Swiss commercial register: search, register, costs

What do you want to do?

• Look up a company: free on Zefix, by name or UID. From the result you go straight to the canton's online extract, which is free but has no legal force.
• Check whether a name is free: search Zefix first (free). For an official list of similar names already registered, use Regix (German, French, Italian), the service of the Federal Commercial Registry Office.
• Register your sole proprietorship: online with EasyGov (the service is free, you only pay the register fees) or directly at the commercial register office of your canton.
• Get a certified extract: from the commercial register office of the canton where the business has its seat, at the counter, by post or by email. It costs CHF 10 to 120, depending on the office's tariff.
• Find your canton's office: all addresses are on Zefix → Commercial register offices.

Who must register?

• Sole proprietorship: registration is mandatory if your revenue in the last financial year was at least CHF 100,000 (Art. 931 para. 1 CO). Revenue counts, not profit. Liberal professions and farmers are exempt as long as they don't run a business in a commercial manner. Below the threshold, registration is voluntary.
• GmbH (Sàrl), AG (SA) and cooperatives: always. They only exist legally once they are entered in the register.
• General and limited partnerships: the partners must have the partnership registered.
• Branches of Swiss or foreign companies: registered in the canton where the branch is.

If you don't register: the office asks you to do so and sets a deadline. If you don't respond, it registers you ex officio (Art. 938 CO). Ignoring a request that warns of the penalty can lead to a disciplinary fine of up to CHF 5,000 (Art. 940 CO).

Is registering worth it below CHF 100,000?

Often yes, if you work for companies or public bodies:

• Protected name: no other sole proprietorship may use the same name in the same locality (Art. 946 CO). Companies are protected throughout Switzerland (Art. 951 CO).
• Register extract: some banks, commercial landlords and larger clients ask for one.
• Credibility: your business is visible and verifiable on Zefix.

The name of a sole proprietorship must contain your surname (Art. 945 CO), for example "Smith Design" or "J. Smith Consulting".

What registration costs

Commercial register fees are set by the federal government in the Commercial Register Fees Ordinance (GebV-HReg, in German), and they are the same in every canton. What differs: extra costs (certifications, extracts) and the notary.

For a GmbH or AG, add the notary's fee, which depends on the canton and the notary: ask for a quote before you book. The register charges no annual fees; you only pay when you register a change.

Watch out for fake invoices: after publication in the SOGC, many businesses receive official-looking invoices from private "registers". Real fees are only invoiced by the commercial register office of your canton (or paid on EasyGov).

How to register, step by step

Sole proprietorship

1. Choose a name that contains your surname and check on Zefix that no identical business exists in your locality.
2. Sort out your address: you need an address in Switzerland where you receive mail (not a PO box). If you use someone else's address (c/o), attach their written consent.
3. Fill in the application, online on EasyGov or with the cantonal office's form. Attach a copy of the ID or residence permit of you and of every person with signing authority.
4. Sign: at the office counter or with a certified signature (notary or commercial register office, CHF 10–30).
5. Publication: the cantonal office checks the application, the Federal Commercial Registry Office approves it, and the entry appears in the SOGC and on Zefix. Fribourg, for example, states about 5 working days.

GmbH or AG

1. Check the name (it must state the legal form, e.g. "GmbH" or "AG") and prepare the articles of association.
2. Open a capital deposit account at a Swiss bank and pay in the capital: the full CHF 20,000 for a GmbH; for an AG at least 20% of each share and at least CHF 50,000 in total. The bank issues a confirmation.
3. Public deed at the notary: you sign the deed of incorporation and the articles and appoint the officers.
4. Filing with the register: usually the notary files it. After registration, the bank releases the capital.
5. Someone resident in Switzerland: a GmbH or AG must be able to be represented by at least one person resident in Switzerland (Art. 814 para. 3 and Art. 718 para. 4 CO).

Details: Starting a sole proprietorship and Starting a GmbH.

Bulk data: for software or analysis there's opendata.swiss and the Zefix REST API.