Every legal form in Switzerland, each with its abbreviation, the kind of entity it is, liability and typical use where they are well established, and the values the Prometiam company object returns.
This guide lists the 13 legal forms the Prometiam dictionary knows for Switzerland: what each is called, how it is abbreviated, what kind of entity it is and how it appears in the company object. Use it to read the legal_form of a company registered in Switzerland, or to decode a form you meet in a contract or on an invoice. It is a general reference, not legal advice.
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.
| Form | Abbreviation | Kind | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aktiengesellschaft | AG, SA | Public limited company (joint-stock company) | A company limited by shares (Aktiengesellschaft, société anonyme): the minimum share capital is CHF 100,000, of which at least CHF 50,000 must be paid in. Shareholders are not entered in the commercial register. Used by larger and listed companies and by investor-backed businesses. |
| Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung | GmbH, Sàrl | Private limited company | A limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung; Sàrl in French, Sagl in Italian): the minimum capital is CHF 20,000, fully paid in. The members are entered in the commercial register, and a transfer of shares needs a written contract and, by default, the members’ approval. The form of most small owner-managed businesses. |
| Kollektivgesellschaft | KlG, SNC | General partnership | A general partnership: the partners are personally and jointly liable without limit. |
| Kommanditgesellschaft | KmG | Limited partnership | A limited partnership: at least one partner is liable without limit, the others only up to a stated sum. |
| Einzelunternehmen | - | Sole proprietorship | A sole proprietorship: no separate legal person, and the owner is personally liable. |
Every company object carries four legal-form fields: legal_form (the standard abbreviation, null when the form is not mapped), legal_form_family (the cross-country family, so a private limited company compares across countries), local_legal_form (the register’s own value or code as stored) and local_legal_form_name (the register’s name for it, where it publishes one). Each form below shows the values the API returns for it.
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer rk_live_..." \ "https://api.prometiam.com/functions/v1/risk-api/companies/search?country=CH&name=<company name>" # each result carries, for example: # "legal_form": "AG" # "legal_form_family": "public_limited_company"
Private limited company: a company with its own legal personality whose owners are, as a rule, not personally liable for its debts and whose shares are not offered to the public.
A limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung; Sàrl in French, Sagl in Italian): the minimum capital is CHF 20,000, fully paid in. The members are entered in the commercial register, and a transfer of shares needs a written contract and, by default, the members’ approval. The form of most small owner-managed businesses.
GmbH, Sàrl, Sarl, Sagllegal_form GmbH, legal_form_family private_limited_company, local_legal_form 0107Public limited company (joint-stock company): a company with its own legal personality and share capital whose owners are, as a rule, not personally liable; the family of forms that can usually raise money from the public.
A company limited by shares (Aktiengesellschaft, société anonyme): the minimum share capital is CHF 100,000, of which at least CHF 50,000 must be paid in. Shareholders are not entered in the commercial register. Used by larger and listed companies and by investor-backed businesses.
AG, SAlegal_form AG, legal_form_family public_limited_company, local_legal_form 0106General partnership: the owners run the business together and, as a rule, answer personally for its debts.
A general partnership: the partners are personally and jointly liable without limit.
KlG, SNClegal_form KlG, legal_form_family general_partnership, local_legal_form 0103Limited partnership: at least one partner answers without limit for the debts, the others only up to what they contributed.
A limited partnership: at least one partner is liable without limit, the others only up to a stated sum.
KmGlegal_form KmG, legal_form_family limited_partnership, local_legal_form 0104Partnership limited by shares: a hybrid in which the managing partners are liable without limit and the other owners hold shares.
legal_form Partnership limited by shares, legal_form_family partnership_limited_by_shares, local_legal_form 0105Sole proprietorship: one person trading in their own name with no separate company; the owner is, as a rule, personally liable.
A natural person, not a company. A sole proprietorship: no separate legal person, and the owner is personally liable.
legal_form Sole proprietorship, legal_form_family sole_proprietorship, local_legal_form 0101Cooperative: an organisation owned and run by its members.
Gen., Coop.legal_form Gen., legal_form_family cooperative, local_legal_form 0108Association: a membership body, usually non-profit.
legal_form Association, legal_form_family association, local_legal_form 0109Foundation: assets set aside for a purpose, with no owners.
legal_form Foundation, legal_form_family foundation, local_legal_form 0110Branch of a foreign company: an establishment or registration of a company incorporated abroad.
legal_form Branch, legal_form_family branch_of_foreign_company, local_legal_form 0151legal_form Foreign branch registered in the commercial register, legal_form_family branch_of_foreign_company, local_legal_form 0111Public body: a state, local-authority or other public-law entity.
legal_form Public-law institution, legal_form_family public_body, local_legal_form 0117Co-ownership: joint ownership of property by several owners, often without legal personality.
legal_form Head of a community of heirs (Gemeinderschaft), legal_form_family co_ownership, local_legal_form 0119See the Switzerland company data API guide for the register behind these records and the free UID lookup to try an identifier. For the register states that go with these forms, read company status in Switzerland. All countries: company legal forms.
Side by side: GmbH vs AG in Switzerland: Key Differences.
Search by name or identifier and read legal_form, legal_form_family and local_legal_form on every result, or filter a bulk list by family.
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