This paper describes the prediction of stiffness of bolted cover plate connections with slots perpendicular to the acting force. The wok is based on three sets of tests: experiments on connections with more bolt rows and different bolt forming technology prepared at the CRIF laboratory in Liege, experiments with long slots finished at the laboratory of Technical University Nottingham, and experiments with components completed at the Czech Technical University in Prague. The work shows the application of the component method to the prediction of stiffness of the cover plate connections. The component bolt/plate in bearing is evaluated. A special attention is paid to the modelling of the bolt force distribution for different bolt tolerances.