From 1 October 2026, all Swiss LLCs (Sàrl) and corporations (SA) will have to comply with new obligations under the Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Entities and the Identification of Beneficial Owners (LTPM). In practice, every company will have to identify the natural persons who truly control it and report them to a new federal register. Here is what changes, who is concerned, the deadlines to meet and the penalties involved.
What changes on 1 October 2026
The Federal Council has set the entry into force of the LTPM for 1 October 2026. The law establishes a national transparency register, called TranspaReg, managed by the Federal Office of Justice. This register lists companies' beneficial owners, that is, the natural persons who ultimately control the business. Important point: this register is not public. It is kept in electronic form and access is reserved for the authorities and certain financial intermediaries in the context of anti-money-laundering efforts.
Who is concerned
Most Swiss private-law legal entities are subject to the LTPM, in particular corporations (SA), limited liability companies (Sàrl), cooperatives, and certain investment companies (SICAV, SICAF, SCmPC). Some foreign entities are also covered (a branch registered in Switzerland, effective management in Switzerland, or ownership of real estate in Switzerland). Excluded, on the other hand, are listed companies, associations and foundations. If you run an LLC or a corporation, you are therefore very probably concerned.
What is a beneficial owner
The beneficial owner is the natural person who actually controls the company. The law applies in principle a 25 percent threshold: any person who holds, directly or indirectly, at least 25 percent of the capital or voting rights, or who exercises control by another means, is deemed a beneficial owner. Where no one meets these criteria, the law provides a fallback: the person holding the most senior management position is then designated. You must therefore always be able to identify at least one natural person.
Your concrete obligations
The company must identify its beneficial owners, collect and verify the relevant information (identity, nature and extent of control), document and keep it, then report it to the transparency register, in principle via the federal EasyGov platform. The obligation does not stop at the first report: in the event of a change (new partner, transfer of shares, change in the control structure), the information must be updated, in principle within one month. It is therefore an ongoing obligation.
The deadlines
For any company newly registered in the commercial register after 1 October 2026, the declaration must be made within 30 days.
For existing companies, the first report must be made within the month following the first change to the commercial-register entry occurring after 1 October 2026, but at the latest according to a staggered schedule: corporations subject to an ordinary audit by 1 January 2027, other companies subject to an ordinary audit by 1 February 2027, corporations not subject to an ordinary audit by 1 March 2027, and other Swiss companies and the foreign entities concerned by 1 April 2027. In practice, most small LLCs and corporations in French-speaking Switzerland will have to be compliant by spring 2027 at the latest, but it is strongly advised to act early.
Penalties for non-compliance
The LTPM comes with dissuasive penalties. An intentional breach of the reporting obligations is punishable by a fine of up to 500,000 francs, and up to 100,000 francs in the event of negligence. Beyond the fine, in the most serious cases the law provides for other consequences: suspension of certain membership and financial rights, refusal of registration in the commercial register, or even liquidation of the company. Ignoring these rules is therefore not an option.
What you should do now
Without waiting for 2027, map your shareholding or membership to identify who holds at least 25 percent of the capital or votes, or who otherwise controls the company. Gather the supporting documents (identity documents, articles of association, share or unit register, shareholder agreements), check consistency with your commercial-register entry, prepare the declaration via EasyGov and set up a process to update the data whenever there is a change. For structures with several tiers of ownership (holdings, cross-shareholdings, beneficial owners abroad), identification can quickly become complex.
How NeoFidu helps
At neofidu.ch, we help LLCs and corporations in French-speaking Switzerland comply with the LTPM: identifying beneficial owners, building the file, reporting to the transparency register and setting up ongoing monitoring to stay up to date. Contact us to prepare calmly for the 1 October 2026 deadline.
This article is for information only and does not replace personalised advice. The implementing rules and transitional deadlines of the LTPM may be subject to clarification. Contact NeoFidu for an analysis tailored to your company.