Switzerland (CH)
Overview of Swiss company data coverage, registers, and legal forms
Overview
Switzerland's company data is accessible through Zefix (Zentraler Firmenindex), the central business name index that aggregates data from all 26 cantonal commercial registers (Handelsregister).
Register
Zefix — the Zentraler Firmenindex, Switzerland's central business name index, aggregating company data from all 26 cantonal commercial registers.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Zefix (Zentraler Firmenindex) |
| Managing authority | Federal Office of the Commercial Registry |
Identifiers
Swiss companies are identified by their UID (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer):
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
uid | 12-character UID without separators | CHE367039468 |
The API accepts multiple input formats (CHE-367.039.468, che-367.039.468, CHE367039468) and normalizes to uppercase without separators. Display format: CHE-367.039.468.
Legal Forms
Corporations
| Legal Form | German | French | Italian | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AG/SA | Aktiengesellschaft | Société anonyme | Società anonima | Stock corporation |
| GmbH/Sàrl | Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung | Société à responsabilité limitée | Società a garanzia limitata | Limited liability company |
Partnerships
| Legal Form | German | French | Italian | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KlG/SNC | Kollektivgesellschaft | Société en nom collectif | Società in nome collettivo | General partnership |
| KmG/SCm | Kommanditgesellschaft | Société en commandite | Società in accomandita | Limited partnership |
Other
| Legal Form | German | French | Italian | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Einzelfirma | Einzelunternehmen | Entreprise individuelle | Ditta individuale | Sole proprietorship |
| Genossenschaft | Genossenschaft | Société coopérative | Società cooperativa | Cooperative |
| Verein | Verein | Association | Associazione | Association |
| Stiftung | Stiftung | Fondation | Fondazione | Foundation |
Other data sources
Company data in every jurisdiction is also spread across sources outside the commercial register — the central bank, the official gazette, the financial supervisor's authorisation registers, the statistical office and the tax authority among them. Kausate draws only on the sources described on this page; when you need something the API does not carry, those are where to look.
Coverage
- All 26 cantons covered
- All company types in cantonal registers
- Multilingual (German, French, Italian)
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