Information for administrative offices

The UID services are administrative offices of the Confederation, cantons and communes as well as institutions governed by public law (under Art. 3 para.1 let. d BINA). They manage enterprises in their data collections and are regularly in contact with them.

Overview of UID services

The data collections of UID services are kept for different purposes. A hierarchy of the UID services has been established that takes these differences into consideration. If several UID services are registered for an entity, the service that is highest in the hierarchy is the one responsible for that entity. This means that in the UID system, only one UID service is responsible for each enterprise.

The diagram below shows the hierarchy (H1 to H4) of the UID services and to which authority they are affiliated (Confederation, canton or institutions governed by public law):

Description of the graphic

Graphic depicting an overview of the UID services.

The UID services are divided into four hierarchical levels, and into three categories: Administrative offices of the Confederation, administrative offices of the cantons as well as private institutions and public law corporations.

First hierarchical level (on top of the hierarchy).

• Among the administrative offices of the Confederation :
  Federal Commercial Registry Office
• Among the administrative offices of the cantons :
  Cantonal commercial registers

Second hierarchical level.

• Among the administrative offices of the Confederation :
  Medical Professions Register (MedReg)
  Federal Office for Agriculture
• Among the administrative offices of the cantons :
  Cantonal lawyers’ registers
  Cantonal solicitors’ registers
  Cantonal agricultural registers
  Cantonal veterinary services
  Cantonal chemists or laboratories

Third hierarchical level.

• Among the administrative offices of the Confederation :
  VAT register
• Among the administrative offices of the cantons :
  Cantonal tax registers
  Cantonal compensation fund registers (OASI)
• Among the private institutions and public law corporations :
  Professional compensation fund registers (OASI)

Fourth hierarchical level.

• Among the administrative offices of the Confederation :
  Business and Enterprise Register (BER)
  Central Migration Information System (ZEMIS)
  Swiss Customs Administration
  
• Among the private institutions and public law corporations :
  SUVA and private accident insurance companies

Further information

Laws