Business address in Switzerland: registered domicile in Zug and Zurich

A registered address is a formation requirement under Swiss law, not an optional extra. The commercial register office (Handelsregisteramt) will not complete the entry of a GmbH or AG without a Swiss address at the company's seat, and banks will not open a capital deposit account for a company that cannot show one. For founders without their own premises — foreign entrepreneurs, holding companies, consultants, startups in the pre-office phase — a professional domicile address in Zug or Zurich closes this gap from day one.

What Swiss law requires: seat, address and the c/o entry

The Handelsregisterverordnung (Commercial Register Ordinance, HRegV) distinguishes between the seat and the address. The seat (Sitz) is the political municipality named in the articles of association — Zug, for example. The address is the exact street and number within that municipality where the company can be reached. Both are entered in the commercial register and published on Zefix.

Art. 117 HRegV governs the case that matters here: if the company has no business premises of its own at the registered address, the entry is made as a c/o address (also called Rechtsdomizil), and the domicile holder — the party providing the address — must consent. Register offices request this consent in the form of a signed domicile acceptance declaration (Domizilannahmeerklärung). A serious provider prepares this document as standard; without it, the filing bounces.

Two further legal points are frequently overlooked. First, the address must be one where official communications genuinely reach the company — a letterbox that nobody empties does not meet the standard, and undeliverable mail can ultimately lead to ex-officio proceedings against the company. Second, the address requirement is separate from the personnel requirement of Art. 718 para. 4 of the Code of Obligations, under which the company must be representable by a person resident in Switzerland. An address alone does not satisfy that rule; if no founder lives in Switzerland, a resident director mandate covers it — more on the combination below.

Domicile, business address or virtual office: the three options

A domicile address, a business address with mail service and a virtual office all satisfy the registered-address requirement. They differ in what happens with your mail and how much infrastructure you can use. Typical market rates in Zug and Zurich (as of July 2026):

Gründung Schweiz quotes each package as a fixed monthly fee after a short conversation about mail volume and services — request it through the contact form. The ranges above are market averages, not a binding offer.

What the domicile tier means legally — the c/o entry under Art. 117 HRegV, the holder's declaration and the difference between address, seat and a private person's domicile — is unpacked under domicile address in Switzerland.

Who chooses which tier, in practice: a holding company that receives a dozen letters a year books the plain domicile address. A foreign e-commerce or consulting company managed from abroad needs the mail tier, because VAT correspondence, bank letters and registered mail must reach a person who reacts the same day. The virtual office tier is chosen by companies whose bank, auditor or clients expect to sit at a table in Zug or Zurich at least occasionally.

Zug or Zurich for your registered address

Zug and Zurich serve different purposes, and the choice affects taxes, image and practicalities for years:

The tax difference is real but should not be the only criterion: the canton of taxation follows the seat only if effective management actually takes place there. Details on rates and the location itself are on our Zug page. Moving the seat later from one canton to another is possible but costs money — a transfer of registered office requires an amendment of the articles and a new register entry (CHF 1'100 in professional fees plus notary and register costs).

Banks, substance and the letterbox problem

Swiss banks apply substance tests that go beyond the legal minimum of the commercial register. When a bank reviews an account application, a bare c/o address combined with a foreign-resident sole director and a generic business purpose is the classic profile that triggers extended review or rejection — not because c/o addresses are improper, but because they are also the pattern used by letterbox companies.

What changes the picture, in the experience of our formation practice:

• A resident director entered in the register alongside the address — the combination banks and counterparties read as genuine presence.
• A specific, documented activity: contracts, invoices, a real website, a coherent business plan.
• Reachability: mail is answered, phone calls are taken, meetings can happen at the address.
• Consistency: the same address on the register entry, letterhead, website and VAT registration.

Tax authorities look at the same question from another angle. If a company is registered in Zug but effectively managed from abroad, the place of effective management — not the letterbox — can determine where profits are taxed. An address package is infrastructure; it does not replace real decision-making at the seat.

How the setup works

Setting up a registered address with Gründung Schweiz follows a fixed sequence and does not require you to travel to Switzerland:

1. Choose location and package

   Zug or Zurich; domicile address, mail service or virtual office. We confirm the fixed monthly fee in writing.

2. Identity check and agreement

   As domicile holder we verify the identity of the company's beneficial owners and signatories, then both sides sign the domicile agreement. Usually completed within one working day.

3. Domicile declaration issued

   You receive the address confirmation and the signed domicile acceptance declaration — the document the commercial register requires for a c/o entry under Art. 117 HRegV.

4. Register entry

   For new companies the address goes into the formation filing. For existing companies we file the address change with the commercial register (CHF 150 professional fee plus register fees).

5. Mail service live

   From the day of entry, official and business mail is accepted at the address and — depending on the package — scanned or forwarded to you.

Address-related filings and fees

Address services connect to a set of register filings with fixed professional fees (all prices exclusive of VAT, currently 8.1%; commercial register and notary fees are charged at cost):

The full fee schedule for formation, mandates and administration is on the pricing page.

When an address alone is not enough

An address solves the registration problem — it does not create a functioning Swiss presence by itself. Honest cases where you need more than the address:

• No signatory resident in Switzerland. The register will still refuse the entry, whatever the address, because Art. 718 para. 4 CO requires a resident representative. Solution: a board or director mandate alongside the address.
• Banking: some banks decline pure letterbox setups regardless of paperwork. Plan for substance — resident director, documented activity, in-person meeting for account opening.
• Regulated activities: financial intermediaries, asset managers and other FINMA-relevant businesses need real premises and organisation, not a c/o entry.
• Employees in Switzerland: as soon as staff work locally, you need an actual workplace, employment registration and accident insurance — a virtual office does not cover this.
• Effective management abroad: if all decisions are demonstrably taken in another country, the Swiss address will not secure Swiss taxation on its own.

For the first of these cases, the practical answer is the substance package: registered address plus fiduciary director mandate from one provider, so register entry, mail and representation stay coordinated. If you are still choosing the legal form or planning the timeline, start with the Swiss company formation overview.