What our Switzerland company report includes
Our Switzerland reports draw on sources including the relevant Cantonal Commercial Register (Handelsregister / Registre du commerce / Registro di commercio), the Zefix federal portal, the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SHAB / FOSC / FUSC), FINMA and SIX Swiss Exchange for listed entities, court records, and direct in-country enquiry. Depth of any given section reflects what the subject company has filed and what is publicly retrievable at the time of the search. Findings are translated into clear English.
Identity & registration
- ✓ UID (Unique Enterprise Identification Number, CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX)
- ✓ Cantonal Commercial Register entry number (CH-XXX...)
- ✓ VAT number (UID + MWST / TVA / IVA suffix)
- ✓ Legal form (AG/SA, GmbH/Sàrl, Genossenschaft, KIG/SC)
- ✓ Date of incorporation, registered office canton
- ✓ Status (active, in liquidation, struck off)
People & ownership
- ✓ Verwaltungsrat / Conseil d'administration
- ✓ Geschäftsführer / directeurs
- ✓ Authorised signatories with signature rights (Einzel- / Kollektivunterschrift)
- ✓ Aktionäre / actionnaires (shareholders)
- ✓ Group / parent (where disclosed)
Financial & trading
- ✓ Capital structure (Aktienkapital / capital-actions)
- ✓ Listed-company filings (SIX Swiss Exchange)
- ✓ Business purpose (Zweck / but)
- ✓ Authorised activity scope
- ✓ Risk indicator and calculated credit limit
Risk & public records
- ✓ Konkurs / faillite (bankruptcy) proceedings
- ✓ Nachlassverfahren / sursis concordataire (composition)
- ✓ Betreibungsregister-Auszug (debt-enforcement extract)
- ✓ SHAB / FOSC publications
Note on Switzerland data: Switzerland does not have a public accounts-filing regime equivalent to most EU jurisdictions. Only listed companies and certain other public-interest entities publish full audited accounts. For typical AG and GmbH counterparties, financial information has to come from direct enquiry. The Betreibungsregister-Auszug, an extract from the debt-enforcement register, is the standard Swiss credit-check document and we can show its substance in our reports.
Why verify a Switzerland company?
Switzerland combines a strong corporate registry framework with limited public financial disclosure. Each of the 26 cantons maintains its own Handelsregister (German), Registre du commerce (French) or Registro di commercio (Italian), and these are coordinated nationally through the Zefix portal operated by the Federal Office of Justice. Every limited entity has a UID (Unique Enterprise Identification Number) in the CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX format, and the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SHAB / FOSC / FUSC) publishes every significant corporate event. Structural verification is fast and reliable.
Financial verification is harder than in neighbouring EU jurisdictions. Swiss company law requires every AG and GmbH to prepare annual accounts, but for private entities, which is the vast majority, those accounts are not required to be filed publicly. Only listed companies and certain other public-interest entities (banks, insurers, regulated entities) publish full audited accounts. For credit and procurement decisions on private Swiss counterparties, an investigated report can include a request to the company for financial information, which it may consent to provide or may decline. The Betreibungsregister-Auszug, an extract from the debt-enforcement register, is the standard Swiss credit reference document, and our reports show its substance.
Two further Switzerland-specific dimensions. The first is signature rights (Einzelunterschrift / Kollektivunterschrift zu zweien): Swiss commercial registers record who may sign for the company alone, who must sign jointly, and in what combinations. This is legally binding. The second is the inactive-entity question: Switzerland has a high density of AG and GmbH entities used as personal holding companies by individuals, so distinguishing an active trading counterparty from a holding vehicle is often the first verification step. Risk patterns we can identify include Konkurs (bankruptcy) and Nachlassverfahren (composition) proceedings; entries on the Betreibungsregister indicating debt-enforcement; recent changes of Verwaltungsrat; and registered office at a fiduciary's address with no operating substance.