Company Incorporation in Switzerland
Formation of a Swiss company — a Swiss notary executes the public deed of formation (öffentliche Beurkundung) adopting the articles, capital is paid into a blocked capital-payment account at a Swiss bank, and the company is entered in the CANTONAL Commercial Register and indexed on Zefix, becoming a legal person on entry. A GmbH/Sàrl needs CHF 20,000 capital fully paid in; an AG/SA needs CHF 100,000, of which at least CHF 50,000 paid in. At least one manager (GmbH) or board member / signatory (AG) with individual signing authority must be domiciled in Switzerland — the test is Swiss domicile, not nationality.
10–20 business days
CHF
Compare the structures
Every column is a vehicle you can actually incorporate here, and each is bought on its own terms. Every fact carries where it was read: on the authority’s own page, or — marked Indicative — on a filing platform or publication we name and link. Anything we could not read anywhere is marked Pending verification and confirmed with the authority before you pay.
| GmbH / Sàrl — limited liability companyThe default vehicle for SMEs, founders and foreign subsidiaries — CHF 20,000 capital, fully paid in | AG / SA — stock corporationLarger businesses, holdings and regulated activities wanting transferable shares — CHF 100,000 capital, CHF 50,000 paid in | Einzelfirma / raison individuelle — sole proprietorshipIndividual traders who accept unlimited personal liability — no minimum capital, no notarial deed | Branch of a foreign company (Zweigniederlassung / succursale)A foreign company wanting a registered Swiss presence without a separate Swiss entity — liability sits with the parent | General / limited partnership (Kollektivgesellschaft / Kommanditgesellschaft — societe en nom collectif / en commandite)Two or more persons trading together; family firms and professional partnerships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum owners | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Maximum owners | Pending verification | Pending verification | 1 | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Minimum directors | 1 | 1 | Pending verification | 1 | Pending verification |
| Liability | limited | limited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited |
| Foreign ownership | Yes | Yes | Pending verification | Yes | Pending verification |
| Tax treatment | Separate taxable legal person. Subject to profit tax at three levels — direct federal tax 8.5% on profit after tax (effe… | Same three-level profit-tax regime as the GmbH (federal 8.5% / effective ~7.83% plus cantonal + communal). Dividends bea… | Not a separate taxable person — business income is taxed in the proprietor's hands as personal income at federal, canton… | Not a separate legal person — the foreign head office remains liable. A Swiss permanent establishment is taxed on the pr… | Tax-transparent — the partnership is not a separate profit-tax subject; partners are taxed on their share of profit as p… |
| Audit required | No | No | No | Pending verification | No |
| Audit threshold | Ordinary audit if the company exceeds two of three thresholds in two successive years: balance-sheet total CHF 20 millio… | Same size test as the GmbH: ordinary audit above two of three thresholds (CHF 20m balance sheet / CHF 40m revenue / 250 … | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Annual compliance | Medium | High | Low | Medium | Low |
| Typical use | Foreign parent's Swiss subsidiary, owner-managed SME, consulting/tech company. Minimum capital CHF 20,000 fully paid in. | Holding companies, financial-sector and regulated entities, larger corporates, entities wanting bearer/transferable regi… | Local self-employed person. Commercial-register entry becomes mandatory once annual revenue reaches CHF 100,000; below t… | Foreign company registering a Swiss branch to trade locally while keeping the head office abroad. | Kollektivgesellschaft: general partnership with all partners fully liable. Kommanditgesellschaft: at least one general p… |
What we will need from you
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Notarial public deed of formation (öffentliche Beurkundung) with the articles of association (Statuten / statuts)
Mandatory for a GmbH/AG; executed before a Swiss notary in the cantonal official language. A sole proprietorship and a branch need no notarial deed.
Bank confirmation that the capital is paid into a blocked capital-payment account
GmbH: full CHF 20,000. AG: at least CHF 50,000 (or 20%, whichever is higher) of the CHF 100,000. The blocked account is released to the company after registration.
Appointment of a manager / board member or authorised signatory domiciled in Switzerland
At least one person with individual signing authority must be Swiss-domiciled (art. 814 para. 3 OR for the GmbH, art. 718 para. 4 for the AG); a foreign-owned company still needs this. A branch needs a Swiss-domiciled representative.
Identity and specimen signatures of each director / manager / signatory
Per manager, board member and authorised signatory. Members/shareholders may be entirely foreign and non-resident.
For a foreign founder or corporate shareholder: passport / register extract, articles and a board resolution
Documents executed abroad generally need a certified translation into the cantonal official language plus legalisation or apostille. The exact per-person list is confirmed at quote against the cantonal Handelsregisteramt checklist and the HRegV.
Cost breakdown
Our fee and the government’s are always separate lines. Government fees are passed through at exactly what the authority charges — we add nothing to them.
| Commercial-register fee — first entry of a capital company (GmbH/Sàrl or AG/SA)VERIFIED from the federal Ordinance on Commercial Register Fees (GebV-HReg, SR 221.411.1) Annex fee table. Since the 2021 revision this federal fee is identical in every canton. Register fee only — it excludes notary fees and any capital-based supplements. | CHF 300Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Commercial-register fee — first entry of a sole proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen)one line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED from the GebV-HReg Annex. Register entry is mandatory only once annual revenue reaches CHF 100,000; below that it is optional. | CHF 100Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Commercial-register fee — first entry of a branch of a foreign undertaking (Zweigniederlassung)only if it appliesVERIFIED from the GebV-HReg Annex: branch of an undertaking with its head office abroad, CHF 150. (A branch of a Swiss undertaking is entered at a different, lower fee.) | CHF 150Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Notarial public deed of formation (notary fees)NOT a single federal figure — notary fees are set at CANTONAL level and vary by canton and by share-capital amount. | Confirmed before payment |
| Comriq professional fee | Fixed fee within 1 business day |
These are the authority’s published lines. Which of them apply depends on your filing — a schedule by headcount, capital or entity type is one line, not all of them — and the applicable line is confirmed before payment, at cost.
How it runs
You will see these exact stages update in your client portal as we progress.
Capital Account Opened
A blocked capital-payment account is opened at a Swiss bank and the minimum capital paid in; the bank issues a capital-deposit confirmation.
Notarial Deed
A Swiss notary executes the public deed of formation, adopting the articles — mandatory for a GmbH/AG.
Register Filing
The notarised deed, articles, capital confirmation and signatory declarations are filed with the cantonal Handelsregisteramt.
Register Entry (Zefix)
The cantonal register enters the company; it becomes a legal person on entry and appears on Zefix. Register fee CHF 300 for a capital company.
Capital Released
After registration the blocked capital account is released to the company.
Ready to start?
This one is priced to your situation — most of what we do needs a local filing agent, so we scope it rather than guess. Tell us the specifics and we come back with a fixed quote and a confirmed timeline, within one business day.
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Verified September 2026
Requirements and statutory fees are set by Swiss notary → Cantonal Commercial Register (Handelsregisteramt / registre du commerce), indexed on Zefix and change without notice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your engagement letter and quote are the binding documents.