Resume rules in Slovakia
What employers in Slovakia expect on a Životopis / CV, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Slovakia, a resume for Slovakia, or Životopis: it's the same document.
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; standard practice to include formal professional photograph on Slovak CV
What the law says: No legal requirement. Law No. 18/2018 Z.z. on protection of personal data (implementing GDPR) restricts collection of photos; employer must have lawful basis.
Date of birth: Common
Common to include date of birth in personal information section; traditional practice but increasingly questioned due to anti-bias trends
What the law says: No legal prohibition on applicant providing DOB. Anti-Discrimination Law (No. 365/2004) protects against age discrimination; employer may not discriminate based on age.
Marital status: Not found
Traditional practice to include; increasingly optional as discrimination concerns grow
What the law says: No legal prohibition. Anti-Discrimination Law (365/2004) protects against discrimination based on family status; employer may not discriminate.
Sex or gender: Optional
Optional; not standard to include on CV
What the law says: Law No. 365/2004 and labour law prohibit sex/gender discrimination in employment. Employer must establish equal opportunities.
Nationality: Not found
May be included; relevant for work permit and visa context
What the law says: No legal prohibition. Anti-Discrimination Law (365/2004) protects against discrimination based on ethnic/national origin.
National ID number: Avoid
Avoid on initial CV; identification requested separately if offer made
What the law says: Law No. 18/2018 Z.z. (GDPR implementation) restricts collection of identification numbers; employer must have lawful basis.
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Životopis / CV
- Language to submit in
- Slovak; English acceptable for international companies
- Typical length
- 1-2 pages typical; Europass format widely recognized
- Address detail expected
- City/region typical; full address not standard
- Signature and date
- No evidence of requirement for handwritten signature or date on CV
- Officially prescribed form
- Europass CV template (EU standard) widely recognized and used in Slovakia for EU-wide mobility
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- Law No. 365/2004 explicitly prohibits discrimination based on religious belief, race, racial/ethnic origin, national or ethnic origin. Employers may not request or act on these.
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- Law No. 365/2004 prohibits discrimination based on disability. Employers may not request health information at application stage unless directly job-relevant and with justification.
- Other customary attachments
- No prescribed attachments; references may be requested post-offer
- Employer may not ask for
- Under Law No. 365/2004: employers may not request or discriminate based on gender, religious belief/faith, race, racial origin, national or ethnic origin, health disability, age, or sexual orientation. Law No. 18/2018 (GDPR) restricts collection of sensitive personal data.
- Named statutes
- Zákon č. 365/2004 Z.z. o rovnakom zaobchádzaní v niektorých oblastiach a o ochrane pred diskrimináciou (Law on Equal Treatment in Certain Areas and Protection Against Discrimination), effective 2004; Zákon č. 18/2018 Z.z. o ochrane osobných údajov (Law on Personal Data Protection, implementing GDPR), effective May 25, 2018
- Data protection regime
- Law No. 18/2018 Z.z. on protection of personal data (implementing GDPR EU 2016/679) + national DPA (Slovak data protection authority)
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Law No. 365/2004 on equal treatment and protection against discrimination (primary anti-discrimination framework)
- Local language source
- Slovak
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: LAW vs PRACTICE: Slovak Law No. 365/2004 comprehensively prohibits discrimination on multiple grounds including age, but does not prescribe CV format or mandatory content. Law No. 18/2018 implements GDPR and restricts data collection. PRACTICE shows traditional inclusion of photo, DOB in Slovak CVs; however, recent trends move toward omitting DOB and marital status to reduce age discrimination risk and align with GDPR principles. Europass format widely used and recognized for EU-wide job mobility. Slovakia as EU member state implements strict anti-discrimination and GDPR frameworks, though CVs continue to follow older Central European conventions in domestic hiring.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this