GmbH or AG? Compare capital, ownership, governance and listing of the two main Swiss company forms, and check which one a company is with the API.
The AG (Aktiengesellschaft, société anonyme) and the GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Sàrl in French, Sagl in Italian) are the two main Swiss company forms. Both limit the owners’ liability. They differ in capital, in how ownership is held and shown in the register, and in whether the shares can be listed.
| GmbH | AG | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (Sàrl, Sagl) | Aktiengesellschaft (SA) |
| Owners’ liability | Limited to the capital | Limited to the capital |
| Minimum capital | CHF 20,000, fully paid in | CHF 100,000, of which at least CHF 50,000 paid in |
| Ownership is held as | Stammanteile, held by Gesellschafter (members) | Aktien, held by Aktionäre (shareholders) |
| Owners in the commercial register | The members are entered | The shareholders are not entered |
| Transfer of ownership | Written contract and, by default, approval by the members | Free unless the articles restrict it |
| Governance | Members’ meeting and managers (Geschäftsführer) | General meeting and board of directors (Verwaltungsrat) |
| Can be listed | No | Yes |
| Typical use | Small owner-managed businesses | Larger companies, listed groups and investor-backed businesses |
A general comparison of the usual rules, not legal advice: a company’s own articles and the current law of its country decide the details.
The API returns legal_form as GmbH or AG, with the register’s legal-form code in local_legal_form (0107 for a GmbH, 0106 for an AG). Search by name, or look the company up by its UID. Sole proprietorships (Einzelunternehmen) are never served.
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer rk_live_..." \ "https://api.prometiam.com/functions/v1/risk-api/companies/search?country=CH&name=<company name>" # read on each result: # "legal_form" -> "GmbH" or "AG" # "legal_form_family" -> "private_limited_company" or "public_limited_company"
The API's legal_form values for these two: GmbH is Limited liability company; AG is Company limited by shares.
Coverage and limits for Switzerland: company records only (no officers, no registry-compliance signal); legal entities and branches on the commercial register only, sole proprietorships (Einzelunternehmen) and other natural persons are never served. Source: Zefix, Federal Office of Justice, Federal Commercial Registry Office (open use, source required); restructured by Prometiam, not a certified register extract.
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