Switzerland: Impressum & legal-notice requirements for commercial websites (2026)
Switzerland requires a legal notice (Impressum) on commercial websites under Art. 3(1)(s) UWG — narrower than Germany’s rule, but the email address is explicitly mandatory. Here is the field-by-field checklist and how Swiss law differs from the German DDG.
Switzerland is often lumped in with Germany and Austria as a “DACH Impressum” market, and a German-style legal notice will usually satisfy Swiss authorities. But the Swiss rule is its own thing: a different statute, a narrower scope, and one requirement that is stricter than most people expect. If you sell into Switzerland, or run a.ch site, this is what actually applies.
The legal basis: Art. 3(1)(s) UWG
Switzerland does not have a dedicated “imprint law” like Germany’s DDG. The obligation lives in unfair-competition law: Article 3 paragraph 1 letter s of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG in German, LCD in French, LCSl in Italian; SR 241), added in the revision that came into force on 1 April 2012.
The provision makes it an act of unfair competition to offer goods, works, or services in electronic commerce without, among other things, providing clear and complete information on your legal identity and contact address, including your email address. The same letter (s) also carries the e-commerce contract-formation duties — stating the technical steps to conclude a contract, providing a way to detect and correct input errors, and confirming the order by email — but it is the identity-and-contact limb that functions as the Swiss “Impressum.”
Who is in scope
The trigger is electronic commerce — offering goods, works, or services online. That squarely covers webshops, online booking systems, and paid digital products. A purely informational brochure site with no online offer sits, on the strict wording, outside Art. 3(1)(s). In practice we still recommend publishing a legal notice: the line between “informational” and “offering a service” is thin (a bookable appointment, a quote request, or a paid download can cross it), and a complete notice costs nothing to maintain.
Switzerland vs Germany vs Austria at a glance
All three DACH countries require a legal notice, but the statute and the scope differ. Switzerland’s is the narrowest — it only bites once you are actually selling online, whereas the German and Austrian rules reach almost every business site.
| Switzerland | Germany | Austria | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Art. 3(1)(s) UWG | §5 DDG (ex-TMG §5) | §5 ECG; §25 MedienG (media) |
| Applies to | Sites offering goods or services in electronic commerce | Almost all business websites | Almost all commercial websites |
| Email address | Mandatory — named in the statute | Required (rapid electronic contact) | Required under §5 ECG |
| Business identifier | UID (CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx) + commercial register | HRB number + USt-IdNr. | Firmenbuch number + UID (ATU) |
The practical upshot: a purely informational site can be out of scope in Switzerland yet still need a legal notice in Germany or Austria.
The Swiss field-by-field checklist
Art. 3(1)(s) asks for “clear and complete” identity and contact details. In practice a compliant Swiss legal notice contains:
- Full legal name and legal form (AG, GmbH, Einzelfirma / raison individuelle, etc.).
- Physical address — a real street address in the seat of the business, not only a P.O. box.
- Email address — explicitly named in the statute, and therefore mandatory. A contact form alone does not satisfy it.
- A direct contact channel beyond email — a telephone number is the safe default.
- Commercial-register entry for registered businesses (the cantonal Handelsregister / registre du commerce), together with the UID — the Swiss business identification number in the format
CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx. - VAT number if the business is VAT-registered (the UID suffixed with
MWST / TVA / IVA). - Regulated-profession details where applicable (authorisation, supervisory authority) — e.g. medical, legal, or financial services.
Where it goes, and what auditors check
The mechanics mirror the German rules even though the statute differs:
- Reachable from every page — a footer link, labelled clearly (“Impressum,” “Legal notice,” or “Mentions légales,” depending on the site language).
- A real
<a>link, indexable by crawlers — not a JavaScript-only modal. - Consistent with the privacy policy — the entity named in the legal notice matches the data controller in the privacy policy.
- Language. There is no language mandate, but the notice should be in the language(s) you actually sell in — German, French, Italian, or English.
Don’t confuse it with the privacy policy
The legal notice is a separate obligation from data protection. Switzerland’s revised Federal Act on Data Protection (revFADP / nDSG / nLPD) came into force on 1 September 2023 and requires a privacy policy describing how you process personal data. Many Swiss sites merge the two into one “Impressum & Datenschutz” page; that is fine, as long as both sets of information are actually present.
How enforcement works — no Abmahnung, but real exposure
Switzerland lacks Germany’s cottage industry of Impressum Abmahnungen, so the day-to-day risk feels lower. It is not zero. A missing or incomplete legal notice is an unfair-competition act: competitors, customers, and recognised consumer organisations can bring civil claims under Art. 9 UWG, and Art. 23 UWG provides for criminal prosecution on complaint. The practical takeaway is the same as everywhere — the fix is cheap, so there is no reason to carry the risk.
How Veracly audits Swiss legal notices
Veracly checks for a legal-notice link on every page, validates that the identity and contact fields Art. 3(1)(s) UWG calls for are present — including the mandatory email address and, for registered businesses, the UID — flags anything missing with the exact citation, and re-checks on a schedule so a redesign that drops the footer link is caught the day it ships. Run a scan.
See also: Impressum requirements for German websites · What is a website compliance audit?
Common questions
Does a Swiss commercial website need an Impressum?
If the site offers goods, works, or services in electronic commerce — a webshop, online booking, or paid digital product — yes. The legal basis is Art. 3(1)(s) of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG / UCA, SR 241), in force since 1 April 2012. A purely informational brochure site with no online offer is arguably outside the strict wording, but publishing a legal notice anyway is standard practice and removes the argument.
What must a Swiss legal notice contain?
Art. 3(1)(s) UWG requires clear and complete information on the operator’s legal identity and contact address, and it names the email address explicitly. In practice that means: full legal name and legal form, a physical address (not just a P.O. box), a working email address, and — for registered businesses — the commercial-register entry and UID (CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx). Add the VAT number if the business is VAT-registered.
Is the email address mandatory in Switzerland?
Yes. Unlike some jurisdictions where a contact form can suffice, Art. 3(1)(s) UWG names the email address as part of the required contact information for electronic commerce. A contact form alone does not satisfy the wording.
How is the Swiss requirement different from Germany’s Impressum?
Scope. Germany’s §5 DDG applies to almost every business website. Switzerland’s Art. 3(1)(s) UWG applies specifically to electronic commerce — sites that offer goods or services online. So a Swiss informational site may be out of scope where an equivalent German site would not be. The disclosed fields also differ: Switzerland uses the UID and commercial-register data rather than the German HRB number and USt-IdNr.
Does Switzerland have the German-style Abmahnung system?
No. Switzerland does not have Germany’s mass cease-and-desist (Abmahnung) industry. But a non-compliant legal notice is still an unfair-competition act: competitors, customers, and consumer organisations can bring civil claims under Art. 9 UWG, and Art. 23 UWG allows criminal prosecution on complaint. The exposure is real, just enforced differently.
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