Switzerland Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Swiss Business

TL;DR. Switzerland’s federal company index, Zefix, aggregates data from 26 cantonal commercial registers (Handelsregister) into a single free search portal at zefix.ch. Basic name and UID lookups are free and require no account. Certified cantonal extracts (Handelsregisterauszug) cost CHF 17 to CHF 35 (approximately USD 19 to USD 39) and can be ordered online. No Swiss identity document is required. Switzerland is one of the few European jurisdictions without a public UBO register; beneficial ownership data is held internally by companies.

What is the official Switzerland business registry?

Switzerland operates a federated commercial registry system. There is no single national registry in the way the UK has Companies House. Instead, each of the 26 cantons maintains its own Handelsregister (commercial register), and the federal government runs a central index called Zefix (Zentraler Firmenindex) that aggregates entries from all cantonal registers into one searchable portal.

Zefix is operated by the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ), part of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), under the Swiss Code of Obligations (Obligationenrecht, SR 220). The Zefix portal is at zefix.ch. The underlying cantonal registries are operated independently by each canton; for example, the Zurich cantonal registry is at hra.zh.ch.

Companies in Switzerland are legally required to register with the cantonal Handelsregister for their canton of domicile. Registration creates a publicly accessible record that includes the official company name, legal form, UID number, registered address, directors, purpose clause, and share capital. The federal UID register (uid.admin.ch), maintained by the Federal Statistical Office, provides a complementary free lookup by UID number, trade register status, and VAT registration.

The Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt, SHAB) at shab.ch publishes all official company announcements, including new registrations, amendments, and deletions. SHAB entries are free to search and are the authoritative source for recent changes.

What can you search?

Zefix (free):

• Search by company name (full or partial), UID number (CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx format), or SOGC/SHAB publication number
• Returns: company name, legal form, UID number, registered address, canton of registration, date of entry, and current status (active, deleted, in liquidation)
• Partial name search is supported; fuzzy matching returns close variants
• Company purpose clause, directors, and capital information are available via the linked cantonal register entry

Cantonal Handelsregister (free search, paid certified extract):

• Search by company name or UID
• Free search returns the same summary fields as Zefix
• Paid certified extract (Handelsregisterauszug) contains the full legal record: share capital, beneficial owner declaration, all directors and their signing authority, statutory auditor, amendments history, and current status
• Extract is legally binding and accepted by banks, courts, and counterparties in Switzerland

UID Register at uid.admin.ch (free):

• Search by UID number, company name, or address
• Returns: UID number, legal form, trade register status, VAT registration status, and registered address
• No certified extract, but useful for fast status checks and UID validation

How much does it cost?

Prices are based on the published cantonal schedule as of May 2026. CHF/USD conversion used: 1.11 (approximate; verify at point of purchase). Prices vary slightly between cantons; the figures above are based on the Zurich cantonal registry schedule, which is representative. Payment for online cantonal extracts is typically via credit card or PostFinance.

The free online search via Zefix and the UID register covers most due diligence needs for identifying a company and verifying its status. The paid certified extract is required when a counterparty, bank, or court demands documentary evidence.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No. Zefix is fully open. No account or Swiss identity document is required to search company names, view UID numbers, check status, or read the free cantonal register summary. The search is available to anyone with internet access.

Ordering a paid certified Handelsregisterauszug from a cantonal registry requires submitting a request form (usually online), but no Swiss identity document is required. Payment is by credit card or PostFinance. The extract is sent by email (PDF) or post.

The UID register at uid.admin.ch also requires no account.

Is the website in English?

Yes, partially. Zefix offers a full English interface at zefix.ch with the language toggle in the top navigation. Company names and registered purposes are shown in the original language of registration (typically German, French, or Italian depending on the canton), but the portal navigation, field labels, and status indicators are available in English.

Cantonal Handelsregister portals vary. The Zurich registry (hra.zh.ch) is primarily in German. Cantons in the French-speaking region (Geneva, Vaud, Neuchatel) operate their portals in French. The federal UID register at uid.admin.ch offers German, French, Italian, and English interfaces.

Certified Handelsregisterauszug documents are issued in the official language of the canton (German, French, or Italian). No official English translation is provided with the extract; buyers needing English documentation must arrange a certified translation separately.

What’s the turnaround time?

For free online searches via Zefix, results are instant.

For certified online extracts from cantonal registries, the PDF is typically available within a few minutes of payment during business hours. Most cantonal registries process online orders the same day.

For certified paper copies sent by post, delivery is typically 3 to 5 business days within Switzerland. International postal delivery adds further time.

For apostille-certified copies required for international use, processing time is 5 to 10 business days depending on the canton.

Is there an API?

Yes. Zefix provides a public REST API documented at the Zefix developer portal. The API allows programmatic search by company name, UID number, and cantonal registry identifier. It returns JSON responses covering the same fields as the web interface: name, UID, legal form, status, registered address, and SHAB publication links. No API key is required for standard read access. The API endpoint is at zefix.ch.

The UID register at uid.admin.ch also provides a SOAP-based web service for programmatic UID lookups. Documentation is available via the Federal Statistical Office.

For compliance platforms that need full certified extracts at scale, the Zefix and UID APIs handle initial identification and status checks. Certified Handelsregisterauszug documents still require per-record online ordering through the cantonal portals, as no bulk certified extract API exists at the federal level.

What you legally cannot do

The Zefix and cantonal Handelsregister data is public by design under Swiss law, but the following restrictions apply:

• Systematic bulk downloading of all company records for the purpose of building a competing registry database is not permitted under the terms of use of the individual cantonal registries.
• Certified Handelsregisterauszug extracts are issued for the stated purpose. Reselling certified copies without disclosure that they are copies (rather than fresh extracts) is misleading under Swiss consumer protection law.
• Using registry data for unsolicited direct marketing (cold outreach) may conflict with Switzerland’s revised Federal Act on Data Protection (revDSG, in force since September 2023), which aligns with GDPR principles. Switzerland is not an EU member, but its data protection law is broadly equivalent.
• The UID register’s open data terms permit commercial use with attribution to the Federal Statistical Office.

Compliance buyers using Zefix and cantonal registries for CDD, UBO verification, or AML screening are within the permitted use scope of the public registers.

Practical tips for foreign users

• Search by UID number where possible. The UID (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer) in CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX format is Switzerland’s stable cross-system company identifier. It is consistent across Zefix, the cantonal register, VAT records, and tax databases. Record it at the start of any due diligence file.
• Check the cantonal register directly for full detail. Zefix is the index, not the full record. After identifying the company on Zefix, follow the link to the cantonal register entry for directors, signing authority (Zeichnungsberechtigung), capital, and purpose clause. These are not shown in the Zefix summary view.
• Legal form signals disclosure obligations. An AG (Aktiengesellschaft, equivalent to a joint-stock company) and a GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung, equivalent to a limited liability company) have different capital disclosure requirements. A Kommanditgesellschaft (limited partnership) may have personally liable general partners whose names are visible in the register.
• Signing authority matters. Swiss company records show whether a director has individual signing power (Einzelunterschrift) or joint signing power (Kollektivunterschrift). This distinction is critical for verifying whether a signatory can bind the company alone.
• Switzerland introduced a beneficial ownership register in 2023. The revised Anti-Money Laundering Act requires companies to maintain a register of beneficial owners internally, but this register is not publicly accessible. UBO identification requires combining the Handelsregisterauszug with shareholder register inquiry and, where applicable, commercial credit bureau reports.
• SHAB is the change alert source. Subscribing to SHAB notifications gives real-time alerts on any registered change, dissolution, or liquidation filing.
• Switzerland is an OECD member and FATF member. Switzerland is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. It is a member of the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and has committed to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Switzerland passed its FATF Mutual Evaluation in 2016 with satisfactory ratings overall, though some follow-up actions on technical recommendations were noted. Check fatf-gafi.org for current country standing.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

Zefix is accessible to foreign users without language or account barriers for basic searches. The practical constraints are: (1) certified extracts require navigating cantonal portals that are often in German or French, and (2) the extract is issued in the cantonal language, requiring translation for many international workflows.

• Local data suppliers (see section below): Moneyhouse and Creditreform both produce packaged company reports in English that include the core registry data plus credit risk indicators.
• SHAB gazette: For monitoring ongoing changes, SHAB (shab.ch) provides free search and, for registered users, email alerts on company publication events.

Local data suppliers

If you need a packaged report rather than a raw Handelsregisterauszug extract, Switzerland has a set of established providers:

• Moneyhouse (moneyhouse.ch). A Swiss commercial register and business intelligence platform providing company contact details, key figures, management information, credit rating evaluations, payment behavior records, debt enforcement data, and shareholder information. Offers a freemium model with a paid premium tier (CHF 79 per month and above) and a public API for developer integration. Widely used by Swiss SMEs for pre-transaction counterparty checks.
• CRIF AG (crif.ch). The Swiss subsidiary of CRIF Group, a global credit and business information company with 37 country operations. Provides identification, AML compliance checks, online identity verification, credit checks, and portfolio monitoring. Serves financial institutions, e-commerce businesses, and government entities.
• Creditreform Schweiz (creditreform.ch). Described as the leading credit agency in Switzerland, with multiple regional offices. Provides creditworthiness and economic information, Know Your Customer compliance services, international credit reports, and API-based data integration via CrediCONNECT. Member network of approximately 12,000 Swiss businesses sharing payment experience data.
• Teledata (teledata.ch). Operated by CRIF AG. Provides intelligently linked company and personal data at national and international level, covering new business registrations, bankruptcy data, and business relationship networks. Targets large enterprises and government agencies requiring creditworthiness assessments and counterparty transparency.

Use the cantonal Handelsregister for the authoritative certified legal filing. Use Moneyhouse or Creditreform when you need payment behavior, debt enforcement history, or credit scoring layered on top of the registry extract. CRIF and Teledata are suited for AML compliance workflows requiring cross-referenced identity and relationship data.

FAQ

Can a foreign company search the Swiss commercial register without a local account?

Yes. Zefix (zefix.ch) is fully open and requires no account or Swiss identity document. The UID register (uid.admin.ch) is also free and open. Both are accessible from any country. Ordering a certified Handelsregisterauszug from a cantonal registry requires an online order form and credit card payment, but no Swiss identity is needed.

What is the UID number and how is it different from the company registration number?

The UID (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer) is a nine-digit identifier in CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx format assigned by the Federal Statistical Office to every legal entity in Switzerland. It is the primary cross-system identifier and appears in Zefix, tax databases, and VAT records. The company registration number is the cantonal Handelsregister entry number, which identifies the specific cantonal ledger record. For compliance purposes, the UID is the more useful identifier because it is consistent across federal and cantonal systems.

Where do I find a Swiss company’s directors and signing authority?

Director information, including whether each director has individual or joint signing power (Einzelunterschrift or Kollektivunterschrift), is in the cantonal Handelsregisterauszug. Zefix shows a summary but the full signing authority detail requires the cantonal extract. This is the most important field for verifying who can legally bind the company.

Does Switzerland have a public beneficial ownership register?

No. Switzerland introduced an internal beneficial ownership register requirement under the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act (effective 2023), but this register is held by the company and not publicly accessible. There is no equivalent to the EU’s public UBO registers. UBO identification in Switzerland requires combining the Handelsregisterauszug, shareholder register inquiry, and, for listed companies, SIX Exchange disclosure filings.

How current is the Zefix data?

Zefix reflects the cantonal Handelsregister data in near real-time. Cantonal registries are updated when companies file changes, which they are legally required to do within a specified period (typically 30 days for most changes). The SHAB official gazette is updated daily with new publications. The Handelsregisterauszug is a certified snapshot as of the date of issue; for monitoring ongoing changes, use SHAB notifications.

Is Switzerland on the FATF grey list?

No. Switzerland is a FATF member country and is not on the grey list as of May 2026. Switzerland completed its most recent FATF Mutual Evaluation in 2016 with satisfactory ratings overall, and subsequent follow-up reporting has addressed outstanding technical recommendations. For current status, check fatf-gafi.org.

What is the difference between a GmbH and an AG in Switzerland?

A GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung) is a limited liability company with members rather than shareholders. Minimum capital is CHF 20,000. GmbH members and their capital contributions are listed in the Handelsregister and are publicly visible. An AG (Aktiengesellschaft) is a joint-stock company with minimum capital of CHF 100,000. Shareholder identity for a privately held AG is not publicly filed; only directors and share capital appear in the register. UBO identification is more straightforward for a GmbH (member names are public) than for a private AG (shareholders are not).

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: Federal Office of Justice Zefix (zefix.ch), Swiss Federal Statistical Office UID Register (uid.admin.ch), Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce SHAB (shab.ch), FATF (fatf-gafi.org).