Key facts
On 1 January 2017, more than 611,000 companies were registered in one of the 28 commercial registers kept by the cantons. Any natural person or legal entity with a business activity in Switzerland must register with the authorities if the conditions are fulfilled. At the national level, the Federal Commercial Registry Office (FCRO) maintains the Central Business Name Index (Zefix) and carries out supreme supervision of the work carried out by the cantons. Twelve FTEs are at its disposal to carry out this mission.