Signing From Abroad: QES for Swiss Company Formation

The traditional picture of a company formation – printing, signing, certifying, posting – becomes a real obstacle when founders live abroad. With the qualified electronic signature, a Swiss company formation can be completed entirely online, from the first chat to the entry in the commercial register.

What is a QES?

The qualified electronic signature (QES) is the only electronic signature that Swiss law treats as equivalent to a handwritten one – combined with a qualified timestamp and issued by a provider recognised under the Swiss Federal Act on Electronic Signatures (ZertES). We work with SwissSign, the Swiss trust service provider behind SwissID.

How the fully digital formation works

1. Enter your details with our AI notary assistant – in English, 24/7. Choose the option "fully digital with QES".
2. Notary review: our notary checks everything personally; you usually receive all documents within 24 hours.
3. Identification: if you do not yet have a QES, you identify yourself once in the SwissID app with your biometric passport or another recognised ID (about 10–15 minutes). Every person who signs needs their own QES.
4. First signing round: you receive only one document – the power of attorney for the notarial deed, signed by all founders directly in the PDF.
5. Notarisation: as soon as the power of attorney is signed and the bank's original capital deposit confirmation has reached us, the notary executes the electronic public deed within 24 hours – with QES, qualified timestamp and the seal of the Swiss register of notaries. The company is now founded.
6. Second signing round: now you sign all remaining documents in one go – the self-certification of your signature (signed by hand, scanned as PDF/A-1 or PDF/A-2 and then signed with your QES), the commercial register application and the founders' declarations, e.g. on the domicile and, for an AG, the share register.
7. Filing and registration: we file everything electronically with the commercial register. Registration usually follows within 5–8 days, and you receive a closing binder with all filed documents and the commercial register extract.

The order is mandatory: the commercial register application can only be signed after the deed exists, because it presupposes the company. Signing it too early is the most common mistake – which is why we send you the documents in exactly this sequence.

When digital signing pays off most

Founders abroad: no apostille

On paper, a signature given abroad must be certified by a local notary and usually apostilled for use in Switzerland – an appointment, a trip to the apostille authority and international courier post. That quickly costs several hundred francs and one to two weeks per person. With the QES all of this disappears; a signature from Lisbon, London or Singapore is worth exactly the same.

Teams in several places

Nobody has to travel for a signing appointment, and nobody waits for a co-founder on holiday: signing takes a few minutes on the smartphone.

When it has to be fast

Bank account, lease, first customer order – sometimes everything depends on the registration. Removing the postal route eliminates the slowest stage of the process.

The exception: export restrictions

You do not need Swiss citizenship or residence for a QES – just a smartphone and a recognised ID. Due to legal export restrictions, however, SwissSign may not issue certificates to persons from certain states, currently including North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria. The formation is not blocked: those affected can sign by post (with certification and apostille abroad) or in person in St. Gallen. We clarify your situation free of charge before you start.

Independently of the signature, every Swiss GmbH or AG needs at least one representative resident in Switzerland and a registered office in Switzerland – see Setting up a company in Switzerland as a foreigner.

What it costs

• Flat fee: GmbH CHF 390, AG CHF 490 (cash formation, excl. VAT) – including the notarial deed and the commercial register filing
• QES signing: + CHF 150 for coordinating the digital signing with SwissSign; from the third signatory + CHF 50 per person
• Commercial register fees: official fees, typically CHF 450–600

Certification and apostille abroad alone often cost more than the entire QES surcharge. The full breakdown is in What does it cost to set up a company in Switzerland?

And when do you still need an apostille?

For the formation itself, the QES makes the apostille unnecessary. You still need one when Swiss documents are to be used abroad – for example a commercial register extract for a foreign bank or authority. For documents certified by our notary, we obtain the apostille from the State Chancellery of the Canton of St. Gallen, usually within 2–5 working days. More on our apostille page (in German).