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Company Identifiers

  • UID (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer): Primary registration number for all Swiss entities.
    • Format for search: CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX (with separators) or CHEXXXXXXXXXXX (without separators)
    • Format for companyProfile: Only CHEXXXXXXXXXXX (without separators, e.g., CHE123456789)
    • Example: CHE123456789
  • EHRAID: Enterprise and Holdings Register ID (secondary identifier, when available)
  • CHID: Commercial Register ID (secondary identifier, when available)

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Search Capabilities

  • By UID (with or without separators): search("CHE-123.456.789") or search("CHE123456789")
  • By company name (minimum 3 characters): search("Nestlé SA")
  • Inputs can be either UID or company name
  • Supports all companies registered in the Swiss commercial register
Important: For companyProfile endpoint, only the UID format without separators is accepted: CHE123456789

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Data Sources

  • Zefix (Central Business Name Index): Primary official source maintained by the Federal Office of Justice
    • Provides all company information: name, status, legal form, address, capital, activity description
    • Multi-language support (German, French, Italian, English)
  • SHAB (Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce): Official publication platform for commercial register documents
    • Certificate of Incorporation and other official publications

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Company Status

Company status is harmonized from official registers. Possible statuses:
  • Active
  • Closed
  • Unknown
Determination:
  • Signals are taken from the Zefix register
  • If Zefix displays status “Active”, company is Active
  • When a deletion date is present, status is Closed
  • Closure dates are captured when available from SOGC publications
Swiss legal forms from Zefix use the eCH-0097 data standard. We map these to the international ISO 20275 Entity Legal Forms (ELF) codes maintained by GLEIF. The legalForm.iso20275Code field contains the 4-character ELF code, enabling standardized comparison of legal entity types across jurisdictions.

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Complete eCH-0097 to ISO 20275 Mapping

eCH-0097GermanFrenchEnglishISO 20275Standardized
01 - Private law forms (registered in commercial register)
0101EinzelunternehmenEntreprise individuelleSole proprietorshipAZA0Sole Proprietorship
0103KollektivgesellschaftSociété en nom collectifGeneral partnershipMRSYPartnership
0104KommanditgesellschaftSociété en commanditeLimited partnershipCQMYPartnership
0105KommanditaktiengesellschaftSociété en commandite par actionsPartnership limited by sharesW6A7Partnership
0106AktiengesellschaftSociété anonymeCompany limited by sharesMVIICorporation
0107Gesellschaft mit beschränkter HaftungSociété à responsabilité limitéeLimited liability company3EKSLimited Liability Company
0108GenossenschaftCoopérativeCooperativeQSI2Cooperative
0109VereinAssociationAssociationH781Nonprofit Organization
0110StiftungFondationFoundation2JZ4Nonprofit Organization
0111Ausländische Niederlassung im HR eingetragenSuccursale étrangère inscrite au RCForeign branch registered in commercial registerJB25Branch or Representative Office
0113Besondere RechtsformForme juridique particulièreSpecial legal form5BEZOther
0114Kommanditgesellschaft für kollektive KapitalanlagenSociété en commandite de placements collectifsLimited partnership for collective investmentsTL87Partnership
0115Investmentgesellschaft mit variablem Kapital (SICAV)Société d’investissement à capital variable (SICAV)Investment company with variable capitalXJOTCorporation
0116Investmentgesellschaft mit festem Kapital (SICAF)Société d’investissement à capital fixe (SICAF)Investment company with fixed capital54WICorporation
0117Institut des öffentlichen RechtsInstitut de droit publicPublic sector institution7MNNGovernment-Owned Entity
0118Nichtkaufmännische ProkurenProcurations non-commercialesNon-commercial power of attorneyKJ9QOther
0119Haupt von GemeinderschaftenResponsable d’indivisionRepresentative of ownership in undivided sharesOBFUOther
0151Schweizerische Zweigniederlassung im HR eingetragenSuccursale suisse inscrite au RCSwiss branch registered in commercial registerUNA9Branch or Representative Office
02 - Public law forms (not in commercial register)
0220Verwaltung des BundesAdministration de la ConfédérationFederal administration2XJAGovernment-Owned Entity
0221Verwaltung des KantonsAdministration du cantonCantonal administrationFFTNGovernment-Owned Entity
0222Verwaltung des BezirksAdministration du districtDistrict administrationYRGMGovernment-Owned Entity
0223Verwaltung der GemeindeAdministration de la communeLocal administrationGP8MGovernment-Owned Entity
0224Öffentlich-rechtliche Körperschaft (Verwaltung)Corporation de droit public (administration)Public corporation (administration)E0NEGovernment-Owned Entity
0230Unternehmen des BundesEntreprise de la ConfédérationFederal public companyBF9NGovernment-Owned Entity
0231Unternehmen des KantonsEntreprise du cantonCantonal public companyHX77Government-Owned Entity
0232Öffentliches Unternehmen des BezirksEntreprise du districtDistrict public companyVPRHGovernment-Owned Entity
0233Unternehmen der GemeindeEntreprise de la communeLocal public companyL5DUGovernment-Owned Entity
0234Öffentlich-rechtliche Körperschaft (Unternehmen)Corporation de droit public (entreprise)Corporate public companyM848Government-Owned Entity
03 - Other forms (not in commercial register)
0302Einfache GesellschaftSociété simpleSimple partnership2B81Partnership
0312Ausländische Niederlassung nicht im HR eingetragenFiliale étrangère non inscrite au RCForeign branch not registered in commercial register1BL5Branch or Representative Office
0327Ausländisches öffentliches UnternehmenEntreprise publique étrangèreForeign public company2WFGGovernment-Owned Entity
0328Ausländische öffentliche VerwaltungAdministration publique étrangèreForeign public administration1RKSGovernment-Owned Entity
0329Internationale OrganisationOrganisation internationaleInternational organisationDP2EOther
0355Andere GenossenschaftenAutres sociétés coopérativesOther cooperativesQSI2Cooperative
0361TrustTrustTrustFJG4Trust
0362FondsFondsFundFLNBOther
04 - Foreign enterprises
0441Ausländische UnternehmenEntreprise étrangèreForeign enterpriseR9TCOther
05 - Unknown
0571Rechtsform nicht bestimmt oder unbekanntForme juridique non déterminée ou inconnueLegal form not determined or unknown—Other
Note: Swiss companies can be registered in any official language (German, French, Italian, or Romansh). The legal form name in the legalForm.localName field will reflect the registration language.
  • Extracted from SOGC publications (Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce)
  • Role names are kept locally and standardized
  • Start/end dates captured when available in publications
  • Note: Zefix does not provide structured legal representative data; extraction relies on AI parsing of SOGC publication texts

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Available Documents

  • Trade Register Extract: Official PDF extract from the cantonal commercial register
    • Format: PDF
    • Available for all 26 Swiss cantons
    • Contains current company information including legal form, address, capital, and registered persons
  • Certificate of Incorporation: Available when applicable (for companies with SOGC publication containing incorporation event)
    • Format: PDF
    • Source: SHAB (Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce)
    • Not all companies have a downloadable certificate of incorporation (depends on publication history)