Switzerland

Starting a Business in

Switzerland

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Société à responsabilité limitée / Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (SARL/GmbH)
  • City: Zurich

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Place the paid-up capital in an escrow account with a bank

The capital is released by the bank upon completing the registration procedure at the Commercial Registry. Bank fees range from CHF 200 to CHF 2,000. A minimum bank fee of CHF 200 is charged for transferring capital from the escrow account to the company account after the company registration.
1 day no charge
2 Draft the articles of association in the presence of a notary public, who notarizes the personal and corporate signatures on the application form and authenticate the articles of association and the public deed of incorporation.

All signatures on the company registration application form have to be legalized (CHF 20 per personal or corporate signature). The Stampa Declaration Form (a negative declaration on investments in kind or chattels or founders’ privileges, which is compulsory as documentary evidence) and the Lex Friedrich Declaration Form (a permit for foreigners to acquire real estate) must be signed and handed to the Register of Commerce. The filing of both declaration forms is obligatory for all company incorporation applicants, irrespective of nationality. The name check is not mandatory but is recommended. The fee is CHF 50. Along with the request for name check, required for incorporation and available on the Internet are the public deed, the application form, the Stampa Declaration Form, and the Lex Friedrich Declaration Form.
7 days 0.1% of capital, minimum CHF 500, maximum CHF 5,000 + CHF 100 (for 5 signatures)
3 File the deed certifying the articles of association to the local commercial register to obtain a legal entity

If by express mail, registration takes 3 to 5 days, and if by regular mail, about 7 days. The fee ranges from CHF 600 (for capital of CHF 20,000) to a maximum of CHF 10,000. In 5–9 days, the Registry publishes the date of the statutes and all names of shareholders in the Swiss Commercial Gazette; the announcement fee is included in the registration fee. Entry in the Commercial Register protects the company’s trade name and gives it a legal personality. Required documents also include the Stampa Declaration Form and Lex Friedrich Declaration Form (described in Procedure 1), as well as automatic registration for income tax payment.
7 days CHF 600+ 0.02% of capital exceeding CHF 200,000 up to a maximum of CHF 10,000
4 Pay stamp tax at post office or bank after receiving an assessment by mail

An application can be filed with the Federal Tax Administration after incorporating the company with the Commercial Registry. Because not every company is subject to tax, a procedure exists to determine whether the company is subject to the tax.
1 day 1% capital with the first CHF 1,000,000 exempt
5 Register for VAT

An application for VAT registration can be filed with the Federal Tax Administration only after incorporating the company with the Commercial Registry. Because not every company is subject to VAT, a procedure exists to determine whether the company is subject to this tax.
1 day (within 30 days after being subject to VAT) no charge
6 Enroll employees in the social insurance system (federal and cantonal authorities)

After the company has registered with the Commercial Registry, the cantonal social security office (Ausgleichskasse) will send the employer an application for registering employees in the social insurance system, which includes retirement and survivors’ insurance benefits (AHV), disability insurance (IV), occupational accident insurance (UVG), and retirement pension (BVG). In practice, more applicants are using application forms in Internet.
1 day no charge
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