authorised by a lawyer is decided within 20 days under section 32(2), if it matches the cadastre. A party can also ask for an accelerated decision within 15 days under section 32(3) and pay a higher fee. If the office misses that date, the normal 30-day period applies.
The clock can stop. Section 31a interrupts the proceedings while a preliminary question is open, while the fee is unpaid or while a party fixes defects. It also does so for up to 60 days at the joint request of all parties, and under a court order not to dispose of the property.
By the working day after the contract arrives, section 44 makes the office mark a plomba on the ownership sheet. It shows that a change is pending and stays until the deposit is made or refused, or the proceedings end. Under section 41(2), rights to the same property are entered in the order the documents reached the office. The 2025 annual report of the Office of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre puts 83 percent of applications on the 30-day track, 8 percent on the 20-day track and 9 percent on the 15-day track. It also admits that staff cuts meant legal deadlines could not always be kept, so fees had to be refunded.
When title passes, and how a refusal can be challenged
Section 28(3) ties the legal effect of a deposit to the final decision that allows it. Section 31(5) makes that decision final on the day it is issued, and no appeal or reopening lies against it. The decision states the day on which the effects arose. Section 43(1)(a) has the entry made on that day, or the next working day at the latest, and section 31(6) has a copy sent to the parties within 15 days.
Two exceptions fix the date differently. When the state transfers its property, the effect arises on the day named in the application under section 28(4). When a flat or other space passes to its tenant under the act on ownership of flats, it arises on the day the application was delivered under section 28(5).
A refusal can be appealed within 15 days of delivery, to the office that decided. If that office does not grant the appeal in full, section 31(7) makes it pass the file on within 30 days. The Office of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre then decides within six months. Section 31b ends the proceedings without a decision in some cases, for example when a party withdraws from the contract before the decision or does not fix defects in time. Until a deposit is allowed the seller stays owner, which is why buyers usually keep the price in a notarial or bank escrow until then.
Fees, electronic filing and the difference from a record
Item 11 of the Administrative Fees Act 145/1995, in the text in force since 1 September 2026, charges EUR 100 for a paper application and EUR 50 for an electronic one. An accelerated decision costs EUR 300, or EUR 150 when filed electronically, and the surcharge is due on the day of filing. The fee is not refunded if the application is refused or the proceedings end. If the office misses the accelerated deadline, it returns the difference. A party that files the electronic pre-notification under section 30(3) of the Cadastre Act pays EUR 15 less. The pre-notification lapses if no application follows within 90 days.
Some rights skip the deposit. Rights that arise by law, by an authority’s decision, at a public auction or by adverse possession, rights certified by a notary and rights under lease contracts are entered by record under section 34(1). Section 43(1)(b) gives the office 60 days for a record, or 30 days under section 43(3) when the electronic form is used.
In 2025 district offices received 319,135 deposit applications, 84,020 of them electronic, and closed 314,461 with final effect. Purchase contracts made up 44 percent of the applications, pledge contracts 32 percent, gifts 12 percent and easements 3 percent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the buyer the owner once the contract is signed?
No. The contract binds the parties, but ownership of real property passes only with the deposit under section 133(2) of the Civil Code. Until the decision allowing it is final, the seller remains on the ownership sheet, and the plomba is the only public sign of the pending sale.
Can the deposit be sped up?
Yes. A notarial or lawyer-authorised transfer contract is decided within 20 days, and the accelerated track gives 15 days for EUR 300 on paper or EUR 150 electronically. A strategic investment gets 15 days by law.
Is a long land lease entered by deposit?
No. Section 1(1) brings leases of land agreed for at least five years into the cadastre, but section 34(1) enters rights under lease contracts by record. Under section 4(2) a record has no effect on whether the right exists.
Does a deposit move the duties tied to a building?
Not all of them. A deposit moves title to the property, not the duties tied to how it is used. Our blog post on Slovak major-accident rules for halls shows why the operator, not the owner, carries those duties. Leases, permits and operating duties each follow their own rules, so a buyer should check them next to the ownership sheet.
Buying a plot or a let hall in Slovakia? Send us the draft contract and we will check the deposit route and its timing with you before you sign.