The Companies Act stipulates that the word “Hrvatska” (eng. Croatia) and its derivatives, including their imitation, can be included in the name of a company subject to approval by the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, and that the company name must be indicated in the Croatian language and Latin script or an official language of the EU and Latin script (Article 15(1) and Article 20(1), Companies Act).
The application must be submitted by the person authorised to represent the company, the founder of the company or an attorney-in-fact.
The application should contain a freely formulated brief explanation for using the word “Hrvatska” or its derivatives, or translation in the name of the company (recognisability, emphasis on primary area of activity, distinction from affiliated companies in legal transactions, etc.), and an explanation of the company name if it is in a foreign language.
The application must be accompanied by
all the documents required by law for the registration of a company or changes to a company in the companies' register (Court Register) - founding acts and their amendments - as originals, certified copies, transcripts or in other legally prescribed form. The procedure is initiated upon receipt of a proper application, i.e. when the party submits all the above evidence in support of the application.
If the application is submitted by an attorney-in-fact, and if the power of attorney is written in a foreign language, it must also be accompanied by a Croatian translation certified by a sworn court interpreter. This also applies to all public and private documents enclosed with the application. Documents subject to legalisation must be enclosed in legalised form. For more details on the legalisation procedure and the list of countries exempt from legalisation, see
here.
A party may submit the application directly to the
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, in writing or by stating it for the record, or can send the application by post or e-mail. If sent electronically, the application must be signed by a
qualified electronic signature in accordance with the relevant special law.
If the application is submitted:
- directly (in person), it is recommended to submit it in the premises of the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation at Maksimirska 63, Zagreb;
- by post, it is recommended to send it to the following address: Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije, Maksimirska 63, 10 000 Zagreb.
A decision on approval is issued in an administrative procedure, at the discretion of the Ministry, whereby the application is granted if the company name or parts thereof and the activities of the company do not undermine the reputation and dignity of the Republic of Croatia. No appeal is admissible against the decision, but one may initiate an administrative dispute.
The application and the resulting decision are not subject to administrative fee payment.
The above instructions also apply accordingly to applications for the use of the word “Hrvatska" or its derivatives in the name of a SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP (
OBRT), a COOPERATIVE (
ZADRUGA) or a FAMILY FARM (
OPG), in accordance with the provisions of special laws governing those types of businesses. For more details on the use of the word “Hrvatska" or its derivatives in the names of institutions and bilingual names of institutions, see
here.
For any inquiries, please contact us at:
politickisustav.uprava@mpudt.hr.
