Resume rules in Croatia
What employers in Croatia expect on a Životopis (životopis), what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Croatia, a resume for Croatia, or Životopis: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in Croatian, English increasingly common.
This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.
Law and practice, side by side
The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.
Photo: Common
Common; frequently included
What the law says: No legal requirement; GDPR Article 88 governs employment data
Date of birth: Common
Common; often included
What the law says: No legal requirement; GDPR Article 9 restricts processing of age data
Marital status: Not found
Sometimes included, generally optional
What the law says: No legal requirement under EU law
Sex or gender: Not found
Often included in practice
What the law says: Not required; Directive 2006/54/EC prohibits sex discrimination
Nationality: Not found
Sometimes included for work authorization purposes
What the law says: Not required; Directive 2000/43/EC prohibits ethnic discrimination
National ID number: Not found
Rare
What the law says: Not required on CV
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Životopis (životopis)
- Language to submit in
- Croatian, English increasingly common
- Typical length
- 1-2 pages
- Address detail expected
- City or full address commonly expected
- Signature and date
- Sometimes included
- Officially prescribed form
- Europass format standard; no official Croatian format
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- Prohibited under Directive 2000/43/EC; not to be requested
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- Not required; Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits disability discrimination; GDPR Article 9 restricts health data
- Other customary attachments
- References expected; diplomas often requested after selection
- Employer may not ask for
- Ethnic origin, religion, age (directly), disability, sexual orientation, health status, family status, political beliefs
- Named statutes
- GDPR (EU 2016/679); Council Directive 2000/78/EC; Council Directive 2006/54/EC; Council Directive 2000/43/EC; Croatian Personal Data Protection Act; Croatian Labor Law
- Data protection regime
- GDPR (EU 2016/679) + Croatian Data Protection Authority (Pučko pravobraniteljstvo)
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Council Directive 2000/78/EC; Council Directive 2006/54/EC; Council Directive 2000/43/EC; Croatian Law on Suppression of Discrimination (2008)
- Local language source
- Croatian
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Corrected.
Notes: Croatia joined EU in 2013; all EU directives fully apply. Modern CV practices align well with EU standards. Some employers may still request information (like photo) that is not legally required.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this