Switzerland Beneficial Ownership Register Approved by Parliament

On 26 September 2025, the Swiss Parliament approved landmark legislation establishing a centralized federal transparency register for the beneficial owners of legal entities. The reform replaces Switzerland’s more fragmented approach to beneficial ownership disclosure with a national system designed to identify the natural persons who ultimately control companies and other covered legal entities.

Under the Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities and the Identification of Beneficial Owners, covered entities will be required to identify their beneficial owners and report the relevant information to the federal transparency register. The register will be maintained at federal level and supported by mechanisms for checking the accuracy, completeness and currency of reported information.

The register will not be open to the general public. Access is intended for specified authorities and persons or entities subject to Switzerland’s anti-money-laundering framework where access is required for their regulatory responsibilities.

Parliament also approved amendments extending anti-money-laundering obligations to certain higher-risk advisory activities. These include some services provided by lawyers, notaries and other advisers in connection with the establishment or structuring of legal entities and certain other transactions.

For company formation specialists, fiduciaries, legal professionals and compliance teams, the reform represents a significant structural change. Switzerland is moving toward a dedicated federal framework through which authorities can determine who ultimately stands behind covered legal entities, strengthening beneficial ownership transparency while retaining controlled rather than public access to the register.

Official source: Swiss Parliament — Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities and the Identification of Beneficial Owners, adopted 26 September 2025.