Commercial Register Entry: Costs and Process per Legal Form

The entry in the commercial register makes your company official: only with it does your GmbH (Swiss LLC) or AG (Swiss stock corporation) come into existence as a legal entity, and only then may you act in a legally binding way under your company name. This article shows you who must register, what the entry costs per legal form, how the process works – and what awaits you after the entry.

Who must register in the commercial register?

The registration requirement depends on the legal form:

• GmbH and AG: registration is always mandatory – the company only comes into legal existence with the commercial register entry. No entry, no GmbH, no AG.
• General partnership: also always subject to mandatory registration.
• Sole proprietorship: mandatory only from CHF 100’000 in annual revenue. Below that, registration is voluntary – but often worthwhile: it protects your company name at your place of business, looks professional to customers and suppliers, and is simply expected by some business partners.

So for a sole proprietorship below the revenue threshold, there is no obligation, but a trade-off to weigh. You can find more on the formalities of this legal form in the guide to starting a sole proprietorship.

The fees per legal form

Commercial register fees are made up of federally regulated base fees and cantonal surcharges. That is why you pay different amounts depending on the canton – the following figures are typical reference values:

Legal form	New entry fee (guideline)	Registration mandatory?
Sole proprietorship	~CHF 120	from CHF 100’000 annual revenue
General partnership	~CHF 240	always
GmbH	~CHF 450	always
AG	~CHF 600	always

Important: The exact amounts vary by canton – if in doubt, ask the commercial register office of your canton of domicile or check its fee schedule. And: these fees are only part of the formation costs. For a GmbH and AG, notarization and the capital deposit account come on top. You can find a full overview of GmbH costs in the article GmbH formation: costs.

By the way, you always pay the commercial register fee yourself – even with the “free” offers from formation platforms. Their CHF 0 promise only refers to the platform’s service fee, not to official fees.

The process: from filing to publication

1. Submit the filing

The filing goes to the commercial register office of the canton in which your company has its registered office. It must be signed by the persons with signing authority (notarized signatures). If you form your company through a formation platform or a notary, this step is usually handled by your service provider.

2. Attach the supporting documents

Depending on the legal form, the filing requires different supporting documents:

• Sole proprietorship: registration form with a notarized signature, plus a domicile holder’s declaration if applicable
• GmbH/AG: public deed of formation (notary), articles of association, the bank’s capital deposit confirmation, declarations of acceptance by the corporate bodies, plus acceptance by the auditors or an opting-out declaration if applicable
• General partnership: filing with details of all partners

3. Review by the office

The commercial register office reviews the filing formally: are all supporting documents complete? Is the company name permissible and still available? Care with the company name in advance is particularly worthwhile – you can find the rules in the article Company name: rules in Switzerland. If there are objections, the filing is returned to you for correction, which delays the process.

4. Entry and publication in the SOGC

If everything is in order, the entry is made and published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC). With publication, the entry becomes legally effective and publicly accessible – from then on, anyone can find your company in the commercial register (e.g. via Zefix).

How long does the entry take?

Expect 1 to 2 weeks from a complete, error-free filing. The duration depends on:

• Canton: some offices work faster than others.
• Season: at the start of the year and before quarter-ends, filings pile up – then it tends to take longer.
• Quality of the filing: missing supporting documents or an impermissible company name quickly cost an extra week.

Some cantons offer express processing for a surcharge. If you are under time pressure, still plan conservatively – the upstream steps (capital deposit account, notary appointment) also take their time.

What comes after the entry

The commercial register entry changes a number of things – you should know these:

• UID number: your company automatically receives the business identification number (format CHE-XXX.XXX.XXX). It accompanies you everywhere: VAT registration, AHV, invoices, dealings with authorities.
• Debt enforcement effect: registered companies are subject to debt enforcement by bankruptcy rather than by seizure of assets. If you fail to pay a claim under enforcement, bankruptcy proceedings loom directly – one more reason for careful liquidity planning.
• Public disclosure: your company data (registered office, purpose, persons with signing authority, capital) is publicly accessible. For a sole proprietorship, this also means: your name and the company’s domicile are visible to everyone in the register.
• Bookkeeping obligation: GmbH and AG are subject to full statutory bookkeeping; for registered sole proprietorships, simplified or full obligations apply depending on revenue.
• Check VAT: the commercial register entry does not automatically trigger the VAT obligation – that depends on revenue. Details in the article VAT obligation for new companies.

Later changes cost money too

The entry is not a one-off matter: every subsequent change – a so-called amendment – is again subject to a fee. Typical examples:

• Relocation of the registered office or change of address
• Change in management or the board of directors
• Change of the company name or purpose
• Capital increase (additionally with a notary)

Depending on the type of amendment and the canton, this costs roughly CHF 100 to 300; for changes requiring notarization (e.g. amendments to the articles of association), notary costs come on top. So plan your company name, registered office and purpose with some foresight from the start – it saves fees later.

Conclusion: predictable costs, clear process

The commercial register entry is the official final step of your formation: sole proprietorship ~CHF 120, general partnership ~CHF 240, GmbH ~CHF 450, AG ~CHF 600 – each with cantonal variations – and 1 to 2 weeks of patience. With complete documents and a permissible company name, the process runs through smoothly. If you don’t want to handle the filing yourself: formation platforms take care of it as part of their packages – our provider comparison calculator tells you which provider best fits your legal form and situation, and you can find the direct comparison of the major platforms at Fasoon vs. IFJ vs. Startups.ch.