Table of Contents
- Data Sources
- Company Identifiers
- Search Capabilities
- Quirks & Gotchas
- Mappings
- Data Availability
- Example API Responses
Data Sources
Switzerland uses two official federal-level sources. For a given entity, all company data comes from a single primary source (Zefix), with legal representative data extracted separately from SOGC publications.All company types
- Zefix (Zentraler Firmenindex): The Central Business Name Index, operated by the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) since 2004. Zefix aggregates data from all 26 cantonal commercial registers into a single searchable index via a REST API. This is the primary source for all company data: legal name, status, legal form, registered address, share capital, activity description (purpose), and identifiers. Zefix data is sourced from the cantonal commercial registers, which are the authoritative registers of record.
- SOGC/SHAB (Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce): The Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt / Feuille officielle suisse du commerce, published electronically since 2002 and managed by SECO. All commercial register mutations are published in the SOGC as structured text. Used for two purposes: (1) as the source for legal representative extraction via AI parsing of publication texts (Zefix does not provide structured legal representative data); (2) as the source for the Certificate of Incorporation document (the SOGC publication announcing the initial registration).
Cantonal Commercial Registers (for documents)
Switzerland has 26 cantonal commercial registers (Handelsregisterämter), each maintaining the register of companies domiciled in that canton. While Zefix serves as the central index for company data, the cantonal registers issue the Trade Register Extract documents. There are two technical implementations:- chregister.ch: A web application used by 22 cantons (AG, AI, AR, BE, BL, BS, GL, GR, JU, LU, NW, OW, SG, SH, SO, SZ, TG, TI, UR, VS, ZG, ZH). Trade register extract PDFs are retrieved automatically.
- HRC Modern: An Angular application with a REST API used by 4 cantons (Fribourg, Geneva, Neuchatel, Vaud). Trade register extract PDFs are downloaded directly via HTTP.
The cantonal commercial registers are the authoritative source of record. Zefix aggregates their data into a searchable central index but does not itself issue official documents. Trade register extracts are issued by the relevant cantonal register.
Company Identifiers
Query Identifiers
| Company Type | Source | Format | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All registered entities | Zefix | CHE + 9 digits (UID) | CHE408600128 | For company profile, use without separators |
Identifiers in API Response
Once you retrieve company data, theidentifiers object contains all available identifiers for that entity:
| Identifier Type | Format | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
uid | CHE + 9 digits | CHE-408.600.128 | UID (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer), always present |
ehraid | Numeric | 12345678 | EHRA ID (Federal Commercial Registry Office internal ID), when available |
chid | CH + digits | CH12345678901 | CH-ID (legacy 13-digit identifier, no longer used publicly), when available |
Search Capabilities
| Search Type | Pattern | Example | Match Type | Expected Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| By UID (with separators) | CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX | CHE-408.600.128 | Exact | Single company (1 result) |
| By UID (without separators) | CHEXXXXXXXXX | CHE408600128 | Exact | Single company (1 result) |
| By Name | Text string (min 3 chars) | "Nestlé" | Fuzzy | Multiple results |
Search uses live Zefix API lookups. Both identifier and name searches query the Zefix REST API in real-time. Name searches require a minimum of 3 characters and a maximum of 100 characters.
Quirks & Gotchas
| Quirk | Details |
|---|---|
| UID format matters for profile | For companyProfile, only CHE123456789 (no separators) is accepted. For search, both CHE-123.456.789 and CHE123456789 work. |
| Multi-language company names | Swiss companies can be registered in German, French, Italian, or Romansh. The legalForm.localName reflects the registration language. Translated names appear in commercialNames. |
| All activity codes are AI-inferred | Zefix provides only a free-text activity description (Zweck / But / Scopo), not structured codes. Both NACE and ISIC are always AI-inferred. isAIInferred is always true. |
| Legal representatives are AI-parsed | Extracted from SOGC publication texts using AI. Companies without SOGC publications will have no legal representative data. Role classification as legal representative vs. other key person is AI-determined. |
| No shareholder data | Swiss commercial register does not publish structured shareholder data publicly. |
| No UBO data | Ultimate beneficial owner data is not publicly accessible in Switzerland. |
| 26 cantonal registers, 2 technical platforms | 22 cantons use chregister.ch; 4 cantons (FR, GE, NE, VD) use HRC Modern. Trade register extracts are always issued by the relevant canton. |
| Deletion date = closure | When a company has a deletionDate in Zefix, it is mapped to Closed status. The deletion date is used as the closure date. |
| eCH-0097 legal form standard | Swiss legal forms use the eCH-0097 national data standard. All 35 codes are deterministically mapped to ISO 20275 ELF codes (no AI inference for legal forms). |
| Capital in CHF | Most Swiss companies report capital in CHF (Swiss Francs), though some may use EUR or other currencies. The capital.currency field reflects the actual currency. |
| SOGC multilingual publications | SOGC publications may be in German, French, Italian, or mixed languages. The AI parser handles all three official languages. |
| Status “BEING_CANCELLED” | Zefix has a third status value for companies in the process of being dissolved (in Liquidation). This is mapped to active status with appropriate details. |
Mappings
Company Status
Company status is determined deterministically from Zefix data. No AI inference is involved.| Zefix Status | English | Standardized Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
ACTIVE | Active | Active | Company is currently active |
BEING_CANCELLED | Being cancelled / In liquidation | Active | Company is in the process of dissolution; still legally active |
CANCELLED | Cancelled / Deleted | Closed | Company has been deleted from the register |
When a company has status
CANCELLED and a deletionDate is present, the deletion date is used as the closureDate in the statusDetails response. The BEING_CANCELLED status corresponds to companies undergoing liquidation proceedings.Legal Forms
Switzerland uses the eCH-0097 data standard (Datenstandard Unternehmensidentifikation) for legal form classification. The system maps all 35 eCH-0097 codes deterministically to ISO 20275 (ELF) codes and standardized forms. No AI inference is involved for legal forms.Multilingual legal form names: Swiss legal form names from Zefix come in the registration language of the company (German, French, Italian, or English). The
legalForm.localName reflects this. The eCH-0097 code is used for deterministic mapping regardless of language.Private Law Forms (registered in commercial register)
Private Law Forms (registered in commercial register)
| eCH-0097 | German | French | English | ISO 20275 | Standardized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0101 | Einzelunternehmen | Entreprise individuelle | Sole proprietorship | AZA0 | Sole Proprietorship |
| 0103 | Kollektivgesellschaft | Societe en nom collectif | General partnership | MRSY | Partnership |
| 0104 | Kommanditgesellschaft | Societe en commandite | Limited partnership | CQMY | Partnership |
| 0105 | Kommanditaktiengesellschaft | Societe en commandite par actions | Partnership limited by shares | W6A7 | Partnership |
| 0106 | Aktiengesellschaft | Societe anonyme | Company limited by shares | MVII | Corporation |
| 0107 | Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung | Societe a responsabilite limitee | Limited liability company | 3EKS | Limited Liability Company |
| 0108 | Genossenschaft | Cooperative | Cooperative | QSI2 | Cooperative |
| 0109 | Verein | Association | Association | H781 | Nonprofit Organization |
| 0110 | Stiftung | Fondation | Foundation | 2JZ4 | Nonprofit Organization |
| 0111 | Auslandische Niederlassung im HR eingetragen | Succursale etrangere inscrite au RC | Foreign branch registered in commercial register | JB25 | Branch or Representative Office |
| 0113 | Besondere Rechtsform | Forme juridique particuliere | Special legal form | 5BEZ | Other |
| 0114 | Kommanditgesellschaft fur kollektive Kapitalanlagen | Societe en commandite de placements collectifs | Limited partnership for collective investments | TL87 | Partnership |
| 0115 | Investmentgesellschaft mit variablem Kapital (SICAV) | Societe d’investissement a capital variable (SICAV) | Investment company with variable capital | XJOT | Corporation |
| 0116 | Investmentgesellschaft mit festem Kapital (SICAF) | Societe d’investissement a capital fixe (SICAF) | Investment company with fixed capital | 54WI | Corporation |
| 0117 | Institut des offentlichen Rechts | Institut de droit public | Public sector institution | 7MNN | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0118 | Nichtkaufmannische Prokuren | Procurations non-commerciales | Non-commercial power of attorney | KJ9Q | Other |
| 0119 | Haupt von Gemeinderschaften | Responsable d’indivision | Representative of ownership in undivided shares | OBFU | Other |
| 0151 | Schweizerische Zweigniederlassung im HR eingetragen | Succursale suisse inscrite au RC | Swiss branch registered in commercial register | UNA9 | Branch or Representative Office |
Public Law Forms (not in commercial register)
Public Law Forms (not in commercial register)
| eCH-0097 | German | French | English | ISO 20275 | Standardized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0220 | Verwaltung des Bundes | Administration de la Confederation | Federal administration | 2XJA | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0221 | Verwaltung des Kantons | Administration du canton | Cantonal administration | FFTN | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0222 | Verwaltung des Bezirks | Administration du district | District administration | YRGM | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0223 | Verwaltung der Gemeinde | Administration de la commune | Local administration | GP8M | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0224 | Offentlich-rechtliche Korperschaft (Verwaltung) | Corporation de droit public (administration) | Public corporation (administration) | E0NE | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0230 | Unternehmen des Bundes | Entreprise de la Confederation | Federal public company | BF9N | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0231 | Unternehmen des Kantons | Entreprise du canton | Cantonal public company | HX77 | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0232 | Offentliches Unternehmen des Bezirks | Entreprise du district | District public company | VPRH | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0233 | Unternehmen der Gemeinde | Entreprise de la commune | Local public company | L5DU | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0234 | Offentlich-rechtliche Korperschaft (Unternehmen) | Corporation de droit public (entreprise) | Corporate public company | M848 | Government-Owned Entity |
Other Forms (not in commercial register)
Other Forms (not in commercial register)
| eCH-0097 | German | French | English | ISO 20275 | Standardized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0302 | Einfache Gesellschaft | Societe simple | Simple partnership | 2B81 | Partnership |
| 0312 | Auslandische Niederlassung nicht im HR eingetragen | Filiale etrangere non inscrite au RC | Foreign branch not registered in commercial register | 1BL5 | Branch or Representative Office |
| 0327 | Auslandisches offentliches Unternehmen | Entreprise publique etrangere | Foreign public company | 2WFG | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0328 | Auslandische offentliche Verwaltung | Administration publique etrangere | Foreign public administration | 1RKS | Government-Owned Entity |
| 0329 | Internationale Organisation | Organisation internationale | International organisation | DP2E | Other |
| 0355 | Andere Genossenschaften | Autres societes cooperatives | Other cooperatives | QSI2 | Cooperative |
| 0361 | Trust | Trust | Trust | FJG4 | Trust |
| 0362 | Fonds | Fonds | Fund | FLNB | Other |
Foreign Enterprises & Unknown
Foreign Enterprises & Unknown
| eCH-0097 | German | French | English | ISO 20275 | Standardized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0441 | Auslandische Unternehmen | Entreprise etrangere | Foreign enterprise | R9TC | Other |
| 0571 | Rechtsform nicht bestimmt oder unbekannt | Forme juridique non determinee ou inconnue | Legal form not determined or unknown | - | Other |
Legal Representatives
Legal representatives are extracted from SOGC publications (Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce). Zefix does not provide structured legal representative data; extraction relies on AI parsing of SOGC publication texts, which may be in German, French, Italian, or mixed languages.Executive & Management Roles
Executive & Management Roles
| Local Role (German) | Local Role (French) | Local Role (Italian) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geschaftsfuhrer | Gerant | Gerente | Managing Director |
| Direktor | Directeur | Direttore | Director |
Board of Directors Roles
Board of Directors Roles
| Local Role (German) | Local Role (French) | Local Role (Italian) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prasident des Verwaltungsrates | President du conseil d’administration | Presidente del Consiglio d’amministrazione | Chairman of the Board |
| Vizeprasident des Verwaltungsrates | Vice-president du conseil d’administration | Vicepresidente del Consiglio d’amministrazione | Vice Chairman of the Board |
| Mitglied des Verwaltungsrates | Membre du conseil d’administration | Membro del Consiglio d’amministrazione | Board Member |
Authorized Signatories
Authorized Signatories
Special Roles
Special Roles
| Local Role (German) | Local Role (French) | Local Role (Italian) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquidator | Liquidateur | Liquidatore | Liquidator |
| Gesellschafter | Associe | Socio | Partner |
The classification of each role as legal representative or other key person is AI-determined based on the company’s legal form context. For example, a “Verwaltungsrat” (Board Member) is typically a legal representative for an AG (corporation), while a “Prokurist” (Authorized Signatory) may or may not be depending on the context. Both individuals and corporate entities can hold roles.
Representation Mode
Legal representatives extracted from SOGC publications include arepresentationMode field indicating signing authority:
{ mode: "sole" }: Can sign alone (“mit Einzelzeichnung” / “avec signature individuelle” / “con firma individuale”){ mode: "joint", minimumSignatories: 2 }: Must sign jointly with one other (“mit Kollektivzeichnung zu zweien” / “avec signature collective à deux” / “con firma collettiva a due”){ mode: "joint", minimumSignatories: N }: Must sign jointly with a specified number of othersnull: No signing authority explicitly stated in the SOGC publication
Other Key Persons
SOGC publications may also contain references to:| Role Type | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Auditors | Revisionsstelle / Organe de revision / Ufficio di revisione | Statutory auditor companies; referenced in Zefix via auditCompanies |
| Former officers | Persons marked as “ausgeschieden” / “demissionnaire” / “dimesso” | Resigned or removed; extracted with endDate but excluded from current representatives |
Shareholders
Shareholder data is not currently available for Swiss companies. The Swiss commercial register (Zefix) and SOGC publications do not provide structured shareholder or ownership data in a programmatically accessible format.| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Availability | Not available |
| Reason | Swiss commercial register does not publish structured shareholder data publicly |
| Workaround | Shareholder information may appear in SOGC publication texts for some legal forms (e.g., GmbH partner lists), but is not systematically extracted |
Activity Code Mapping
Switzerland does not use a national activity code classification in the Zefix registry. Activity codes are AI-inferred from the company’spurpose (Zweck / But / Scopo) field, which is a free-text description of the company’s business activities.
| Classification | Source | Example | AI Inferred? |
|---|---|---|---|
| NACE | Derived from activity description via AI | 62.01 | Yes (always) |
| ISIC | Derived from activity description via AI | 6201 | Yes (always) |
Both NACE and ISIC codes are always AI-inferred for Swiss companies because the Zefix registry provides only a free-text activity description, not structured activity codes. The
isAIInferred flag is always true for Swiss activity codes.Data Availability
Data Availability Matrix
| Data Type | All Companies (Zefix) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Company Profile | ✅ Async | Full data from Zefix API (name, status, legal form, address, capital, purpose) |
| Legal Representatives | ⚠️ AI-parsed | From SOGC publications; depends on publication availability |
| Shareholders | ❌ | Not available from Swiss registries |
| Ultimate Beneficial Owners | ❌ | Not publicly accessible in Switzerland |
| Establishments | ❌ | Not available via Zefix API |
| Activity Codes | ⚠️ AI-inferred | Derived from free-text activity description via AI |
| Documents | ✅ | Trade register extract (all 26 cantons) + Certificate of Incorporation (when SOGC exists) |
Documents by Company Type
| Document Type | API Category | Format | SKU | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Register Extract | tradeRegisterExtract | CHE_TRADE_REGISTER_EXTRACT | ✅ All registered companies | Official internet extract from the cantonal commercial register. Available for all 26 cantons. | |
| Certificate of Incorporation | certificateOfIncorporation | CHE_CERTIFICATE_OF_INCORPORATION | ⚠️ When SOGC exists | SOGC publication announcing the initial registration (status.neu mutation). Only available when such a publication exists. |
Canton-specific document retrieval: Trade register extracts are fetched from the relevant canton’s register. 22 cantons use the chregister.ch platform (~10s delivery), while 4 cantons (FR, GE, NE, VD) use the HRC Modern platform (~1s delivery). The system automatically routes to the correct platform based on the company’s cantonal registration.
Example API Responses
All examples use placeholder data. Query:POST /company with { "id": "<id>", "countryCode": "CH", "dataPoints": ["companyProfile"] }
Active AG (Aktiengesellschaft), Source: Zefix
Active AG (Aktiengesellschaft), Source: Zefix
Active GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung), Source: Zefix
Active GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung), Source: Zefix
Closed GmbH (Source: Zefix)
Closed GmbH (Source: Zefix)
active: false with a closureDate when available. Legal representatives may not be available for dissolved companies as SOGC publications for deleted entities may be limited.Sole Proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen), Source: Zefix
Sole Proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen), Source: Zefix
legalName. Legal representatives are not typically present.Foundation (Stiftung), Source: Zefix
Foundation (Stiftung), Source: Zefix
Available Documents (company example)
Available Documents (company example)
Documents are returned when
"dataPoints": ["availableDocuments"] is requested.| API Category | Document | Notes |
|---|---|---|
tradeRegisterExtract | Official cantonal commercial register extract PDF | All registered companies. Delivery: ~1s (HRC Modern cantons) or ~10s (chregister cantons). |
certificateOfIncorporation | SOGC incorporation publication PDF | When SOGC publication with status.neu mutation exists. Immediate delivery. |
Data Source Priority & Routing
For a given entity, all company profile data comes from Zefix. There is no multi-source priority chain or fallback logic. Legal representatives come separately from SOGC publications via AI parsing.Source Routing:
- Company data (name, status, legal form, address, capital, purpose, identifiers): Zefix API (live query via REST API)
- Legal representatives: SOGC publications (AI-parsed from combined SOGC text messages available via Zefix)
- Activity codes: AI-inferred from the free-text
purposefield - Legal form standardization: Deterministic eCH-0097 to ISO 20275 mapping (AI only used as fallback if eCH-0097 code is not in the mapping table)
- Status enrichment: AI-enriched for detailed status information
Attribute-Level Source Mapping
| Attribute | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Company name, legal form | Zefix | From Zefix name and legalForm fields |
| Translated names | Zefix | From translation array |
| Registered address | Zefix | From address object + canton |
| Share capital | Zefix | From capitalNominal and capitalCurrency |
| Activity description (purpose) | Zefix | From purpose field (free text) |
| Activity codes (NACE, ISIC) | AI | Inferred from activity description |
| Company status | Zefix | From status field + deletionDate |
| Legal representatives | SOGC via AI | AI-parsed from SOGC publication texts |
| Identifiers (UID, EHRAID, CHID) | Zefix | From uid, ehraid, chid fields |
| Registration/incorporation dates | Zefix | From SOGC publication dates within Zefix data |