Becoming a tourist guide in Republika Srpska: exam, certificate, local guide

This article explains how to become a tourist guide in Republika Srpska, which exam levels exist and what the new Law on Tourism changed. It concerns anyone who wants to guide visitors in East Herzegovina, and guesthouses, agrotourism hosts and agencies that hire guides.

In short

• The guide title is gained by passing a professional exam. Conditions: citizenship of RS/BiH (or a foreigner with registered temporary residence in BiH), at least four-year secondary education and active knowledge of at least one foreign language.
• The new Zakon o turizmu (Law on Tourism, Službeni glasnik RS no. 49/26, published 2 June 2026, in force on the eighth day after publication, i.e. 10 June 2026) provides three exam levels: Republic-wide, tourist area (region), and municipality or city (local guide).
• The regional or local exam can only be taken after the Republic-level exam.
• Whoever hires a guide must hire a local guide for the area where the service is needed. Exception: if the municipality or city has no one certified for its own area, a guide with the Republic-level certificate may be hired (Article 47, paragraph 6).
• The Republic-level exam costs one quarter of the lowest net monthly wage in RS for the previous year, paid into the Republic budget.

Who it applies to

• People who want to professionally show visitors natural, cultural-historical, ethnographic and other sights under a set programme.
• Not required for specialised guides: mountain, caving, hunting and fishing guides, guides inside museums and galleries, in national parks and protected areas, and leaders of excursions and school trips (Article 42).
• A tourist companion (turistički pratilac) is a separate title for the operational and technical running of a group, with its own exam costing one eighth of the same wage. Anyone who passed the Republic-level guide exam before the law came into force may also work as a companion without a new exam (Article 113, paragraph 2). The minister may grant an honorary guide status, but only for occasional guiding.
• Tourism businesses have six months from entry into force to comply with the law (Article 113, paragraph 1).

What to do

1. Check the conditions: citizenship, four-year secondary school, active foreign language.
2. Watch for the public call of the Ministarstvo trgovine i turizma (Ministry of Trade and Tourism) at vladars.rs. The Ministry issues the call from time to time, not on a fixed date each year: the official calls were published on 19 July 2022 (application deadline 31 August 2022) and on 16 April 2024. We found no call for 2026. Under the 2024 call the application period was 30 days from publication in the daily "Glas Srpske". We could not confirm that a call under the new law has been issued, so check vladars.rs or call the Ministry on 051/338-738.
3. Send a written application (name, father's name, surname, phone, place and date of birth, address, qualification) with proof of foreign language knowledge and proof of fee payment. Under the 2024 call it goes by post or in person to Vlada Republike Srpske, Ministarstvo trgovine i turizma, Trg Republike Srpske 1, 78000 Banja Luka, marked "NE OTVARAJ". Incomplete or late applications are not considered. Check exact documents and amounts in the call currently open.
4. Pass the professional exam before a commission appointed by the minister. Under the 2024 call it is written and oral, and the subject Vodička služba (guide service) also has a practical part, a guided tour demonstrated to the commission. Subjects include constitutional order, history, tourism legislation, tourism basics, consumer protection, guide service, tourist geography and cultural-historical and natural heritage.
5. You receive a certificate of the passed exam and a guide ID with a badge; the Ministry keeps the register. While working you must carry the ID and wear the badge visibly (Article 49, paragraph 2).
6. To work independently, register as an entrepreneur at your municipality with the certificate for the Republic area or for the tourist area (Article 47, paragraph 3). To work through an agency you need a service contract. While working you must carry the registration decision (if an entrepreneur) or that contract (Article 49, paragraph 3). No business premises are required (Article 47, paragraph 2).

Local guide (Trebinje and surroundings)

If you already hold the Republic-level certificate, the law allows an exam for a municipality or city. The commission is appointed by the local tourist organisation (or an inter-municipal one), under a separate programme approved by the minister, and that organisation issues the certificate. Such a guide may guide only in that area. Article 47, paragraph 3 does not list the municipal certificate among the documents for entrepreneur registration, so ask the municipality or the Ministry about this. We found no published call for a local exam in Trebinje, so ask the Turistička organizacija Grada Trebinja (Tourist Organisation of the City of Trebinje) directly.

Deadlines and amounts

• Under the 2024 call (old law): application fee 2 KM and certificate fee 80 KM. Check the amounts under the new law in the next call or with the Ministry.
• The new law (Article 44, paragraph 6) sets the Republic-level exam cost at one quarter of the lowest net wage in RS for the previous year. Confirm the exact KM amount in the current call or with the Ministry.
• The minister must adopt the rulebooks on the exam programme, the register and certificate, and the guide ID and badge within nine months of entry into force, i.e. by about 10 March 2027 (Article 116). Until then, rulebooks adopted under the earlier Law on Tourism (nos. 45/17 and 16/23) apply where they do not conflict with the new law (Article 117).

Where to go

• Ministarstvo trgovine i turizma Republike Srpske (Ministry of Trade and Tourism), Banja Luka. Under the 2024 call, exam information is available on working days 8 to 15 hours, tel. 051/338-738: vladars.rs
• For the local exam and the list of guides in Trebinje: Turistička organizacija Grada Trebinja, tel. 059/273-410, gotrebinje@gotrebinje.com

Laws and sources

• Zakon o turizmu (Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske no. 49/26), Articles 42 to 49 and 113 to 119
• Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske no. 49/26
• Public call for the tourist guide professional exam 2022, published 19 July 2022
• Public call for the tourist guide professional exam 2024, no. 14-01-325-85/24