Switzerland company search: free on Zefix, debt record for CHF 17
Search free on Zefix, the federal index of all 26 cantonal commercial registers, by name or UID number. The extract shows managers, who may sign and how, and for a GmbH the partners.
For proof, a certified extract from the canton costs about CHF 50. To see whether the company pays its debts, order a debt enforcement extract for CHF 17.
Switzerland has no single company register. It has 26, one per canton, joined by a free federal index. Knowing which layer is binding, and who can sign, matters more than the search itself.
Key takeaways
- Zefix is free but has no legal effect; the canton's certified extract does.
- The record says who signs alone and who signs jointly, which decides whether a contract binds the company.
- GmbH partners are public, with their contributions. Accounts are not.
- A debt enforcement extract, about CHF 17, is the real Swiss payment check.
- The transparency register has applied since 1 October 2026 and is not public.
Zefix, the cantonal register and the SOGC
The Federal Office of Justice runs Zefix, but the data belong to the cantonal offices, which update it daily. Each layer answers a different question.
Search by name, or by the UID, the number written CHE followed by nine digits that also appears on Swiss invoices and VAT numbers. The Zug register's search page shows how a canton links in from Zefix.
Zefix to find it, the canton to prove it, the SOGC to see its past.
Who can sign for a Swiss company?
Every person on a Swiss record carries a signing power. It tells you whether the person across the table can bind the company alone. Pick the wording you see; it appears in German, French or Italian depending on the canton.
"Zu zweien" means one signature isn't enough. Ask who signs second.
What a Swiss GmbH record shows, and what it doesn't
- Name, UID, seat and address
- Purpose and share capital
- Partners and their capital contributions
- Managing directors and signatories, with signing power
- Auditor, or that the company opted out of audit
- Status: active, in liquidation or deleted
- Annual accounts of a GmbH
- Beneficial owners behind a corporate partner
- Home street addresses and dates of birth
- Owners of an AG, which issues shares instead
Accounts stay private. A creditor with a real interest can ask to see them, through a court if the company refuses. That is one reason the debt enforcement extract matters so much in Switzerland.
The GmbH partners are public; its accounts are not.
The debt enforcement extract: how to check a Swiss company pays
In Switzerland a creditor chasing a debt files with the debt enforcement office, the Betreibungsamt or office des poursuites. Every case lands on that office's register. The extract is the Swiss credit check, and landlords, banks and suppliers ask for it as a matter of course.
- Find the company's seat on Zefix
The extract comes from the office for that municipality, not from the commercial register.
Free - Show your interest
Attach something that proves a business link: an offer, an order, a contract or an invoice.
- Order online, by post or at the counterCHF 17
A clean extract is a good sign but not proof: it covers only that office's area, so a company that moved recently needs an extract from its old seat too.
Ask for a debt enforcement extract before you extend credit to a Swiss company.
Certified Swiss extracts and apostilles, by canton
Banks and authorities abroad want the certified extract, signed by the cantonal register. For use outside Switzerland, the cantonal state chancellery adds the apostille.
Zurich also sells certified articles of association for CHF 40, usually within one or two working days. Pick where it's going: your country.
About CHF 80 buys a certified, apostilled extract in Zurich.
A Swiss company's history in the SOGC
The current record shows today. The SOGC shows how the company got there: a string of managers resigning, a capital cut, a move between cantons. How far back you can read depends on the year.
- Full keyword searchEvery notice, searchable on the SOGC site.Since Sept 2018
- Archive searchNotices from 1999 to 2018, with PDFs from 2002.1999 to 2018
- Scanned gazettesFull text back to the first issue, on the E-Periodica library platform.From 1883
Three manager changes in a year is worth a question.
What the register shows about you, if you form a GmbH
Turn the search around. As a GmbH partner, your entry is public and free to read, though narrower than many founders fear.
Beneficial owners and the transparency register
Since 1 October 2026 every GmbH reports its beneficial owners to a federal transparency register. Entry is free and the register is not public: only authorities and certain regulated firms can look. Switzerland isn't bound by the 2022 EU court ruling, and chose a closed register from the start.
Your town and nationality are public in Switzerland; your street and birth date aren't.
Switzerland company search questions, answered
Is the Swiss company search free?
Is a Zefix extract legally valid?
How do I check whether a Swiss company pays its debts?
Can I see the shareholders of a Swiss GmbH?
Is the Swiss transparency register public?
Do you form Swiss companies?
Changelog
- 13 November 2026: first published, including the transparency register in force since 1 October 2026.
Planning a Swiss GmbH of your own?
CHF 6,299 in year one and CHF 3,849 a year after, with the Swiss resident director, a Zug address and the bank account set up with you.